Research Ethics
Forskningsetik

GEM090F, 3 credits

Valid from: Autumn 2020
Decided by: Annika Mårtensson
Date of establishment: 2020-08-13

General Information

Division: Doctoral Research Training
Course type: Third-cycle course
Teaching language: English

Aim

The course aims to provide a foundation of research integrity and knowledge of research ethics for doctoral students at LTH that is relevant during the students’ doctoral studies and in subsequent postdoctoral research in academic or other research institutions.

Goals

Knowledge and Understanding

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• demonstrate knowledge in ethical principles of research integrity, as agreed on national (Sweden), institutional (Lund University) and local level (LTH)
• demonstrate knowledge of laws, regulations and guidelines governing research involving humans and personal data

Competences and Skills

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• identify ethical issues in the research disciplines represented at LTH, including the specific research conducted by the participating doctoral students
• identify ethical challenges for researchers involved in development and implementation of new technologies in society
• independently and knowledgeably analyse ethical issues, including the research conducted by the doctoral students
• apply laws, regulations and guidelines governing research involving humans and personal data, to research conducted at LTH
• apply laws, regulations and guidelines concerning research misconduct and good research practice to various kinds of research conducted at LTH, including the specific research conducted by the doctoral students

Judgement and Approach

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• demonstrate an ability and an inclination to act upon identified potential violations of principles of research integrity in their research environments.
• demonstrate an ability and an inclination to contribute to the research integrity of their research environment.

Course Contents

To support the intended learning outcomes the course address basic normative ethics, the history of research ethics, the utility or importance of research, risks and burdens for research participants and other affected parties, protection of privacy and personal data, informed consent and kinds of research where informed consent may be difficult to obtain, risk-benefit analysis, ethics review, good research practice, research misconduct, publication ethics, open science and the FAIR-principles, conflicts of interest, the researcher as an authority and ethical aspects of external engagement, relevant legislation, issues arising from doing research at a Swedish authority, and responsible research and innovation.

Course Literature

ALLEA: The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (revised edition). All european Academies, 2017.
A wide range of course literature and web links will be provided via the course Canvas page. This includes for instance ALLEA. 2017. The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and Guidelines for the processing of matters relating to suspected deviation from good research practice at Lund University.

Instruction Details

Types of instruction: Lectures, seminars, exercises, project, self-study literature review. Research Ethics is a faculty-wide third-cycle (PhD) course at the Faculty of Engineering (LTH). The course is compulsory for doctoral students admitted from January 1st 2021 at the faculty, as required by Lund University (STYR 2018/1024, 2019-03-28).

Examination Details

Examination formats: Written assignments, seminars given by participants, miscellaneous. Participation in all course activities is a course requirement. All course tasks need to be completed, and subsequently assessed by the course leader. Active participation is required in discussion exercises, and reporting of group work.
Grading scale: Failed, pass
Examiner:

Admission Details

Admission requirements: To be prioritized in the admission to the course, applicants have to be admitted to a PhD programme at LTH. Doctoral students enrolled from January 1st 2021 and on have the highest priority, as the course is compulsory for these students.
Assumed prior knowledge: None.
Selection criteria: Doctoral students enrolled from January 1st 2021 and on have the highest priority, as the course is compulsory top this category of students.

Further Information

A schedule will be available on the course homepage.

Course Occasion Information

Contact and Other Information

Course coordinators:
Web page: https://www.lth.se/english/cee/doctoral-education-support/faculty-wide-phd-courses/