This course involves critical consideration of the ethical issues that arise in the conduct of scientific research. The course will begin with an overview of the ethical issues commonly encountered in research, including what is and is not an ethical issue and how ethical issues are dealt with in principle and in practice. Initial topics include record keeping, conflict of interest, responsible authorship, ownership of projects, policies for handling misconduct, policies regarding the use of human and animal subjects, and data management and distribution. The course proceeds to consider a series of case studies based on instances in the recent scientific literature in which ethical problems were encountered. |