996007 Research Ethics (WS) (SoSe 2019)

The workshop introduces the participants to basic issues of the ethical conduct in research, that is, the idea of good/bad scientific practice. Spectacular cases of obvious misconduct, e.g., unethical experiments, fabrication of data, and extensive plagiarism, have received widespread media attention. Research suggests that less spectacular and less clear cases of misconduct are not at all uncommon. The workshop is intended to enhance the participants’ awareness of the explicit and implicit rules of conduct in research. Acquaintance with these rules will improve the participants’ research practice, and it will also help them to recognise and to handle cases of misconduct of others.
The workshop is based on the curriculum prepared on behalf of and in cooperation with the Ombudsman für die Wissenschaft. Among the topics addressed are:
‒ Local, national and international rules and regulations of “good scientific practice”
‒ Ethical issues of research design: Are all research question and methods permissible?
‒ Handling data (e.g., from surveys): Dos, don’ts, caveats
‒ Citing sources: Quoting, paraphrasing, plagiarising
‒ Authorship and the process of publication
‒ Issues in the relationship of supervisors and the supervised
‒ Potential conflicts of interest in academic research
‒ Conflict management: How to deal with conflicts and academic misconduct
To facilitate discussion of normative aspects, a model of ethical decision making will be introduced.
The participants will be encouraged to actively engage with the topic. For this purpose, lecture-like parts will alternate with case analyses, plenary discussion, and practical exercises.
In preparation of the workshop, participants are asked to hand in a brief abstract of their research project (ca. 500 words) that briefly introduces the research question and the methods employed in the research. (Please e-mail to bghs@uni-bielefeld.de. Deadline: 23 May.)