Phil. 133
"Ethics in Science"
Spring 2008
Research Report Guidelines and Topics
Over the course of the term, you will locate two articles on a topic relevant to the class and report to the class on each of these articles. One article must be from the popular press and the other must be from the scholarly scientific press. Your research report should highlight the assumptions the article makes about science and the norms these assumptions reflect. The two research reports will count for 15% of your course grade.
What
- You need to find one suitable article in the popular press and one suitable article in the scholarly scientific press. While your popular article and your scholarly scientific article can be on the same topic, they don't need to be.
- Once you've found an article you'll report on, provide me with a hard copy (or an electronic copy, or a link to the article) and I will make the article available to the class.
- Your report on the article should include:
- A brief synopsis of the article (i.e., what it's about);
- An identification of the ethical question it raises;
- The assumptions the article makes about science; and
- The norms these assumptions reflect, whether from within the tribe of science or from the larger community in which the scientific community is embedded.
- You will post your report in the class Blackboard/WebCT Discussion area.
When
You need to post your first research report by Thursday, March 20. Your second research report is due by Thursday, May 8.
Where
There are a number of useful databases available through the King Library with which you can locate both popular and scholarly scientific sources. Among these, Science Direct and the Expanded Academic Index will be most helpful for locating the scholarly scientific sources. Another useful database here will be PubMed. A good entry point to current scholarly scientific reports is EurekAlert, whose brief news items include links to the scientific papers behind them. For the popular sources, Lexis/Nexis and Expanded Academic Index will be most helpful. The "Research Links" page on the course website has links to these databases.
Possible topics:
- Are scientists (e.g., on government panels on cloning, stem cell research, global warming, etc.) impartial?
- Are some research topics too hot to handle?
- Are scientific reports credible? (Is scientific fraud prevalent?)
- Are collaborations between scientists at universities and in the private sector a good thing or a bad thing?
- How important is knowledge without clear practical application (i.e., basic research)?
- Who should fund "luxury" science (superconducting supercolliders, etc.)?
- A particular case of scientific fraud or misconduct, and what to make of it.
- A particular case of conflict of interest in scientific or medical research.
- Access to experimental drug regimens.
- Informed consent and the "therapeutic misconception".
- Drug testing in the developing world or in vulnerable populations.
- Use of animals in scientific experiments.
- Pseudo-science masquerading as real science.
- Can a natural product be intellectual property?
- Patenting AIDS drugs.
- Should science be self-regulated or regulated from outside (e.g., by government agencies)?
You are encouraged to consider other topics as well, but you should run them by me first to make sure they are suitable for the assignment.
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