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Online Course
“Good chemistry – Methodological, Ethical, and
Social Dimensions”
Introduction and Instructions
Conceptualisation and realisation by a cooperative task force:
• EuCheMS executive board
o President Pilar Goya
o Former president David Cole-Hamilton
o Secretariat (Nineta Hrastelj, Alex Schiphorst)
• EuCheMS Division of Chemical Education (DivCEd)
o Iwona Maciejowska
o Rachel Mamlok-Naaman
• European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN)
o Walter Zeller
o Bill Byers
o Paola Ambrogi
• EuCheMS Working Party on Ethics in Chemistry (WP EiC)
o Hartmut Frank
o Luigi Campanella
o Jan Mehlich
Table of Content Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 3
Target group ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Concept, content, intended learning outcomes ..................................................................................... 4
Organisation, recommended procedure ................................................................................................. 8
Technical Details for the Pilot Phase ................................................................................................. 10
Appendix: Class Details .......................................................................................................................... 11
Abstract This is the description of a course entitled "Good Chemistry - Methodological, Ethical, and Social
Dimensions", conceptualised and realised by a EuCheMS task force consisting of members of the
Division of Chemistry and Education (DivCEd), the Working Party on Ethics in Chemistry (WP EiC), and
the EuCheMS secretariat, with guidance and support from the former and the current EuCheMS
presidents, Prof. David Cole-Hamilton and Prof. Pilar Goya. The undertaken efforts are the response
to a growing demand for educational material on matters of research ethics and science ethics. It has
been concluded from insights collected in recent years that such a course should not only cover
aspects of good scientific practice (or negatively: scientific misconduct), but also address societal and
environmental impact, dual-use problems, sustainability and science communication. Moreover, the
course should start at the methodological level in order to connect the other topics closely to the
basics of scientific methods and the historical, philosophical and social roots of scientific inquiry. The
course syllabus consists of 16 classes covering various aspects of research methodology, research
ethics and social/environmental impact of chemical activity. Each class is structured around a video
lecture as its core and features pre-assessments and warm-up questions, introductory cases with
historical or fictional chemistry-related scenarios, reading assignments, interactive discussions and
workshops, and quizzes that allow instructors to check the students' progress. All material is
available through e-learning platforms like Moodle so that the whole course can be completed
online. It has been a central concern of the course creators that universities, faculties and institutes
that make use of the offer can be flexible in their choices according to their needs and preferences.
Completing the entire course is worth 2 ECTS, whereas a compilation of 8-10 of the classes may be
rewarded 1 ECTS. In the following, more details on idea, concept, goals and content on the course
are presented, as well as technical instructions for local moderators and the progress sheets for each
class.
Goals and Objectives The EuCheMS Working Party Ethics in Chemistry has discussed the possibilities of and requirements
for a university course "Ethics in Chemistry" since its formation about ten years ago. After collecting
and compiling insights on all the "ethical" facets of chemical activity (as in Mehlich et al., Chem. Eur.
J. 2017), it became clear that this topic covers more than the often mentioned good scientific
practice and scientific integrity. Moreover, reportedly, not all universities (or better: chemical
institutes at universities) offer training in research methodology and science theory, which - in many
ways - serve as the basis for normative evaluations of chemical activity (When is scientific practice
good? How can social and environmental impact be assessed, and what is the role of chemists in this
assessment?). Therefore, a course on ethics in chemistry should also cover this topic. In order to
avoid misunderstandings, especially the common worry that ethics has to do with moral restrictions
or highly specialised and practically irrelevant moral philosophy, it has been decided not to call the
course Ethics in Chemistry, but to capture the above mentioned notion of the overall goal: Educating
chemists to become good researchers with high scientific integrity and an awareness of sustainable
scientific and technological progress. Thus, the course is entitled Good Chemistry - Methodological,
Ethical, and Social Dimensions.
The course aims to equip the attendees with competences and skills in basic research methodology
and its philosophical foundations on the one hand, and in overseeing, understanding, evaluating and
assessing contemporary ethical and social issues arising from scientific and technological activity and
progress on the other hand. The course is designed and planned in particular for chemistry students
and their related fields, requiring no philosophical or ethical background knowledge. The course
content is strongly related to the students' daily research activity: Science conduct, logic and theory
of science, experimentation, writing publications, dealing with uncertainty, social impact of scientific
activity. Applying the fundamentals in philosophy of science and research ethics to the particular
conduct of science and its internal and external domains of responsibility is expected to sharpen and
solidify the students' awareness for the theory of research practice, their knowledge of ethics and
their ability to exploit ethical thinking for the application in the social sphere science and technology
as a field of human activity that impacts the quality of life of people all over the planet. As a major
field in applied ethics, science and technology ethics touches the domains of bioethics, medical
ethics, environmental ethics, profession ethics and business ethics. With the help of countless
examples from chemistry, science in general, research, engineering, R&D, etc. in the history of
societies worldwide, the students will get a sense for the ethos of scientific conduct on the one hand,
and of the ethical and social implications of science and technology (S&T) on the other hand. While
the former is a matter of internal responsibility for individual researchers and their institutions, the
latter topic will address risk issues, responsibility for outcome of S&T progress, and the social
construction of technology. The overall objective of this course is to contribute to a more "complete"
education of young researchers and scientists as important enactors of progress and influential
decision-makers in the future. It shall provide them with the skills to reflect on and deal with the
major contemporary challenges in society and environment with a higher degree of sustainability.
Summary:
• Understanding basic science theory and applying it in daily research activity,
• Increasing knowledge on theory, conduct and communication of chemical science,
• Applying ethics to scientific practice and science assessment,
• Learning concepts of responsibility and sustainability in the context of chemistry,
• Acquiring skills for interdisciplinary normative discourse.
Target group This course is recommended for an audience of 2nd year master students or PhD students, at the
beginning of their research project. This recommendation is based on the perception that students
with lab experience and their own research projects will be better able to understand the practical
significance of research ethics for their own work than will younger students who tend to operate at
a rather theoretical level.
