I-TECH is proud to announce the launch of a new online course, Ethical Conduct & Academic Integrity: Protecting Human Subjects in the Global Health Setting. The course will be required for all I-TECH staff involved in research, program management, monitoring and evaluation, data collection or analysis, or publication activities.
The goal of this course is to instruct members of the I-TECH team on the organization’s expectations of ethical conduct in research and evaluation activities. These expectations include conducting ethical and responsible research and programmatic work; protecting participants in studies, evaluations, and data collection activities; appropriately publishing original work; and avoiding academic misconduct.
“The principles of integrity and quality work form the foundation of everything we do,” said Ann Downer, I-TECH Executive Director. “The Ethical Conduct & Academic Integrity course will not only instruct us on the practical application of these principles, but also help us keep these values at the forefront of our thinking. It is essential to effectively — and ethically — implement our health systems strengthening projects that are affecting the lives of so many around the world.”
Created by a team led by Research and Publications Manager Ellen Wilcox and E-Learning Specialist Leslie Wall, the course is divided into four half-hour “modules,” or lessons:
- Module 1: Overview
- Module 2: IRB and Ethics Committees
- Module 3: Human Subjects and Informed Consent
- Module 4: Academic Integrity
The modules present the learner with scenarios that describe potential misconduct, definitions, historical background, helpful tips and reminders, and, finally a quiz captured by Canvas, the University of Washington’s learning management system (LMS).
The course in its entirety is publicly available in the Canvas LMS at https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/889645. The modules are also published on the University of Washington Department of Global Health E-learning portal at http://edgh.washington.edu/series/ethical-conduct-academic-integrity.
Moving forward, I-TECH will also require staff to take a yearly training on ethics and academic integrity. To this end, starting in 2015, I-TECH will offer an annual webinar to give staff the opportunity to discuss ethical issues and to ask questions about the UW Internal Review Board and ethics oversight process.