Ethics Material
From CISEREUPI
Ethics is a a relatively new area for most REU sites; even the sites that have REU supplements are working to figure out good objectives and ways to achieve objectives related to ethics. Thus, the ethics working group is much more able to generate questions than answers. With that in mind, this page reflects some of the discussion of the working group.
Contents |
2011 PI Meeting Notes
3 minute presentation to the PIs
- There's an ethics component for $4000, but everyone should do it.
- What do you want to accomplish with your ethics treatment?
- There's a rich website (this wiki) of materials, but think first.
- You have many opportunities to integrate it with what you're doing:
- Tie ethics into What Professors Do, e.g. how tenure works, etc.
- Why am I spending my one and only life to collect that's going to be wrong?
- Cooking data.
- Respectful discussions, how to behave in a scholarly discussion.
- Supervising students: Why does the advisor want the data? Does the research project or the advisor need this data? (--Leverage the following for discussions, integration of ethics?)
- Video games, privacy in social networks.
- Privacy Online
- Media sharing (--Ditto)
- Appreciate diverse views: Religious, political.
- Assess yourself: The students (with surveys etc.) and the faculty (by contributions to the field of ethics).
In-group discussion notes
Tie ethics into What Professors Do, e.g. how tenure works, etc.
- why annotate your data blind or twice?
- Why am I spending my one and only life to collect that's going to be wrong?
- How do you handle NDAs? Export control?
- How about supervising students? What about ones who are doing badly?
Lewis Hyde's book The Gift - on why scientists do what they do
Bring up video games, music sharing, facebook privacy to relate to student
Phrase things not as "We're going to collect data and publish it" but rather "We're going to collect data and write it up. If it's publishable, then we'll do that." (to not add pressure to falsify data)
2010 PI Meeting Notes
Best Places to Start
Research Ethics
On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research, third edition By the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy, National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Third edition. A short book that addresses beginning researchers. The full text is online.
Teaching Ethics
Teaching Ethics Across the Engineering Curriculum: In this essay, Michael Davis explains why engineers should teach ethics, and he describes the goals of instruction in engineering ethics. His comments apply also to teaching the ethical standards for conducting research and to teaching ethics for computing professionals. The essay includes an appendix with a guide to ethical decision-making.
Discussion Tools: Case Studies: A brief introduction to using cases to teach research ethics.
Using Case Studies in Teaching Research Ethics: Advice from Kenneth Pimple on using cases.
The Module and Scenario Method: How to lead a discussion using open-ended scenarios (cases) that raise questions about research ethics.
Student Outcomes
Overarching goal: That all REU participants have some awareness of ethics issues
Ethics issues are divided by the program guidelines into two aspects.
Professional ethics and the responsible conduct of research
(1) Training for undertaking human subjects or animal research
(2) Rules for citation, giving credit, using existing research
(3) Amount of novelty necessary for publication
(4) How to exercise judgment about cases of research ethics.
(5) Professional behavior in laboratories with respect to other people's work
(6) Intellectual property and ownership of research
(7) Exhibiting ethical conduct during their REU project
Ethical issues related to computing and computer technology; ethical decision making
(1) How much responsibility does an individual have for taking part in technology development that may impact people's lives (e.g., military applications, medical applications)
(2) Critical thinking
(3) Confidence in ability to reason about issues from an ethical point of view
(4) Understanding some of the different philosophies of ethics
Approaches
(1) Tradeoffs between requirement that every action be ethical or that every action should have the greatest good.
(2) Examining case studies, such as Google in China, to developing knowledge on how to reason about ethics.
Ideas of the Working Group to help REU CISE Community
(1) Dump everything on the web? Would not be too helpful.
(2) Develop list of essentials and best practices.
(3) Figure out how to decide what the best practices are
(4) What background is needed to evaluate ethical issues?
(5) How can we develop the confidence in students to reason about ethical issues?
(6) Ethics training as a component of REU sites is growing, especially with the new NSF requirement for ethical conduct of research training. As a growing area, we should collect practices, without worrying right now if they are best practices.
(7) Develop ideas for an NSF supplement for developing CISE ethics best practices.
(8) Develop an ethics workshop for 2011 PI meeting on creating ethics component. 2009 including a case study example workshop. Train the trainers.
(9) Videos from UIUC
(10) Develop a page that lists all CISE REU sites, and then let each site add a couple sentences about their ethics coverage
(11) Determine a core set of learning outcomes for program development and assessment.
Ethics supplement wording from program solicitation NSF 09598
Supplementary Ethics Component Funding (limited to three pages). REU Site applicants may apply for up to $4,000 per year of additional funding (direct costs) for carefully designed, clearly articulated activities focusing on ethics in science and engineering. If this optional funding is requested, the activities should be described fully in the Supplementary Documentation section of the proposal, not in the Project Description. The description of the supplementary ethics component should include the following: (1) ethics issues or topics that relate to the scientific content of the project and/or to issues of professional conduct of research; (2) participating faculty and other individuals with appropriate credentials in ethics, including outside ethicists as necessary; (3) activities that show how students and REU mentors will be engaged in ethics discussions designed to present ethics concepts and skills for resolution of ethical issues, using approaches such as seminars, student presentations and reports, role-playing, case studies, and outside speaker presentations; (4) products such as reports, presentations, and Web-based materials; (5) a formative evaluation plan to be used to improve the component; and (6) results from any prior support for an ethics component.