It is important to keep in mind that the course aims at skills that are applied in all kinds of chemical
professions and not just in academic environments at the student level. The course content tries to
cover three important domains of chemical expertise and activity. First of all, of course, we think of
academic chemistry at universities and in other research institutes. In the former environment,
besides basic and applied research, the education of the future generation of chemists also plays an
important role.
Then, there is the big field of The Chemical Industry. Many companies, of course, do conduct
research and development, but with motivations and goals that might differ from those encountered
in academic institutions. More importantly, chemists working in industry also deal with the
production, storage, and transport of chemicals. Moreover, marketing and sales of chemicals may
also be part of the required work activities in this field. In any case, it is highly likely that chemists in
industry will have to deal with the application of chemicals in one way or another.
A third often-overlooked area in which chemical competence is required can be found in agencies
and public service. Examples include environmental protection agencies or other political and
regulatory bodies that deal with the regulation of chemicals and their impact, and also patent offices
as well as science consulting and counselling services.
Concept, content, intended learning outcomes
As mentioned above, three categories of Good Chemistry have been identified:
1. Research Methodology: "What is it that I am doing, and why am I doing it THIS way?" -
Accordingly, a good chemist is someone who understands the theoretical foundations of his/her
profession, who knows how to apply the scientific method properly and adequately, and who is
aware of the special position that scientific inquiry has in the society that affords such an
expensive endeavour.
2. Good Scientific Practice: "What does it mean to do my job well?" - This field covers questions of
research ethics, scientific integrity, and what kind of behaviour may be labelled scientific
misconduct or even fraud.
3. Chemistry and Society: "How does my work impact the life world of society, and what is within
my responsibility to do about it?" - In this understanding, chemistry is good when its impact on
environment and society is sustainable, when it supports a reduction of risks and a maximisation
of benefits, and when chemists with their competence and expertise engage in science and
technology (S&T) discourse and governance.
The first category covers aspects of science theory and scientific method(s), fed by experiences from
the history of science. The second category includes common forms of scientific misconduct (data
fabrication and falsification, plagiarism), but also publishing issues, conflicts of interest, intellectual
property right protection, mentorship, and possibly animal experiments. The third category discusses
matters of dual use of chemical compounds and their application, risk and precaution, sustainability,
responsibility and science governance.
The first field, research methodology, is often acquired by chemistry students during their practical
training, in lab courses, during their Master or PhD thesis, or with their supervisors in group seminars
and personal conversations and discussions. The coverage of this topic in formalised curricular
courses on research methodology, science theory, or science history at the university level varies
strongly across Europe, and even from university to university. Yet, an understanding of logic, or
heuristic and conceptual analysis, of strengths and limits of science (truth? facts? generalisability?
universalisability?), of the characteristics and justification of scientific statements, especially in view
of uncertainty, and of statistical analysis like frequentist and Bayesian approaches, seems extremely
important for doing good research work. Good and practice-oriented books on this topic have been
provided by Pruzan (2016) and Shrader-Frechette (2014), both pointing out clearly the ethical
dimension of appropriate and incorrupt application of scientific methods.
For many proponents of ethics in chemistry, the only relevant topic is good scientific practice as in the
second mentioned category. Indeed, in view of countless cases of misconduct, fraud, betrayal and
violation of the codes of conduct that chemists are required to comply with, a demand for raising the
awareness of research ethics may be identified. Fabrication and falsification of data, cases of
plagiarism or other improper publishing practices, conflicts of interest and unscientific handling of
intellectual property rights issues, academic freedom that is at risk in view of contemporary funding
and collaboration practices, all motivated by non-scientific goals and dispositions like careerism,
financial benefits, greed for fame and power, but also systemic and organisational stress and
pressure, are reported on a daily basis (see, for example, the blog forbetterscience.com, run by
science journalist Leonid Schneider). Insightful overviews with manifold researcher's possible real-life
cases to practice one's scientific integrity are provided by Macrina (2015), Shamoo and Resnik (2015),
and Greer (2017), and in particular for chemists by Kovac (2003).
The connection between chemical activity and society and the environment - the third category in
our list - is often overlooked. Too complex are the various responsibility attributions; too uncertain
are the causal trajectories of scientific and technological progress; and too far seem the actual
impacts from the chemist's lab. Yet, there is an obvious impact of chemistry on society and culture:
On the one hand, it facilitates a significant increase in the quality of life through new products and
possibilities; on the other hand, at the same time, it contributes to environmental pollution,
increased risk exposure (workers in factories, consumers through food chain and global water
cycles), creating challenges for regulation of new compounds and chemical processes. This inherent
potential of dual use of the manifestations of chemical progress is, probably, the most obvious
ethical aspect in terms of societal impact of chemistry (see Tucker 2012). A reflection on the role of
chemists in S&T progress and its societal and environmental impact must be pragmatic and goal-
oriented: In view of the duality of desirable and undesirable effects of chemical activity, what is in
our power to do about it? Chemistry, from basic science to engineering, is not only part of the
problem, but also above all part of the solutions. That is why it is not only a matter for engineers and
chemical industry, but - in specific ways - also an issue for chemical researchers and scientists.
Accusations of guilt and blame do not contribute to responsible debate, since they are neither
justified nor in any way supportive of solutions for contemporary challenges posed by S&T progress.
The three thematic fields - methodology, research ethics, social and environmental impact - serve
well as an orientation for the structure of this course. We will first talk about the nature of scientific
inquiry and its methods and strategies (classes 2-4). Then, we will learn important aspects of good
scientific practice and the daily pitfalls of research conduct and lab practice (classes 5-9). Classes 10-
15 deliver concepts and practices in managing the social implications of chemical activity, with a
focus on the role played by chemists themselves in this process. Class 16 summarises all these topics,
using the example of a recent socio-techno-scientific system, nanoscience and -technology. The
following table gives an overview and a summary for each class.
