PLEASE NOTE

For this course you will do some preparatory reading, watch a web lecture and attend a workshop. The lecture offers a series of reflections on ethics and integrity in academic work, from many different angles. You can pick and choose from the parts that matter the most to you but you are equally welcome to watch the whole thing. After watching the lecture, you will join a follow-up workshop that is convened in the Faculty of Archaeology or your institute in the Faculty of Humanities.

Here is the link to the current edition of the lecture: https://video.leidenuniv.nl/playlist/details/1_rcw27khl

In preparation for the lecture, please review:

(1) Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy of the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. 2009. On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research: Third Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

This is a brief, well-written book. While many of the examples come from the natural sciences, the underlying issues are equally relevant for other fields.

(2) Kees Schuyt. 2019. Scientific Integrity: The Rules of Academic Research, translated by Kristen Gehrman. Leiden: Leiden University Press.

Schuyt offers a reflexive, critical study of scientific integrity and the discourse surrounding it, from various angles: historical, ethical, legal, etc, with ample attention to both theory and practice. Minimally read: table of contents, pp 9–11, 21–29, 31–36, 72–78, 97–116, and 125–136.

(3) The Leiden University online module on scientific integrity.

Please focus on the sections on peer review (5), authorship (6), open access (7), research involving humans (9), research data management (12), and bias (18).

(4) Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, chapters 2 and 3.

(5) Emily E. Anderson and Amy Corneli, 100 Questions (and Answers) about Research Ethics. Los Angeles: Sage, 2018 (available online through the University library).

If your research involves human participants, you might want to take a skim-and-dive approach to this (social-science-oriented) book. You can start from the Contents tab and combine this with the search function for the full book: for instance, search for “interview”.

(6) Optional: Jonathan Marks, Why I am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009: Preface and chapter 7: “Scientific Misconduct” (available online through the University library).

This book’s key point is that science is cultural and hence not value-free.

Additionally, prepare to offer some individual reflection on ethics and integrity in relation to your own field and your own research, as part of the follow-up workshop and/or a discussion with your supervisors. Depending on the workshop set-up, the convener may use the Dilemma Game developed at Erasmus University, and you are encouraged to familiarise yourself with this.

In case you want to know more about other material cited in the lecture, please consult the list of works cited below.

For whom

All PhD candidates in the faculties of Archaeology and Humanities at Leiden University are encouraged to follow this course, preferably during the early stages of their research. For those enrolled at the Graduate School of Humanities on or after 1 January 2019, this course is mandatory.

Topics

•    Scientific integrity
•    Research ethics
•    Fraud versus error: shades of grey?
•    The rules of research
•    Values, relations, ecologies, and context
•    Compliance and contemplation

What you'll learn

You will further develop your understanding of research ethics and scientific integrity and the way these things play out in everyday practice. You will learn how to identify the issues and reflect on ways of addressing them, and you will know where to look for more information if you need it.

Format

Preparatory reading, a web lecture, and a follow-up workshop (see above).

Registration

You can register your participation to the workshop and/or a report of the discussion with your supervisor(s) under the tab 'Annual meetings and activities' under 'Academic Activities' in Converis GSM. If you encounter any difficulties with this registration process, please contact the key-user of your institute .  

Contact

For more information, please check the Graduate School for Humanities webpage on Scientific Integrity. You can also send an email to graduateschool@hum.leidenuniv.nl.