Abstract:
Conducting research in an ethical manner is a core responsibility of a researcher. At EdUHK, many honours projects are completed each year, most of which involve human subject testing and therefore require ethics clearance. However, resources for educating students on the ethics application process had been insufficient. The errors that are frequently found in student ethics applications stem from a lack of understanding on the rationales behind the ethical questions asked. To increase awareness of research ethics, and to reduce the errors made by student ethics applications, the Online Quiz system is targeted for student investigators to thoroughly learn about ethical conduct, and also the practical aspects of the ethical review process. The system was piloted among students in the Department of Psychology and was a success. It is now ready for use by students from all other departments.
Code:
T0184
Principal Project Supervisors:
Keywords provided by authors:
Start Date:
01 Jun 2017
End Date:
31 May 2018
Status:
Completed
Result:
An online quiz system that is implemented in Moodle using the “Lesson” feature was created. The online tutorial covers both theoretical and practical aspects of research ethics and the ethics application procedure at EdUHK. Students review the materials at times convenient to them at their own pace. The tutorial has 10 units, some of them are compulsory and some of them are optional. The compulsory topics cover basic concepts, such as informed consent, risk assessment and benefits, participant vulnerability, data storage and confidentiality, ethics application procedure, etc. The optional topics include working with children, using deception in research, survey research, etc. The design of having both compulsory and optional topics ensures that all students grasp the basic concepts while at the same time allows students some flexibility in choosing topics that are most relevant to their research. After each unit, there was a quiz to test comprehension. Students are required to obtain full mark on the quiz before advancing to the next topic; otherwise they will be directed back to the current topic to review the materials and to retake the quiz. Both qualitative and quantitative feedback from students revealed very high user satisfaction.
Impact:
An online quiz system that covers both theoretical and practical aspects of research ethics and the ethics application procedure at EdUHK was created. The system was integrated into Moodle. The lesson was piloted in two courses offered by the Department of Psychology: PSY4900 Honours Project (for undergraduate Psychology students), and PSY6011 Research Project (for MSocSci Psychology students). Both quantitative and qualitative feedback was collected. Students were highly engaged with the materials, with a large proportion of them reported spending 60-90 minutes on the lesson as the course designer intended. Students reported that they found the tutorial essential for helping them complete the ethics application procedure, increased both their interest and understanding of research ethics, and that the tutorial was excellent in both depth and breadth. Students also reported that the online self-learning format was very useful as they were allowed to study at their own pace. Most programmes at EdUHK have an Honours Project element. It is planned that this Moodle Lesson will be promoted to other departments and other faculties. The lesson can be easily adapted by other programmes to suit their own needs. It is expected that the learning materials will be useful for all students taking the honours project, as well as research/taught postgraduate students who are completing their thesis projects.
Deliverables:
Seminars/Presentations/Sharing Sessions
Yee, L., Chan, K., Poon, I., & Wong, T. (2018, July 6). Teaching Development Grant Project: Blended Learning Technologies. Seminar conducted at The Education University of Hong Kong.(No. of participants: 10 EdUHK academic/teaching staff) (https://repository.eduhk.hk/en/publications/c4c8eb0c-d116-436a-bea6-c424ba6188de)
Teaching and Learning Resources/ Materials (including online resources)
An adaptive online quiz system hosted on Moodle
Financial Year:
2016-17
Type:
TDG