International Collaborative Workshop on Research Ethics

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will develop a new and unique resource of its kind, cross-cultural case studies for research ethics education in U.S. and Chinese universities. This project will support travel for ten U.S. participants to engage Chinese counterparts in a workshop at the Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, as part of a collaborative project with the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). As research becomes increasingly global, it raises the very real possibilities that the melding of multiple cultures, regulatory systems, and institutions will create tensions among the values, norms and legal frameworks represented by international collaborators. A better understanding of those tensions and the ethical issues they engender is critical. The proposed workshop uses the case study method of analysis to develop a new and unique resource of its kind, cross-cultural case studies for research ethics education in U.S. and Chinese universities, and it does so in the context of cross-cultural collaboration between American and Chinese scientists and other scholars.The cases will impact the education of scientists in both the U.S. and China. American educators, facing the growing number of Chinese students enrolled in science and engineering courses as well as the increasing demands of globalization, have a pressing need for research ethics teaching materials that can bridge the gap between what international students know or believe, and what they will need to understand regarding the responsible conduct of research. Hence, the case studies have the potential to reach large numbers students and scientists in both countries. The cases will be posted on the Web for others to use as needed (URL: http://srhrl.aaas.org/projects/research_ethics/china/). While the cases themselves will add value to research ethics education in both the U.S. and China, the hands-on collaboration between American and Chinese educators, researchers and students will also be a model for developing such materials.