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Ethics in science?

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Course description

Course content

Course reviews

This free course, Ethics in science? discusses how scientists have a moral and ethical responsibility to consider whether they should carry out an experiment. In this short course you will learn of the first clinical trials undertaken for scurvy and small pox and gain an understanding of how much more rigorous today’s clinical trials are. You will conduct your own online research into an unethical scientist and finally look at some current moral dilemmas in science.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

  • understand how clinical trials are used today in medicine
  • understand the importance of acting ethically in scientific research
  • understand why it is important to continue to ask moral questions about scientific research.
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First Published: 12/10/2018

Updated: 20/06/2019

You can start this course right now without signing-up. Click on any of the course content sections below to start at any point in this course.
If you want to be able to track your progress, earn a free Statement of Participation, and access all course quizzes and activities, sign-up.

Course content

  • Introduction
  • Learning outcomes
  • 1Clinical trials
    • 1 Clinical trials
    • 1.1 Scurvy: The first clinical trial
    • 1.2 Scurvy trial: Ethical critical review
  • 2Research integrity
    • 2 Research integrity
    • 2.1 Unethical scientists
    • 2.2 Moral dilemmas in science
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
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Average rating 4.7 out of 5, based on 12 ratings.

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  • Evie Alexandrou
    Evie Alexandrou 3 July 2024 11:12AM
    1 2 3 4 5
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    A very interesting course!
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  • Elcyn Andrew Booc
    Elcyn Andrew Booc 8 April 2024 9:21PM
    1 2 3 4 5
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    It really helped me have an overview about the introductory topics of clinical trials and it's application in research. It also discussed well the ethics and practices to be done to adhere to the regulations by the research bodies. Overall a very good course.
    Flag As Offensive
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Copyright information

creative commons licence type by-nc Creative commons: The Open University is proud to release this free course under a Creative Commons licence.

However, any third-party materials featured within it are used with permission and are not ours to give away. These materials are not subject to the Creative Commons licence. See terms and conditions377  and our FAQs378.

Full copyright details can be found in the Acknowledgements section of each week.

For further information, take a look at our frequently asked questions which may give you the support you need.

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About this free course

About this free course

3 hours study

Level 1: Introductory

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