No. Title Content and comments
1 Introduction • Brainstorming: What is a "good chemist"? What does it
mean, "to do chemistry well"? Three fields:
Methodological aspects
Profession ethics (good scientific practice)
Impact of chemistry on society
• Definition of normativity/ethics for this course: What
do I mean by it and what not?
• Purpose, goal and structure of the lecture.
2 Scientific Inquiry • History and paradigms of science
Realism, Anti-realism, constructivism
Truth, viability
Causal determinism, conditionality
Reductionism, Holism (system thinking)
Neutrality thesis
Science as social endeavour
3 The scientific method • What is it that chemical researchers/scientists are
doing? Definition of "scientific method(s)"
• Lee's scientific knowledge acquisition web
introduced with a "chemical" example
4 Good Scientific Practice • Scientific reasoning: Logic, explanation and prediction,
proper hypotheses, correlation vs. causation, etc.
• Measurement and Experimentation
• Processes, Instruments, Operationalisation
• Measurement errors
• Validity and reliability in experimentation, design of
experiments
• Record keeping
5 Scientific misconduct • Research ethics as virtue ethics:
"Scientist" as a social role Expectations
What is the "ideal scientist"?
Virtues of "good science". Scientific integrity.
• FFP definition: Fabrication of data, Falsification of
results, Plagiarising of research.
• Reasons for fraud: Institutional pressure, conflicts of
interest, pride, etc.
6 Publishing Issues • Doing science vs. writing science
• Publication of research
• Ethics of publishing
• Writing science: trivial? Ethics of science
communication.
• Publishing practices:
1. Peer reviewing,
2. Impact factors,
3. Citation practices.
7 Mentorship, Collaborations
and sources of conflict
• Chemistry as teamwork
o Group hierarchies and harmony
o Mentorship, PI-student relationship
• Collaborative Research, Interdisciplinary research
8 Academic freedom,
Intellectual property
• Chemistry and politics (funding, impact on academic
freedom, basic vs. applied research)
• Academia and industry
• Conflicts of Interest
• Intellectual Property
9 Animal experiments • Animal rights?
Utilitarian vs. deontological positions
Means-ends relationships
• "3R" regulations
• Legal issues
10 Sustainability • What is sustainability?
Sustainability as the "call for ethics" in science and
technology assessment.
History, definitions, normative foundations.
11 Science and values • How to fill the "hollow" concept sustainability with
normative content?
• Scientific and technological progress
o Determinism or constructivism? Historical cases,
current views.
o Impact on society, impact on S&T governance and
institutions.
o Neutrality claim?
12 Responsibility • 4 Dimensions of responsibility:
o Who? (Individual, shared, collective responsibilities)
o attributed by who? (The chemist as a social role)
o for what? (Implications of chemical activity)
o concerning what factor? (Chemical knowledge and
expertise)
13 Risk, uncertainty, and
precaution
• Risk Governance
o Definition of risk, risk assessment, risk management.
o Ethical dimensions of risk: normative frameworks for
risk governance.
o Precautionary Principles
14 Science governance and
technology assessment
• Professional arenas of S&T-related ethical discourse
o S&T governance, Science policy
o ELSI commissions, interdisciplinary expert
roundtables
• The role of chemists in discourse
Difficulties and obstacles
15 Science communication • Communication with non-experts
o Science journalists
o Public
• Techniques and tricks for "successful" communication
16 Example case: Nanosciences • NT as the perfect example for a socio-techno-scientific
system:
experiences from established normative discourse,
blurry boarders between "basic" and "applied"
research,
wide variety of risk types,
relevant for many chemists,
illustrative in all three fields (methodology,
profession ethics, societal implications).
The class content is presented by Jan Mehlich in a video lecture. Each class is 45-60 minutes long. A
lecture script with additional "further reading" suggestions is provided on the e-learning platform. In
addition - and this is the most important part - the e-learning fashion enables various technical
possibilities such as pre-assessments of students' existing knowledge, interactive discussion of
exemplary cases, links to background material (web articles, videos), workshops that encourage
students to relate the class content to their own research activities, and quizzes to check the
students' learning progress. Find detailed descriptions of each class including a suggested course of
progress in the appendix. The list of tasks for each class also contains an estimation of the time that
should be invested for it. It is important to keep these numbers in mind as an orientation, especially
for the provided reading material. Students can spend hours on one article if they check all the
vocabulary and read everything carefully. Instead, they should be advised to stick to the given time
and practice efficient reading techniques.
Organisation, recommended procedure Universities, faculties, departments or institutes that make use of the offer have a high degree of
freedom and flexibility in their choices. First of all, it should be decided which of the class topics are
already covered in the local curricula so that unnecessary repetitions can be avoided. Even though
the lecturer makes connections between different classes, they stand more or less independently.
Since each class requires a workload of approx. 2-3 hours, we recommend that employing the entire
course is worth 2 ECTS, whereas a compilation of 8-10 classes equals a course with 1 ECTS.
In case a faculty/department decides to select some of the classes rather than offering the complete
course, we would like to recommend the following classes as core classes that should not be skipped:
• Classes 1 and 16 as introduction and summary both have rather low workload. They are
important as the "frame" of the class;
• Class 4, Scientific Practice, including advice on record keeping;
• Class 5, Scientific misconduct, introducing the virtues of science, addressing the most
common forms of fraud in research;
• Class 6, Publishing Issues, important for every chemical researcher;
• Class 8, Conflicts of interest, intellectual property rights, academic freedom in the
connections between academia, industry and politics;
• Class 10, Sustainability, important framework for assessments of dual use;
• Class 12, Responsibility, attribution of responsibilities to chemists;
• Class 13, Risk and precaution, seeing the larger picture of risk assessments and risk discourse;
• Class 14, Science governance and technology assessment, established political procedures to
reduce risks and promote benefits of S&T (a topic in which chemistry plays an important
role).
