KULeuvenX: Research Ethics: a guide for responsible research with human subjects

About KULeuvenX: Research Ethics: a guide for responsible research with human subjects

Research ethics has become an established and essential part of scientific research with human subjects. In this course, we aim to give you a comprehensive introduction to the topic through the exploration of the main ethical issues that researchers experience in diverse contexts.

How can researchers engage in ethically responsible research? Why does ensuring they do ethical research matter? What type of ethical considerations must researchers take into account before designing their research? In this course, we discuss all these questions and more to get you thinking critically about ethics in human subject research.

Through the use of case studies, videos, interviews, and discussions we will show you how a variety of ethical issues arise in research practice. You will engage with the course materials and other participants through exercises and open discussion boards. You will acquire the skills to identify ethically sensitive or problematic issues in different research settings and start to think about research in ethically responsible ways. The course will give you the tools to apply your moral reasoning in practical, real-life scenarios in research and challenge you to reflect on case studies and provide the tools you need to conduct your own ethical assessment of a research project. Both individually and as part of a research ethics committee. Most importantly, you will learn to identify and question your own ethical biases and to build new well-reasoned arguments for your position on different ethical scenarios.