Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Research ethics under the spotlight

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Over the years I've created a large number of reading lists for students on various topics (it's kind of what I do every day in this newsletter). I would certainly adjust these lists over time if I felt some material was too challenging for readers. 'Challenging' can mean anything from 'too technical' to 'raises complex issues'. There are places this newsletter won't go, and no, I'm not about to list those places, because that would defeat the point. Is this a question of research ethics? James Coe seems to think so, as he blends this practice seamlessly with other questions around academic practice, partnerships and policy. He then offers an oversimplified account of research ethics and suggests "more light and less heat is needed to understand the trade offs." Well, maybe. But ethics isn't simply about trade-offs, no more than it is simply about risk, or even about transparency and openness. And it demands a more subtle approach than the trickery used here to get academics to talk about the things they won't talk about.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 28, 2024 10:55 p.m.

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