A faculty/department should appoint a local instructor who can manage the e-learning module
according to the local needs (compiling the obligatory class list, check students' quizzes and
assessments) and who interacts with the IT support in the EuCheMS secretariat. The local instructor
should prepare a detailed programme of the course (which topic will be considered in which week,
etc.) for the students. The items for each class on the e-learning platform are numbered in
accordance with the numbers assigned to the items on the class sheets included in the appendix of
this document.
Screenshot of class 10 of the course on the Moodle platform of EuCheMS
It is, of course, possible for a local instructor to choose to lecture face-to-face with the class (on-site
instead of online). In this case, the provided material may serve as helpful input for the lecturer.
Blended forms of teaching - a mix of online course and real classroom - are also possible, but are
likely to impose a much higher workload on the local instructor.
Technical Details for the Pilot Phase
Unfortunately, for various reasons, it is not possible to disseminate the course and its content to
each university that participates in the pilot phase as a separate e-learning module. All participants
(moderators and students) share the same platform on the Moodle account of EuChemS. This has
the following consequences:
• The "teachers" of this course during the pilot phase are Jan Mehlich and Iwona Maciejowska.
Only they have the rights to change class content and settings.
• Each participating university assigns a responsible person (in this document often referred to as
"instructor"). In the Moodle system, these instructors will be assigned the role of "moderators".
As those they may organise students in groups and see students' progress, participation
statistics (number of forum posts, for example), and quiz results. This is necessary for the
assessment.
• All the items in the 16 classes are marked as "completed" when certain conditions are met, for
example after a student watched it (clicked on it), answered a question, or made a forum post.
Yet, none of the items is "obligatory" in the sense that the student can't continue with other
items when one is not finished. It is on the instructors to tell their students what they are
expected to do.
• All students see each other's contributions in the discussion forums. It is advised that students
of one university create one forum thread to communicate within their circle.
An important task for instructors is the supervision of the students' assessments. In general, an
assessment of learning outcomes in a field of soft skills is more difficult than checking factual
knowledge levels. The main goals of this course are to raise awareness of the ethical dimensions of
chemistry, to reflect on and think about issues (rather than to merely memorise facts), and to
improve discourse skills. This makes it difficult to offer computer-markable assessments. Even though
all classes feature short computer-markable quizzes (a pool of 20 questions out of which students
will be asked to answer randomly chosen 5), these can only be a part of a final assessment.
Moderators (but not students) will find a "Class 17" at the bottom of the course page. Here, all quiz
questions are available in editable format for usage in possible pen-and-paper exams. Additionally, in
that section, a list of suggestions for "open" exam questions can be downloaded.
Most classes include peer assessment activities like workshops and discussion forums that should
also contribute to the final mark. Students' active participation can be monitored and assessed with a
statistics tool of Moodle. In case an instructor would like to assess reflection and argumentation
skills, it may be appropriate to ask students to write short reports or statements on questions related
to the presented historical and fictional cases. All in all, the assessment fully depends on the local
conditions, for example the availability and capacity of the local instructor, the choice of classes, the
chosen way of delivery (on-site, online, b-learning), etc. One important function of this pilot phase is
to find out how the provided material can facilitate and support student assessments, and what kind
of difficulties will be faced.
Class No.
1 Class Title
Introduction
Summary of content
• Brainstorming: What is a good chemist? What does it mean to do chemistry well? Three fields:
Methodological aspects
Profession ethics (good scientific practice)
Impact of chemistry on society
• Definition of normativity/ethics for this course: What do I mean by it, and what not?
• Purpose, goal and structure of the lecture.
Goals of the class
1. Understand the logic behind the structure of the course, and the significance of its themes
and topics.
2. Definition of ethics and normativity.
3. Getting a rough idea of the touching points between chemistry, society, and ethics.
4. Information on course objectives, additional course material, further reading, etc.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Reflection: What is a good chemist? (draw and discuss in forum) 15 min.
2 Pre-assessment: What have you heard about already? 3 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Dimensions of Good Chemistry 22 min.
4 Reflection: What is ethics? 10 min.
5 Video lecture, part 2: Definition of ethics, normativity, discourse 12 min.
6 Reading assignment: Mehlich et al., CEJ 2017 20 min.
7 Video lecture, part 3: Course organisation, literature advises 10 min.
8 Reflection: Personal interests and expectations on this course. 5 min.
9 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
2 Class Title
Scientific Inquiry
Summary of content
• History and paradigms of science
Realism, Anti-realism, constructivism
Truth, viability
Reductionism, Holism (system thinking)
Neutrality thesis
Science as social endeavour
Goals of the class
This class - the only within this lecture - attempts to cover the aspects of science theory, philosophy
and history of science, and epistemological considerations. This can't be done in a 45 minutes class
in a complete and profound manner. The focus is put on some clarifications that are of practical
significance for a chemical researcher's daily work. In this class, we want to learn:
• what it means to gain knowledge about the world, and how changes in our understanding of
knowledge also change the way we characterise scientific inquiry,
• what presuppositions science is built upon, including the role of meaning construction,
experience, education, etc.,
• the importance of communication and discourse for the validity of scientific claims,
• how science (with technology) as a social sphere impacts other realms of human activity,
• that science is a powerful instrument for the generation of reliable knowledge that is at threat
from contemporary developments towards post-factualism and political or religious ideology,
• what the limits of science are (truth? viability?), and how a change of perspective (from
reductionism to holism, from dualism towards integration) can improve scientific inquiry.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Introduction case: Albertus Magnus vs. Linus Pauling 10 min.
