I. ASCRC General Education Form
Group
Dept/Program
Course Title
VIII Ethics and Human Values
Davidson Honors College
Research Portfolio Seminar
Course # HC U 320E
Prerequisite Coreq: Independent study directed by a faculty research advisor
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Credits 2
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor
Phone / Email
Gretchen McCaffrey, Ph.D.
243-2266
Gretchen.McCaffrey@umontana.edu
Date
1/16/09
Program Chair James McKusick, Dean 1/16/09
III. Description and purpose of the course: General Education courses must be introductory and foundational. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course content to students’ future lives: See Preamble: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/gened/GEPreamble_final.htm

Course description: Designed to assist undergraduate students with their independent research projects, this seminar enables students conducting research in separate disciplines to apply the intellectual strategies and to explore the ethical concerns common to research in most disciplines.
To provide the framework for approaching ethical issues in research, students will explore the
Western ethical traditions and ethical principles of research. All students in the class will devise an independent research project directed by a faculty research advisor.
Purpose: The purpose of this seminar is to teach students how to approach the ethical decisions they will make as researchers, and how to structure and focus their research efforts through the creation of a research portfolio. Students will be expected to actively participate in class discussions, activities, and presentations, which will include an examination of Western ethical traditions and ethical concerns in research. The ethical principles that are derived from these theories, respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice, will be applied to both case studies and student research projects. Since the course will be interdisciplinary, with students researching their own topics in a variety of fields, the students will also provide a written evaluation of the ethical code of conduct in their particular field of research. The final portfolio will include the kinds of finished and unfinished documents professional researchers normally produce as they work towards a research article: a research proposal, an annotated bibliography, reading notes, outlines/organization plans, a research log/laboratory notebook, figures, and an abstract of the finished paper. In addition, the ethical dimensions of each of these components of their project will be considered. Although each student in the class will pursue a distinct research topic, the central focus of the course will be the application of the intellectual strategies and ethical concerns common to researchers in any discipline.
In addition to documenting progress on the research project of his/her choice, each student will chose an area of expertise for the course: enhancement of his/her information or mathematical literacy, writing proficiency, or a particular laboratory technique. This course will facilitate students’ success in their undergraduate research projects; more broadly, it will prepare them for their future intellectual development as researchers in their chosen fields and as citizens literate in the theories, practices, and ethical implications of academic research.
IV. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Courses focus on one or more of the specific traditions of ethical thought (either Western or non-
Western), on basic ethical topics such as justice or the good life as seen through the lens of one or more traditions of ethical thought, or on a professional practice within a particular tradition of ethical thought.
Research Portfolio Seminar will meet the requirements for a foundational course in ethical and human values since at least one-half of the course time will be spent examining and discussing issues related to the Western ethical traditions and the ethical principles that are commonly applied in research ethics. Research ethics is foundational to every academic discipline at a research university such as UM. This course addresses ethical issues that have been of vital concern to most academic inquiry since the formation of universities and the rise of experimental science in the European Renaissance.
The course will be taught in a seminar format, and in every class meeting students will participate in activities and discussions that encourage them to become praiseworthy researchers: that they will not just seek to prevent harm, but will promote the good.

Courses provide a rigorous analysis of the basic concepts and forms of reasoning which define the traditions, the ethical topics, or the professional practices that are being studied.
The concepts and forms of reasoning from virtue theory, utilitarianism and moral rights (deontology) will be examined, and will lead to ethical principles commonly used in research ethics: respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice. Students will consider these principles in their exploration of the ethical issues related to their own research projects and research fields; all students in the class will devise their own independent research project directed by a faculty research advisor. These projects will be the focus of the assignments, presentations and discussions, as well as providing case studies allowing direct, practical exploration of the ethical dimensions of research.
Several topics of discussions will be drawn from the Online
Research Ethics Course that is required for IRB approval of research projects; the majority of the students will be required to apply for an IRB for their research project, or their research mentor will have a current approved IRB application for their project. Many class activities will require teamwork, and the ethical considerations of collaborative work will be discussed, as well as the responsibilities of research mentors, and publication and plagiarism concerns.
V. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning goals. See: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Students will be able to: (1) correctly apply the Students will be able to correctly apply the basic concepts and forms of reasoning from the tradition or professional practice they studied to ethical issues that arise within those traditions or practices; and
(2) analyze and critically evaluate the basic basic concepts, forms of reasoning, and ethical principles from the Western traditions and professional practice of research ethics to ethical issues that arise within their own academic research projects.
Students will be able to analyze and critically concepts and forms of reasoning from the tradition or professional practice they studied.
evaluate the basic concepts and forms of reasoning from the Western traditions and professional practice of research ethics.
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.
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The syllabus should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
U HC 320E Research Portfolio Seminar 2 cr. Offered autumn and spring.
Coreq: Independent study directed by a faculty research advisor.
Catalog Description: Designed to assist undergraduate students with their independent research projects, this seminar enables students conducting research in separate disciplines to apply the intellectual strategies and to explore the ethical concerns common to research in most disciplines.
To provide the framework for approaching ethical issues in research, students will explore
Western ethical traditions and ethical principles of research.

