Admission requirements
The student has to have followed the Reflection Course Scientific conduct.
Number of participants: maximum of 15.
Description
Period: October 12 – 16, 2015
In the course Scientific conduct you have become aware of subjectivity and temptations in scientific research, which is a first step in prevention. You have learned about written and unwritten rules of good scientific conduct and discussed scientific (mis)conduct in your own research environment. In this course we will take another look at this and in particular at scientific misconduct. We will ask ourselves: Why do people deceive or mislead colleagues and fellow scientists? Can we find a basis for this conduct in philosophy? When do facts become fiction? Where does reality end and fiction begins? Can we find an explanation for this behaviour? Is this behaviour typical human? Is it driven by biological, economical or social factors? You’ll explore some of the intriguing stories of (scientific) fraud and look for the human factor.
Course objectives
The student:
will study the human factor in examples of (scientific) misconduct
will be able to define biological, economical or psychological factors that play a role in (scientific) fraud
will try to define his/her personal line between fact and fiction
Mode of instruction
Lectures and work groups.
Assessment method
Assessment of a presentation and of an essay that the student has to write. Assessment is pass/no pass.
Reading list
Will be distributed and/or assigned by the teachers during the course.