Developing a Research Ethics Course for Students in the Biosciences

Abstract

A research ethics course for students majoring in biology was developed and offered as an optional course for graduate students in the Department of Biology at Chonnam National University in the fall semester of 2005. The course was intended to serve as a pilot program for a larger research project to develop a research ethics course for students in the biomedical sciences. Among eleven students enrolled in the course, six were in the Master’s program and five were pursuing their doctoral degrees. Topics covered in the course included the following: being a biologist, career development, what to do in a graduate school, the lab community, mentor-mentee relationship, record keeping, data mining, scientific writing, authorship, scientific misconduct, conflicts of interests, research involving animals, human subjects, and the ethics of stem-cell research. For each topic, a general introduction was followed by problem-based discussions among students. All reading materials and cases to be discussed were posted on a web site prior to class. Students were required to read the material and express their opinions at an on-line forum before coming to each class. In the classroom, a pre-designated student would introduce and analyze the cases in order to facilitate discussion. Students actively participated in both the on-line and off-line discussions, especially when the topics were related to their first-hand experiences. The evaluation of the answers to the pre- and the post-course questionnaires showed that the students’ perception of research ethics had changed in such a way that they paid greater attention to the issues of integrity in scientific research. While students were aware of the dominant ethical issues concerning research in biomedical science, before completing the course they were relatively unaware that ethical issues are raised by such things as mentor-mentee relationships and authorship criteria. The problem-based discussion process and the supplementary web-material were regarded positively by the students. In conclusion, as long as enough teaching materials and discussion cases are made available to teachers, a case-based discussion course with on-line supplements can help graduate students increase their ethical sensitivity toward issues of scientific integrity.