Transcript document

Research Integrity & Ethics Training
(RIET)
for Engineering Faculty
Postgraduate Research (PGR)
Students
Facilitator: Genevieve Gorrell
[email protected]
Summary of the Course
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Opening lecture;
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3 discussion-based seminars;
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Monday February 13th from 10am to 12pm
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Monday March 5th from 10am to 12pm
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Monday April 2nd from 10am to 12pm
There will be a final seminar (Faculty of
Engineering RIET Day) with all departments;
Then you will complete the assessment form.
About the Course
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Ethics are a personal choice, and so this course
is not about teaching ethics!
It is about developing our viewpoint through
debating with others—so we can become
“thoughtful practicioners”.
So this is not a taught course—I am here to
facilitate only.
You must research and debate the topics
yourself.
(That said, I will give a couple of slides today to
try to help things along a bit!)
Why Behave Ethically?
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People's perspectives on ethics vary, e.g.
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Utilitarian—the greatest good for the greatest
number
Human Rights—everyone is entitled to certain
privileges
Justice and fairness
Personal virtue—it benefits the individual to develop
their integrity
Religious dictates—the will of God.
Reasons for behaving ethically affect a person's
perception of what is the right thing to do.
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral
Development
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Kohlberg postulates that morality falls into identifiable
developmental stages
Level 1—Pre-Conventional
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1—How can I avoid punishment
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2—Self-interest—what's in it for me?
Level 2—Conventional
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3—I should conform to expectations
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4—Others should conform to expectations
Level 3—Post-Conventional
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5—Social contract—the system is there to serve us
6—Universal ethical principles—e.g. inner drive to treat others well,
ethics grounded in compassion
Kohlberg—Illustrative example
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It's not what you do but why you do it
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“Should I report false results in my thesis?”
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Stage 1--“No because I might get caught”
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Stage 2--”Yes because then I will pass”
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Stage 3--”No because that would mean I am bad”
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Stage 4--”No because it is against the rules”
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Stage 5--”No because other people have a right to
expect the truth in scientific publications” or “yes
because I deserve to pass and this is only a small
thing.”
Stage 6--”No because truth is integral to science”
Seminar 1
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In the first seminar we discussed a variety of ethical
dilemmas
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Use of personal data without consent
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Data may be publicly available—does that make it okay to use it?
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Data may be used for scientific advance—does that make it okay to
use it?
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However, authorities may abuse the technology in the form of a
police state
Misuse of scientific findings—to what extent are we
responsible for how our work is used?
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For example, media frequently misrepresent findings to create
sensational stories or in order to simplify
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This can cause damaging results
Seminar 2
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In this seminar, we will form work groups to
prepare topics in more depth
In the third seminar we will give presentations of
our topics
A group will be chosen to represent us at the
RIET day
At the RIET day, the chosen group will present
their topic
Let’s Introduce Ourselves
• What is your name?
• What do you work on?
• What do you hope to get out of the course?
• What ideas do you have about a topic you might
like to focus on?
In this Session
• We will split into groups who want to work on
similar topic areas
• Each group should define the central question of
their topic choice
• E.g. “should the department accept military
funding?”
• Discuss the salient aspects and possible
viewpoints for the topic for the rest of the
session. Take notes!
• At the end of the session we will report back on
our topic choices and how the discussion went.
Some Points to Consider
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What is the central question in the topic?
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What are the relevant aspects?
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Argue both sides of the case
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For each side of the case, who is hurt by it?
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In what way might different moral standpoints
dictate a different response?
In what way might different circumstances
dictate a different response?
Seminar 3
• Each group should prepare a 20 minute
presentation of their topic for Seminar 3
• Each group will take a turn to present and the
rest of the group will comment on their
presentation
• A group will then be chosen to present a 10
minute version of their presentation at the RIET
day