Methods
(1) Professor from some other department. But, be sure to co-lead to ensure students see relevance to computing.
(2) Professor who teaches ethics in the computing or engineering curriculum
(3) Domain expert presentation from a local expert (e.g., lawyer, human/animal research expert)
(4) Research integrity officer at the university. This person is often an administrator in the Office of the Vice President for Research.
(5) Case studies, including from our own sites
Homework
(1) Review external ethics web sites and pick one or two ones that you like. Add any new ones, and comment on the sites on the Wiki.
(2) Read the materials as they are uploaded to the Wiki. Comment on the ones you like on the Wiki.
(3) Think about ways to organize the Wiki site.
(4) Use the Wiki discussion feature to talk about links and sites once they are on the page.
Ethics Related Material Used at Various REU Sites
Michael Loui's Material from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
* Media:Ethics 1 11Jun09.doc * Media:Ethics 2 18Jun09.doc * Media:Ethics 3 25Jun09.doc * Media:Ethics 4 2Jul09.doc * Media:Ethics 5 16Jul09 revised.doc * Media:Ethics 6 23Jul09 revised.doc * Media:Ethics Assessment Report 8-09.doc * "Ethical Decision Making video" on YouTube * "Ethics in Research video" on YouTube
Information from a case study module for research integrity from Steve Norton and Pamela Abshire, [BIEN], at the University of Maryland.
* Media:Millikan_1913.pdf (currently too big to upload... will work on it... -Mike) * Media:Millikan_casestudy.doc * Media:Millikan_Physics_History.doc * Media:Millikan_supplemental.doc * Media:Truth-and-Trustworthiness-edited.doc
Iowa State's Ethics effort, from Stephen Gilbert:
* [2009] * [2008]
Slides from Behrooz Shirazi (Washington State):
* Media:WSUethics-slides.ppt (can't get this to upload for some reason... -Mike)
Please add whatever ethics information you feel could benefit the community here.
Links to Relevant and Useful Ethics Material on the Web
Teaching Ethics in Research, Engineering, and Computing
Resources for Research Ethics Education: Web site for new instructors in research ethics. Includes an introduction with the rationale for teaching research ethics and lists of typical goals, an explanation of individual topics in research ethics, and descriptions of educational formats and instructional methods.
Resources for Teaching Research Ethics: Includes pointers to short essays by Kenneth Pimple on using writing assignments, small groups, and case studies to teach research ethics.
Teaching Ethics Across the Engineering Curriculum: In this essay, Michael Davis explains why engineers should teach ethics, and he describes the goals of instruction in engineering ethics. His comments apply also to teaching the ethical standards for conducting research and to teaching ethics for computing professionals. The essay includes an appendix with a guide to ethical decision-making.
Teaching Ethics to Scientists and Engineers: Moral Agents and Moral Problems: Caroline Whitbeck argues that we should teach students to approach ethics problems as engineering design problems. Students should devise practical solutions within the constraints of ethical obligations.
Teaching Research Ethics: Annual workshop at Indiana University to prepare faculty to teach research ethics.
Developing On-/Off-Line Computer Ethics: Materials from NSF-sponsored workshop that prepared faculty to teach computer ethics.
Research Ethics
On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research, third edition By the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy, National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Third edition. A short book that addresses beginning researchers. This is the best place to start! Some sites give this to every student. The full text is online too.
Second edition of On Being a Scientist
Office of Research Integrity: Contains a link to a PDF of a 184-page document titled: "Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research", published by the Office of Research Integrity, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Responsible Conduct of Research: Six Web-based short courses on research ethics, sponsored by Columbia University.
onlineethics.org: Lots of good information from the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Research, including case studies, results from workshops, how to teach ethics, and more. See specifically the Group Mentoring in Responsible Research modules, which include readings and short scenarios (cases) designed for teaching.
ethicslibrary.org: Ethics in Science and Engineering clearinghouse.
A thorough presentation of research ethics from David Touretzky of the Carnegie Mellon University Department of Computer Science, in 64 slides.
Research Ethics and Computer Science: An Unconsummated Marriage: Article by David R. Wright with examples of situations in computing research that raise ethical questions.
Professional Ethics
Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Computing: Book chapter by Michael C. Loui and Keith W. Miller in the Wiley Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering. Final manuscript is available here.
Software Engineering Code of Ethics
Computer Ethics
Ethics in Computing: Web site at North Carolina State University.
Computer Ethics, 4th ed., by Deborah G. Johnson: Amazon page A classic short textbook on ethical issues in computer and information technology, such as privacy and intellectual property.
Case Studies in Information Technology Ethics (link to Amazon)
General Resources
Justice with Michael Sandel: A series of excellent video lectures
International Encyclopedia of Philosophy Ethics Page
Engineering and Social Justice, by Donna Riley: Google Books page
Other Miscellaneous Information
Media:EthicsDiscussionGroupMinsREUPI09.doc
