Research tasks and exercises (supplement for academic teachers)
Information for the teacher
This module is designed as a guide for social science students to understand the importance of ethical issues in the design and implementation of human research. It provides guidance on what ethics in research is, why it is an important issue for any researcher, and how to prepare to carry out research according to ethical standards and guidelines.
As a conclusion, after students have completed the e-module, you can:
- Ask students to find studies of interest to them (examples) from their discipline in the social sciences, analyse the studies in terms of the information concerning the ethics of doing research, and prepare conclusions from this preliminary analysis.
- Ask students to analyse the information on research ethics in the studies previously mentioned by the teacher. Therefore,
- The teacher refers the students to exemples of research (e.g. from a website).
- The teacher divides the students into groups of three and asks them to read the research described on the website in terms of analysis of ethical issues. Students are to:
a. Read the research description and the research ethics description,
b. Analyse why ethics matter in this research.
- Students present their findings to the class and discuss the possibility of adopting ethical solutions from the research they have read in their own social research concepts.
Summing-up task for students
Finally, write a short essay (120 words) reflecting on what you have learnt about research ethics in this e-module and complete a SWOT analysis of your current knowledge about ethics in research.
Alternatively, focus on the task: Using DEAL model for critical reflection (below).
- Describe a learning experience regarding exposure/usage of ethical principles in your research (you can choose a project you were involved in previously and describe what had happened in terms of ethics, now that you have taken this module).
- Examine experience (what did I learn personally/academically?)
- Articulate Learning (What did I learn? How did I learn? Why is this important for my future research projects? What will I do differently as a result?)
