Developing a Beta Site for a National Digital Library for Ethics in Science and Engineering

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project provides resources that will be of wide use in the science and engineering community. The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act requires that proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) have a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers participating in the proposed research project (Sec 7009). It further requires that proposals describe in detail the mentoring activities that will be provided for postdoctoral researchers (Sec 7008). While NSF has always encouraged ethical conduct of research, the America COMPETES Act makes this requirement explicit and creates an opportunity to better compile and disseminate ethics research results and related education materials. Accordingly, this project develops an initial online resource for building a digital library on ethics in science and engineering that NSF intends to support. The University of Massachusetts Amherst beta site will be interdisciplinary, multi-media, and international. Current repositories, clearinghouses, and websites that house ethics materials generally focus on one disciplinary field. The University of Massachusetts beta site repository will be used to examine effective ways to coordinate and present materials from across disciplines, including the social sciences, and will act as a portal to direct faculty, post-doctoral, and graduate researchers to a wide range of ethics resources. The ability to freely, quickly and easily locate and review materials for use in mentoring, education and training of future generations of scientists and engineers is invaluable. A beta site that compiles selected materials with the objective of making them freely and easily accessible -- while incorporating Web 2.0 and social networking tools to enhance usability and effectiveness -- is the starting point for a digital library for the 21st Century. The beta site uses various media to engage a younger generation of scientists and engineers in ethics issues and to help faculty incorporate ethics concepts into classrooms and labs in an engaging way. Finally, a focus on the international dimensions of ethics will contribute to broad reach given the continuing globalization of scientific and technological research.