Welcome to the irecs
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Welcome to the irecs
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Ethics in research is an essential ingredient for good science. Maintaining high ethical standards is essential to winning public trust in scientific work. However, there are many challenges such as new technologies, increasing international collaboration in academic research and the absence of standardisation across Europe. The EU-funded irecs project is reinforcing the reliability of science by advancing research ethics expertise and competencies.
The irecs learning materials offer a comprehensive resource designed to educate individuals on research ethics and research integrity, with a particular focus on the ethical considerations associated with the research and development of four emerging technologies:
- Artificial intelligence in healthcare
- Gene editing
- Biobanking
- Extended reality
On the next page you will find the modules that have been designed for self-directed online learning. They are all open access; there is no charge for accessing the irecs learning materials.
The irecs resources do not have to be studied in any particular order. Users of these resources are encouraged to construct their own path by selecting the modules that are most applicable to their own learning needs.
In summary:
There are five Stage 1 modules which offer an introduction to research ethics and integrity. These modules will be useful for students and researchers who want to learn more about research ethics and integrity in general.
There are eight Stage 2 modules which focus on the four emerging technologies. For each technology, there are two modules: one introduces the technology basics, and the second details the ethics issues related to that technology. The technology basics modules are designed for use by anyone else who is interested in learning more about the technology, including research ethics reviewers. The technology ethics issues modules are designed for use by students, researchers, and research ethics reviewers.
The final stage comprises of six case study modules. The case study modules are intended to be of particular help to research ethics reviewers as each case study is designed around a hypothetical research proposal involving one or more of the four emerging technologies. Drawing on learning from previous modules, the learner is asked to consider the proposal from different perspectives including that of a research ethics committee member.