Overview
Ethical questions and dilemmas frequently occur during scientific research. Examining ethical issues and considering how you would approach the situation is a useful exercise in critical thinking. It will help you be a more critical and informed consumer of information. In this activity, you will describe an ethical issue that relates to the main idea of the news story you have been working with throughout the course. You will need to conduct outside research, such as searching the Shapiro Library databases, in order to identify a relevant ethical issue.
Prompt
Use the provided Module Five Activity Template Word Document to complete this assignment. Using the module resources as inspiration, identify an ethical issue, question, or dilemma relevant to the main idea of your chosen news story. This might include bias in research, the impact of politics on science, research funding sources, objectivity in science, or the spread of scientific misinformation. For example, you could discuss possible tensions between scientists and their funding sources with regards to publicity and media involvement.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Describe an ethical issue that relates to the main idea of your chosen news story.
Explain how bias, beliefs, assumptions, or values relate to your chosen ethical issue.
This might include funding bias or publication bias, conflicting values between the sponsoring organization and the research agenda, the assumptions of the general public impacting how science is interpreted, or scientists’ beliefs affecting the research questions they ask.
Explain how your chosen ethical issue may impact (or has impacted) how research is conducted on the main idea of your chosen news story.
This could include the research questions and hypotheses scientists can test, the methods they can use to collect or analyze data, who they can collaborate with, where they publish their research, or the funding that is available.
Explain how your chosen ethical issue may impact (or has impacted) advancements in the field of study.
This might include the technology that can be developed, the knowledge that can be generated, or the problems that can be solved.
What to Submit
Submit your completed Module Five Activity Template. While not required, any sources should be cited using APA style. Consult the Shapiro Library APA Style Guide for more information on citations.