2 Video lecture, part 1: Epistemology in a nutshell 25 min.
3 Reading assignment: Wilhelm Ostwald (Ziche 2012) 30 min.
4 Video lecture, part 2: A Tree of Knowledge 40 min.
5 Discussion case: The Lysenko case (Reading material: Sheehan 2005) 25 min.
6 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
3 Class Title
The Scientific Method
Summary of content
In class 2 we have learned how scientific inquiry can be characterised, distinguished from other
ways of knowledge construction, and that scientifically acquired knowledge has a high chance of
being viable, reliable, and of withstanding critical scrutiny. It is concerned with naturalistic aspects
of our world and enables evidence-based factual statements and judgments. But how can we make
sure that a statement is scientific in a way that it fulfils certain requirements of scientific knowledge
generation? What is the method with which scientists come to insights that deserve the label
scientific? This class and the next seek to describe all the features that make scientific research such
a powerful way of gaining viable insights.
• What is it that chemical researchers/scientists are doing?
Definition of "scientific method(s)"
• Lee's scientific knowledge acquisition web
introduced with a fictional example
proper hypotheses, validity and reliability in data analysis
Goals of the class
After this class, you should be:
• aware of the steps involved in scientific research, and the importance of each step,
• able to identify where you are with your own research in the scientific knowledge acquisition
web, and what this stage requires from you,
• equipped with insights on the difference between scientific researchers and other personnel
involved in research (like lab technicians, editors and publishers, or engineers).
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Introductory case: Is Umbrellaology a science? 15 min.
2 Pre-assessment: What are elements of a scientific method? 10 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Elements of a scientific method 7 min.
4 Reflection: How do you proceed with your own research project? 10 min.
5 Video lecture, part 2: Scientific Knowledge Acquisition Web 35 min.
6 Continue reflection: Forum presentation/discussion 15 min.
7 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
4 Class Title
Good Scientific Practice
Summary of content
Besides the technical and experimental skills in daily lab work and a profound knowledge of one's
professional field, chemical scientists need competence in analysing and interpreting their acquired
experimental data in view of the claims they made in their research hypotheses. Both - making
proper hypotheses and interpreting data in a scientific manner - are topics in this class. It also
addresses record keeping as a proper way of data handling and facilitating fruitful and defendable
reporting and interpretation.
• Scientific reasoning: Logic, explanation and prediction,
• heuristic and conceptual analysis,
• Bayesian vs. Frequentist statistical analysis,
• Record keeping.
Goals of the class
This class is intended to equip you with:
• basic logic skills for scientific thinking and reasoning,
• strategies for heuristic and conceptual analyses of hypotheses and research questions,
• an awareness for the importance of statistical analysis (but not the mathematical tools
themselves, since that would exceed the scope of this class by far!),
• a short guide for record keeping.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up question: George Berkeley's Esse est percipi in chemistry? 5 min.
2 Introductory case: The Calabrese case (Shrader-Frechette 2014) 20 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Logic and scientific reasoning 36 min.
4 Further information: Bayesian vs. Frequentist Statistics (youtube video) 25 min.
5 Watch the video, 36:29-45:21 10 min.
6 Discussion: The Baltimore case (Reading: Lang 2015) 20 min.
7 Watch the video, 45:22-end 10 min.
8 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
5 Class Title
Scientific Misconduct
Summary of content
In the previous class, we considered scientific practice in a positive sense: What is it that scientists
are doing when they do it properly? This bridges the mere methodological look upon chemical
research with one from a profession ethics perspective: What can go wrong in research conduct?
When may a certain practice be claimed to violate the expected guidelines of good scientific
practice?
• Research ethics as virtue ethics:
"Scientist" as a social role Expectations
What is the "ideal scientist"?
Virtues of "good science". Scientific integrity.
• FFP definition: Fabrication of data, Falsification of results, Plagiarising of research.
• Reasons for fraud: Institutional pressure, conflicts of interest, pride, etc.
Goals of the class
This class will:
• introduce the virtues of science, and explain why compliance with them is important for
researchers;
• convince you with empirical data and example cases that fraud in science (FFP, but also other
forms) is, indeed, a big issue;
• reflect on causes for researchers' susceptibility to committing fraud,
• thus, enable you to reflect on your behaviour and choices, understand the mechanisms that
lead to scientific misconduct, and prevent you from slipping into this vicious cycle.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up question: Everyone cheats? 10 min.
2 Introductory case: Bengü Sezen (Schulz, C&EN 2011) 10 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Virtues of science 19 min.
4 Reading material: Fraud in science (Martinson et al. 2005) 10 min.
5 Video lecture, part 2: Data falsification, fabrication, plagiarism 7 min.
6 Further information: Robert Millikan (youtube video) 25 min.
7 Video lecture, part 3: Millikan, grey zones, reasons for fraud 19 min.
8 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
6 Class Title
Publishing Issues
Summary of content
Ethical issues in the field of publishing arise in terms of authorship, citation, peer reviewing, impact
factors, duplicative publication, multiple submissions of one essay to different publishers, or
publishing of controversial research. We will see how the virtues we compiled in the previous class
can help to solve conflicts that may arise in this area of science endeavour, and may serve to provide
a decision orientation when finding yourself in a contentious situation.
• Doing science vs. writing science
• Publication of research
• Ethics of publishing
• Writing science: trivial? Ethics of science communication.
• Publishing practices:
1. Peer reviewing,
2. Impact factors,
3. Citation practices.
Goals of the class
• Be aware of publishing-related ethical issues.
• Learn possible solutions for arising conflicts like authorship discussions or peer review
problems.
• Apply the virtue approach to publishing-related professional conduct.
• Become a responsible member of the scientific community by engaging in improving the
fairness and ethical integrity of practices like peer reviewing and impact factors.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Pre-assessment: Publish or perish? 5 min.
2 Introductory case: Predatory publishing (reading material: web articles) 15 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Publishing research, overview 23 min.
