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Develop the skills and knowledge required to understand, critically evaluate and apply both UK and international rules that govern research through this 11-week short course delivered by UCL STEaPP.
Course Overview
Building on a track record of UCL STEaPP research and influence on research policies and standards, this course critically reviews the values that underlie governance and practice in research.
Taking a novel multidisciplinary perspective, the course draws critically on philosophical, legal and empirical data and case studies. Learners will explore the values that should be used in the rules introduced by legislators and professional policy-makers. A range of contexts will be studied, including medicine, public health crises, and emerging technologies. Learners will reflect on measures for assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of research governance systems and will, by the end of the course, be able to build ethical arguments or defence relating to research practice, particularly on controversial or uncertain topics such as cultural differences and standards of care.
Learning outcomes
Learners will develop critical skills and insights on leveraging and evaluating systems of governing research, including:
- Subject-Specific Knowledge: Deep and context-relevant understandings of the ethical, scientific, policy, social and economic factors shaping research priorities and practices.
- Intellectual, Academic and Research Skills: Advanced cross-disciplinary understandings of the integrative roles of ethics in shaping research priorities, practices.
- Practical and Transferable Skills: Enhanced ability to understand and inform decisions and actions at the interface of ethics, scientific methods, and health technologies and public policy.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for professionals who need to gain a contemporary and critical view of issues arising in ethics and law in research, including:
- Researchers,
- Regulators,
- Expert or lay reviewers of research,
- Members of ethics committees,
- Managers from private of public sectors, especially in health.
Course Format
This hybrid course will be delivered through a combination of bi-weekly seminars, tutorials, and hands-on individual and/or group work activities. Specific activities include:
- Learner-led tutorials: Each learner will be expected to lead at least a discussion segment in a tutorial session during the course to develop and demonstrate conceptual and empirical understandings and their progression towards the learning outcomes.
- Health, technology and public policy case studies: Each learner will give a 10-minute presentation during the course on a topical case study from a country or sector of their choice, as a way of illustrating their engagement with and interrogation of contemporary health, technology and public policy issues.
- Contribution of readings and to discussions on online forum: Learners will be encouraged to suggest relevant readings on weekly topics as a demonstration of their own reading outside class.
All activities can be attended either in-person or online. For the January 2024 start date, the classes will be on Tuesdays (16:00-18:00) and Fridays (13:00-14:00). If you are unable to attend all sessions, you are encouraged to discuss specifics with the course organisers (steapp.professionaleducation@ucl.ac.uk).
The course includes formative assessments – one case study presentation (required) and one written assignment (optional) – to provide feedback on learning and support future development. Feedback and grading on assessments will not impact learners’ ability to complete the course.
Course Tutors
Sarah JL Edwards is the UCL Chair of the Research Ethics Committee and Professor of Bioethics, having trained in Psychology, in Philosophy, and in Medical Ethics and Law, concentrating her research career on research ethics in health. She has a track record of interdisciplinary research publications and policy impact. She currently leads several research projects on use of real-world evidence in regulatory decision making, on using social sciences alongside clinical trials to for example improve recruitment rates, and on cultural challenges to harmonisation of regulatory rules. She also co-leads new health route through the STEaPP Masters in Public Administration having taught medical ethics and law to medical students, translational clinical science and regulatory affairs for postgraduates, and research ethics and governance to clinical researchers and managers.
“While drawing on academic work in philosophy and social sciences, the programme is truly interdisciplinary with a focus on scientific and technological advance in practice, providing access to a range of experts at UCL and the opportunity to network with those in other professional research roles. We hope this course will encourage more engagement in policy making and knowledge transfer.”
Maria Cross is a Lecturer in Science, Technology and Public Policy with UCL STEaPP and coordinates the STEaPP Professional Education programme. Maria's background is multidisciplinary, spanning the biomedical, social and computing sciences. Within her research, she has explored the ethical and responsible design and use of routinely-collected and large datasets. Maria currently is focused on the delivery of professional education that draws together her scientific training and prior practical experience in health policy and governance.
Additional Information
The course is a postgraduate taught module offered to UCL students as an elective. Students from the STEaPP Masters of Public Administration, as well as students from wider UCL postgraduate taught programmes, are able to complete the course as part of their degree studies.