There has been growing recognition of scientists' and engineers' need for ethics education, including training requirements for many federal grant recipients, and the further need to incorporate macroethics education into responsible and ethical conduct in research education for social scientists, natural scientists, computer scientists, and engineers. This combination education and research project will develop, assess, and disseminate innovative introductory macroethical course modules. The major contribution of the project is the modules' content: an introduction to significant macroethics concepts from science and engineering ethics (SEE) and science and technology studies (STS). Macroethics examines the collective social responsibilities of scientists and engineers, as opposed to microethics, which emphasizes individual ethical dilemmas in research (for example, plagiarism). The project team will develop four modules, one for each of the following disciplinary ethics education courses: 1) biomedical sciences, 2) social and behavioral sciences, 3) physical sciences, and 4) engineering. The core concepts to be explored are drawn from STS theoretical frameworks and center on three ideas: (1) a critique of the idea of technology as progress, (2) engineering as a social experiment, and (3) the potential of conceptual and technical assumptions and decisions to have long-term impacts.
The project brings together an interdisciplinary team to develop module content and solicit further input from active scholars in SEE, STS, science, and engineering. The team will work with active scholars to identify and refine appropriate common core concepts for the modules by proposing roundtable discussions at a variety of professional association meetings. In addition, a network of nine disciplinary consultants will aid the leadership team. Before disseminating the final modules, the team will assess effectiveness and refine them as necessary. The assessment protocol will examine: 1) knowledge acquisition by the macroethics module users, 2) the effect of combining macroethical and microethical education on acquisition of knowledge in both areas, and 3) knowledge retention.
This project developed and assessed a module, "Research, Ethics, and Society," for incorporation into the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program’s Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses. There has been growing recognition of scientists’ and engineers’ need for RCR education, and the further need to broaden RCR education to include macroethics topics. Macroethics examines the collective social responsibilities of scientists and engineers, as opposed to individual ethical dilemmas in research (microethics). Because of the wide use of online RCR courses to meet training requirements, incorporating macroethics content in online RCR educational materials is vital to achieve this goal. The major contribution of the project is the module’s content—an introduction to significant macroethics concepts. The main materials explain researchers’ social responsibilities as obligations to act in the public’s interests, sources of the obligations, and ways researchers can act on social responsibilities. Eight supplementary cases and four short essays further explore issues. Formative and summative assessments informed refinement of the materials. The team presented ideas at five professional meetings for feedback from science studies and ethics colleagues. An advisory board of nine disciplinary consultants reviewed the materials twice. We assessed the outcomes of learners viewing the materials with a survey that measured ethical sensitivity and knowledge of ethical norms and standards corresponding to two topics in CITI RCR courses: social responsibility of researchers and "Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing, and Ownership." Assessment data show that ethical sensitivity was higher for the group exposed to CITI training and higher still for the group exposed to both CITI and new materials concerning social responsibilities. However, this immediate effect on ethical sensitivity was lost over time. Differences in scores by language groups indicate need for further study of this dynamic. In the spring of 2014, the full materials will become available in the following CITI RCR courses: 1) biomedical sciences, 2) social and behavioral sciences, and 3) physical sciences. Case studies can be accessed at: www.onlineethics.org/Topics/RespResearch/ResCases/Research_Ethics_and_Society.aspx