4 Reading assignment: Citation and Carbon allotropes (Hoffmann et al. 2016) 30 min.
5 Video lecture, part 2: Citation practices 12 min.
6 Discussion case: Peer review 20 min.
7 Video lecture, part 3: Peer review, impact factors, controversial research 23 min.
8 Workshop: Submission for publication 15 min.
9 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
7 Class Title
Mentorship, Collaborations, Interdisciplinarity
Summary of content
Chemistry is - on several levels - teamwork, and as such embedded into a wide network of actors
and stakeholders. This and the next class will focus on issues that arise in the context of
collaborations and co-operations across these levels. We will see in this class what kind of conflicts
can arise when chemists work with fellow chemists (including PI-student interaction), with other
(natural) scientists, or with completely different scientists (social sciences, humanities).
• Chemistry as teamwork
o Group hierarchies and harmony
o Mentorship, PI-student relationship
• Collaborative Research, Interdisciplinary research
Goals of the class
After this class you will be:
• a better mentor/superior, or a student/inferior with the ability to solve conflicts with
convincing discourse skills and good arguments.
• a better collaborator with high scientific integrity, credibility and positive influence.
• an open-minded interdisciplinary bridge builder that can see beyond the narrow margin of
your own professional expertise and competence.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up reflection: To cooperate, or not to cooperate? 10 min.
2 Introductory case: Compete or collaborate? 15 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Chemistry as network activity 22 min.
4 Discussion case: Proper mentorship 15 min.
5 Video lecture, part 2: Mentorship 15 min.
6 Reading assignment: Interdisciplinarity in nanoscale research (Schummer 2004) 20 min.
7 Video lecture, part 3: Multi-, trans-, inter-disciplinarity 10 min.
8 Creative task: Types of collaborations 15 min.
9 Quiz 10 min.
Class No.
8 Class Title
Academic Freedom, Intellectual Property
Summary of content
In the previous class we talked about some aspects of chemistry as a network activity. We learned
about group-internal conflict potential (for example, in mentoring) and different forms of
collaborations with other scientists or academic disciplines (for example, interdisciplinary co-
operations). In this class, we turn to two instances in the network that are outside the academic
community: Politics (and its role for chemistry), and industry. Typical ethical issues arising in these
contexts are conflicts of interests, academic freedom (in the light of contemporary science funding
practices), and intellectual property right protection.
• Chemistry and politics (funding, impact on academic freedom, basic vs. applied research),
• Academia and industry,
• Conflicts of Interest,
• Intellectual Property.
Goals of the class
After watching/listening to/reading this class, you should be able to:
• identify potential conflicts of interests that underlie your motivations for and decision-making
in your research activities and collaborations;
• help solving conflicts in your academia-industry collaborations with proper goal-oriented
argumentation based on scientific integrity;
• maintain a reasonable balance between interest- and purpose-driven science (topics that are
promising for acquiring funding) and academic curiosity-driven basic science;
• identify your main interest (for example doing something useful for society, understanding the
material world, advancing knowledge, performing experiments) and choose your future job
wisely.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up reflection: Whatever makes you happy? 5 min.
2 Case: Misuse of public funding? 15 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Chemistry and politics, public funding 17 min.
4 Discussion: Academic freedom at threat? 15 min.
5 Case: Conflict of interest 15 min.
6 Video lecture, part 2: Academia and industry collaboration 17 min.
7 Assessment: COIs at your university? 5 min.
8 Case: Intellectual property violation 15 min.
9 Video lecture, part 3: Intellectual property 10 min.
10 Activity: Create a wiki on copyrights 15 min.
11 Quiz 10 min.
Class No.
9 Class Title
Animal Experiments
Summary of content
A special critical issue in chemical science and research is experiments that involve animals. This
topic can't be sufficiently covered with the virtue approach described in class 5. Arguments in favour
and against animal and human experimentation as well as on procedural questions are more
sophisticated and need deeper insights into ethical reasoning. Following an introduction to the
debate on animal testing and ethical dimensions of human subjects in research, this class will,
therefore, also provide an overview of utilitarian and deontological ethical thinking as well as
bioethical considerations.
• Animal rights?
Utilitarian vs. deontological positions
Means-ends relations
• "3R" regulations, legal issues
Goals of the class
Chemists might be affected by the ethical debate on animal experiments in two ways: They might
find themselves attacked or criticised by opponents of animal testing (sometimes unjustified or
unreasonably), or they might be asked to fulfil legal and ethical guidelines for animal
experimentation. Admittedly, the bioethical discourse on animal experiments exceeds the ethical
competence of chemists by far! Therefore, it is attempted in this class to discuss the topic with a
clear practical purpose:
• Chemists need to have a rough overview of the positions and arguments in the debate, so that
they are able to respond to objections (and verbal attacks) with proper and plausible
arguments, so that their credibility is maintained and their argumentation is reasonable and
convincing.
• Chemists that conduct animal experiments are required by regulations and guidelines to fill out
forms in which they explain and reason their choice of study, experimental setup, animal
model, research goal, etc. It is useful to understand the ethical background of these regulations
and to gain competence in responding to such inquiries professionally and satisfyingly.
These two competences will be covered in this class.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Pre-assessment I: Experience with animal experiments and its debate? 5 min.
2 Pre-assessment II: Opinion on animal experimentation? 5 min.
3 Opening discussion: PETA on animal treatment 15 min.
4 Reading assignment: Animal testing (Olsson, Sandoe 2012) 20 min.
5 Video lecture, part 1: Arguments 42 min.
6 Activity: Moderate a talk show discussion 20 min.
7 Discussion case: Considering alternatives 20 min.
8 Video lecture, part 2: Regulations and requirements 10 min.
9 Further reading: The ECHA website on animal testing 10 min.
10 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
10 Class Title
Sustainability
Summary of content
With this class, we start another section of the course: The impact of chemistry on society and the
environment. Here, the normative framework in the form of an ethos of science that has been used
in previous classes is not sufficient. We will exploit a concept that served as a normative orientation
for science- and technology-related (S&T) decision-making and assessment in recent decades:
sustainability.
• What is sustainability?
