Course information

Who is this tutorial for? 

It is aimed at anyone who:

There is no cost to participate in this tutorial. It is offered as an open educational resource by INASP.

What will you learn?

In this course you will discover, through real-world examples, what ethics means, why it's important, whose responsibility it is, what happens if ethical issues are ignored, and how to be an ethical researcher. 

If you dedicate sufficient time to engage with all the learning materials and meet the completion criteria, you will be able to:

• Explain key principles and codes of research ethics
• Evaluate the ethical soundness of a proposed research study
• Critically assess ethical challenges and dilemmas across the research process, drawing on past examples of unethical research and current pressures on researchers.
• Apply step-by-step approaches to seeking ethical approval

Length of the tutorial

This is a self-study tutorial.  You can join any time and stay enrolled in the tutorial for as long as you would like. However, we recommend that you complete the tutorial within 3 weeks of joining.

Topics covered

The tutorial consists of 7 learning resources followed by a quiz.

• What does ethics in research mean and why is it important?
• The ethical responsibilities of researchers and how to avoid misconduct
• The characteristics of good ethical practice
• Participant vulnerability and examples of past unethical research
• Researcher dignity, safety and wellbeing
• How to apply for ethical approval
• Have a try at being on an ethics committee

Expected time commitment

To get maximum benefit from the tutorial, you should plan to spend about 6-10 hours going through the learning resources and completing the quiz.

Completion criteria

1. Going through all the learning resources;
2. Achieving a passing score on the quiz; and
3. Completing the pre-course and feedback survey.

A certificate will be generated automatically for you once you have met the completion criteria. You can download this certificate from the tutorial homepage.

Connectivity required

The learning resources are text-based, so you do not need a high-bandwidth internet connection.

Deadlines

This is a self-study, self-paced tutorial, so there are no deadlines.

Technical support

We are unable to offer technical support for this tutorial. All the information you need to complete the tutorial successfully can be found in the introductory resource at the start of the tutorial.

Is the tutorial compatible with mobile devices?

We recommend that you use a computer for an optimal learning experience. If you do not have a computer, you can use a web browser on your mobile phone or tablet to access this tutorial. However, this tutorial is not compatible with the Moodle Mobile app.

Is there any advice on how to learn online?

This PDF document may be useful to help you prepare to learn online. It also contains answers to frequently asked questions.

Can the learning resources be reused or adapted?

Yes. The learning resources have been developed by INASP and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.