Instructor: Gretchen McCaffrey, Ph.D.
Course description and expectations : This course, taken in conjunction with independent study or thesis credits, will teach students how to approach the ethical decisions they will make as researchers and how to structure and focus their research efforts through the creation of a research portfolio. Students will be expected to actively participate in class discussions, activities, and presentations, which will include an examination of Western ethical traditions and ethical concerns in research. The ethical principles that are derived from these theories, respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice, will be applied to both case studies and student research projects. Since the course will be interdisciplinary, with students researching their own topics in a variety of fields, the students will also provide a written evaluation of the ethical code of conduct in their particular field of research. The final portfolio will include the kinds of finished and unfinished documents professional researchers normally produce as they work towards a research article: a research proposal, an annotated bibliography, reading notes, outlines/organization plans, a research log/laboratory notebook, figures, and an abstract of the finished paper. In addition, the ethical dimensions of each of these components of their project will be considered. Although each student in the class will pursue a distinct research topic, the focus of the course will be the application of the intellectual strategies and ethical concerns common to researchers in any discipline. Because participation will be an essential part of this course, missing class activities will result in a reduction to the participation percentage of a student’s grade. In addition to documenting progress on the research project of his/her choice, each student will chose an area of expertise for the course: enhancement of his/her information or mathematical literacy, writing proficiency, or a particular laboratory technique. The instructor will have individual conferences with each student to ensure steady progress toward the final portfolio, which will consist of all work written for the class, including drafts and revisions. The final research product will not count toward the grade in this course, although student presentations and class discussions will. Due to the seminar nature of the class, late work will not be accepted without prior permission from the instructor.
Grades:
Class participation 20%
Poster/Paper presentation 5%
Schedule of Activities and Assignments: Appended below.
*Please note: As an instructor of a general education course, you will be expected to provide sample assessment items and corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.

Class schedule and reading list for HC 320E
Topic
1 Expectations
Research projects
Abstracts/proposal abstract
Research Ethics
Assignment
Proposal abstract
Research Advisor information/timeline
Research log/Lab notebook
Reading/Taking notes
Summaries
3 Honors College Librarian
Evaluating sources
Citation software (Refworks/Endnote)
Research tools
Citations/plagiarism
Expertise proposal
Annotated Bibliography
Summaries of 2 articles
Revise proposal abstract
Bring two copies to class
Audience/purpose
5 Research ethics
Introduction to ethical traditions
6 Overview of ethical traditions
Revise another student’s abstract for high school audience
Discuss selected sections of Rachels and
Cpt 2 Loue
Discuss reading: Cpt 2 Comstock
7 Virtue theory Discuss reading: Cpt 3 Comstock
8 Utilitarianism Discuss
9 Moral rights/rules Discuss selected sections from Kant
10 Guest lecture by Philosophy
Professor on Western traditions
11 Comparisons and conflicts between traditions
12 Applying ethical traditions to case studies in Research Ethics
13 High school abstract Presentations
14 Paragraphs
Discuss reading: Cpt 4 Comstock
Written evaluation of application of Western traditions to research field/project
15 Organization
Outline/Sections
16 Presentation of data/figures
Mini topic paragraph I
Read Cpt 8 Lipson
Evaluation of lecture
Mini paragraph II
17 Data: Distortion, Fabrication and
Falsification
18 Integrating/attribution figures/quotes
19 Presentation of data/figures
Group oral presentation of Excel activity
Oral presentation of figure from research
Formatted Table
Formatted: Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt
Formatted: Space Before: 0 pt, After: 0 pt

20 Writing
Introduction
Conclusion
Draft of one section
22 Writing: Fabrication and Falsification Copy guidelines and samples of UMCUR abstracts
UMCUR abstracts
UMCUR abstract
Research presentations
25 Authorship
Peer review
Mentor responsibilities
26 Professional code of conduct
27 Institutional requirements for research projects/fields
Code of conduct paper
Institutional requirements assignment
Revise abstract for professional conference
Expertise report
Portfolio
28 Research presentations
29 Research presentations
30 Research presentations
Reading List
Comstock, Gary. “Ethics Theory” and “Decision Making” modules. Open Seminar in Research Ethics.
26 March 2007. 15 Jan 2009. <http://openseminar.org/ethics/modules/1/index/screen.do>
Kant, Immanuel, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, in the version by Jonathan Bennett presented at www.earlymoderntexts.com
Lipson, Charles. How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from your First Ideas to Your
Finished Paper. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
Loue, Sana. Textbook of Research Ethics: Theory and Practice. Hingham, MA: Kluwer Academic
Publishers, 2000.
Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism, in the version by Jonathan Bennett presented at www.earlymoderntexts.com
Rachels, James. The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1986.