→ Sustainability as the "call for ethics" in science and technology assessment.
→ History, definitions, normative foundations.
• Sustainable Chemistry examples
→ Chemical leasing,
→ REACH and sustainability.
Goals of the class
This class sets the scene for the following classes. It is necessary to understand that evaluations of
risks, responsibilities, desirable or undesired developments of science and technology take place in
professional realms (governance, commissions, academic and economic decision-making) in
discourses among stakeholders on the basis of plausible principles of justice and fairness. In
principle, the question is "How do we want to live, and how can we make sure that future
generations also have the freedom to ask this questions and decide upon it?". This is the idea of
sustainability. Therefore,
• actors in S&T development - here: chemical professionals - need to understand what
sustainability implies and what it means in practical terms for their job,
• it is useful to understand the paradigms and concepts of contemporary S&T governance and
policy (which is currently sustainability) in order to play one's role as chemical practitioner and
decision-maker successfully,
• this class will equip the future generation of chemists with the skill to analyse the
consequences of their decisions in terms of sustainability, so that related processes (in R&D, in
industry, in economy) become, indeed, sustainable.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up reflection: My own research project and sustainability 10 min.
2 Reading assignment: Sustainable and Green Chemistry (Albini, Protti 2016) 15 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Definition of sustainability 33 min.
4 Further information: Chemical leasing (youtube video) 10 min.
5 Video lecture, part 2: Chemical leasing 4 min.
6 Reading material: REACH and sustainability (read only chapter 2 of the provided
report, the rest is optional)
20 min.
7 Video lecture, part 3: Sustainability and REACH 10 min.
8 Discussion/reflection: Chemistry and Sustainability 15 min.
9 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
11 Class Title
Science and Values
Summary of content
In the previous class, we have set the normative framework for the evaluation of ethical and social
implications of chemical activity. It is now time to fill this framework with life. First, it is necessary to
show why science and research are not by definition neutral or value-free, but are rather based on
the same normative presuppositions and relations as technological development. Therefore, we will
outline the ties between science and technology, and how progress and development are
embedded in the social and culture lifeworld of the people that it effects. Moreover, the class will
introduce the contemporarily predominant social constructivist view of S&T progress and provide a
short historical comparison with earlier understandings. This will help us understand why reflecting
on normative dimensions of scientific activity is not trivial or a waste of time, but an important
element of research on how to make S&T progress sustainable and beneficial.
• How to fill the "hollow" concept sustainability with normative content?
• Scientific and technological progress
o Determinism or constructivism? Historical cases, current views.
o Impact on society, environment, dual use.
o Neutrality claim?
Goals of the class
This class will convince you that:
• scientific activity is not neutral or value free but embedded in social practices and normative
frameworks,
• science is a main driver and facilitator of technological development, and as such subject of the
same ethical considerations,
• an ethical evaluation can't start at the application level where it has a visible impact on society
and environment, but must start at the early development level (scientific research) in order to
identify and push trajectories of development that are desirable and beneficial.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Pre-assessment: Neutrality of science? 5 min.
2 Introductory case: The Case of Agent Orange (Galston, 1972) 20 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Neutrality of science? 31 min.
4 Reading material: Social and ethical dimensions of sciences (Develaki 2009) 20 min.
5 Video lecture, part 2: Social construction of science 20 min.
6 Discussion: Should scientists serve the common good? (Reading material:
Ioannidis Interview, 2015)
20 min.
7 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
12 Class Title
Responsibility
Summary of content
In the previous class, we have refuted the neutrality thesis and learned how scientific activity -
through its entanglement with technological development - affects and impacts normative and
other value-related discourses concerning social and environmental dimensions of S&T progress. It
is now time to introduce the concept of responsibility in order to clarify the position of chemists in
this discourse. Many responsibility attributions (especially from the public), apparently, are not
justified and mere accusations, others are justified but chemists might not be aware of them.
• 4 Dimensions of responsibility:
o Who? (Individual, shared, collective responsibilities)
o attributed by who? (The chemist as a social role)
o for what? (Implications of chemical activity)
o concerning what factor? (Chemical knowledge and expertise)
Goals of the class
After attending this class, you should be able to:
• oversee, and apply, the four dimensions of responsibility attribution,
• respond to unjustified responsibility attributions and accusations convincingly and with proper
arguments,
• see more clearly exactly where the responsibilities of chemists as professional actors in
academia, industry or governance lie and how they manifest themselves in particular calls for
action and participation in public discourse on the social and environmental impact of
chemistry.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up reflection: Responsible for… responsible to… 10 min.
2 Introductory case: Agent Orange (revisited) 20 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Four dimensions of responsibility 23 min.
4 Reading assignment: Responsibilities of Nanoscientists (McGinn 2010) 25 min.
5 Video lecture, part 2: Chemists' responsibilities 25 min.
6 Discussion cases: Chemical weapons, POPs 20 min.
7 Activity: Reflect on your own responsibility as a chemist, discuss with peers. 15 min.
8 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
13 Class Title
Risk, Uncertainty, Precaution
Summary of content
Almost all debates in the discourse on social and ethical implications of S&T are - in one way or
another - about risk and uncertainty. Sustainability is at risk, values are at risk of being impacted or
violated, responsibilities are attributed concerning the competence of dealing with risks and keeping
them at a low level. Therefore, this topic deserves its own section in which we will shed light onto its
definitions, its handling and its institutional implementation in the form of the precautionary
principle.
• Risk Governance
o Definition of risk, risk assessment, risk management.
o Ethical dimensions of risk: normative frameworks for risk governance.
o Precautionary Principles
Goals of the class
In this class, it is intended to:
• sharpen your awareness for various levels of risk types and the demands on their respective
discourses,
• describe the role of chemical scientists and researchers in such discourses,
• motivate you to participate actively in multi-stakeholder discourse in ways that your
professional position provides, so that the goal of reducing risks and increasing benefits can be
reached.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up reflection: What does risk mean? 5 min.
2 Introductory reading: Chemical risk assessment (web article) 15 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Risk definition, risk assessment 22 min.
4 Assignment: My own risk assessment 1 ("classical") 15 min.
5 Discussion case: The Nano-Sunscreen case (Jacobs et al. 2010) 25 min.
6 Video lecture, part 2: Risk discourse types 17 min.
7 Reading assignment: Precautionary Principles in Chemistry (web article) 15 min.
8 Video lecture, part 3: Precautionary principles 10 min.
9 Discussion: My own risk assessment 2 ("The larger picture") 15 min.
10 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
14 Class Title
Science Governance and Technology Assessment
Summary of content
After introducing concepts like sustainability, responsibility, risk, and the connection between
scientific activity and ethical values, we still have a missing link: Why should this matter to chemists,
and what is within their power to control about the impact of chemical R&D on society and the
environment? In this class, I will introduce channels and established procedures for scientists like
chemists to contribute their competence and expertise in the context of S&T governance and
policymaking, in public stakeholder discourse, or in any form of S&T assessment.
• Professional arenas of S&T-related ethical discourse
o S&T governance, Science policy
o ELSI commissions, interdisciplinary expert roundtables
• The role of chemists in discourse
o Difficulties and obstacles
Goals of the class
This class will help you to
• set the insights from the previous classes (sustainability, responsibility, risk discourses) into
perspective and understand their meaningfulness and relevance for chemical professions,
• see the possibilities for chemists to engage in S&T-related discourses on desirable and
undesirable implications and effects of progress and development,
• avoid common fallacies and misunderstandings concerning the role of scientists in such
discourses, and apply your competences in the most credible and fruitful way.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up reflection: The role of science for regulation and decision-making. 10 min.
2 Introductory reading: Nanoscientists in ELSI (Shumpert et al. 2014) 20 min.
3 Video lecture, part 1: Scientific policy-advise 35 min.
4 Activity: Advise your parliament 15 min.
5 Further reading: RRI in a nutshell (web article) 10 min.
6 Video lecture, part 2: Chemists' contribution 15 min.
7 Discussion case: Chemical expertise in tackling plastic pollution of oceans 15 min.
8 Reflection: ELSI assessment of your own research 15 min.
9 Quiz 10 min.
Class No.
15 Class Title
Science Communication
Summary of content
While former classes pointed out the importance of communication and discourse as an element of
the scientific method itself (classes 2 and 3), communication with peers and members of your
scientific community (publications, conference talks) (class 6), with collaboration partners and
practitioners from outside your own field (class 7), and with regulators, decision-makers and other
stakeholders (class 14), this class wants to elaborate further on communication with non-scientists,
the general public, often through channels of mass media.
• Communication with non-experts
o Science journalists
o Public
o Techniques and tricks for "successful" communication
Goals of the class
In this class, you will learn:
• that effective communication with scientific laymen requires training and practice in order to
avoid pitfalls and common mistakes. While this class can't offer the required level of training, it
will give advice and hints on where and how you can obtain it.
• how to respond to public concerns and questions properly, to distinguish scientific knowledge-
directed questions from those concerning worldviews and values, and to increase your
credibility as an important public figure with competence and influence.
• that the ethical call for engaging with public communication of chemistry arises from the fact
that chemistry is an institution based on societal acceptance and justification, that scientists
have an authority for evidence-based factual knowledge that would be filled by others when
not actively occupied by scientists, and that such public communication makes your scientific
research better.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up reflection: Layman - who cares? 10 min.
2 Introductory cases: Baking soda as cancer treatment, water memory, chemtrails 15 min.
3 Reading assignment: Why public communication? 20 min.
4 Video lecture, part 1: Public communication of chemistry 24 min.
5 Example case: Explain organic Chemistry (TED talk) 20 min.
6 Video lecture, part 2: Practicing public engagement 12 min.
7 Further information: EU project "Irresistible" 10 min.
8 Discussion case: Advantages from misrepresentation? 20 min.
9 Video lecture, part 3: Scientists in public discourse 16 min.
10 Activity: Write for non-chemists 20 min.
11 Quiz 5 min.
Class No.
16 Class Title
Summary, Example case: Nanosciences
Summary of content
In this last class, we will summarise all the aspects that we talked about throughout the course. I
chose nanoscience as an exemplary topic for that because it is a perfect example of a socio-techno-
scientific system in which the borders between social sub-spheres, especially science and
technology, get blurred, creating a need for new forms of responsibility and risk assessments. In the
last two decades, the connections between various stakeholders and their roles have been studied
extensively in STS, TA and science ethics, so that we can benefit from these well-grounded insights.
NT as the perfect example for a socio-techno-scientific system:
experiences from established normative discourse,
blurry borders between "basic" and "applied" research,
wide variety of risk types,
relevant for many chemists,
illustrative in all three fields (methodology, profession ethics, societal implications).
Goals of the class
Since this is a summary, I want you to:
• see all the topics introduced throughout the course in perspective,
• understand why all three fields (methodology, research ethics, social implications) have their
justification in a class on Good Chemistry.
• be able to transfer the acquired knowledge of this course onto your own particular research
field, and later your professional niche,
• apply all the insights from this course in order to contribute with your expertise to a sustainable
and beneficial progress of science and technology, thus fulfilling your social responsibility as a
chemist.
Course of progress
Step Task est. time
1 Warm-up reflection: Why nanoscience? 10 min.
2 Video lecture, part 1: Short overview of nanotechnology 30 min.
3 Reading assignment: Overview of "Nanoethics" (Grunwald 2012) 15 min.
4 Video lecture, part 2: The Nanopil project 15 min.
5 Further reading: The Nanopil project (Lucivero) 20 min.
6 Video lecture, part 3: Course summary 13 min.
7 Final reflection and discussion 20 min.
8 Quiz 5 min.
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