After successful completion of the course, students are able to...
GENERAL LEARNINGS
- To self-directedly implement research ethics in one's own empirical fieldwork and urban research projects (e.g. master or doctoral thesis, joint fieldwork task, or similar)
- To practically engage with in-depth debates applying research ethical principles (e.g. informed consent) in relation to different urban and spatial research endeavours.
ADDITIONAL LEARNINGS
(I) institutional ethics: learn and recognise basic institutional positions of ethics in qualitatively oriented urban research (e.g., codes of Ethics of the EU Commission, professional associations, universities, etc.).
(II) ethics of empirical field research: respect and work on research ethical dimensions of urban research and relate research ethics to the use of concrete urban research methods, some abstract, others quite subject-centred.
(III) ethics of participatory research: learn how to use research ethical principles when planning for the use of participatory urban research methods and formats.
(IV) ethics of collaborative research: become competent in dealing with ethical issues in the context of collaborative research between institutions, social groups and subjects.
This seminar addresses master and doctoral students planning to or have already started a thesis project in urban research or in architecture and planning research linking to the social sciences and humanities, often involving empirical field research. The seminar teaching team also invites those master students interested in learning more about how and when to apply research ethics when doing concrete research, planning and design projects in relation to urban and regional development, and generally everyone else with an interest in own ethical responsibilities in research.
Research ethics is initially understood as the self-commitment, following one's best judgement, not causing harm to others and guaranteeing the autonomy of those participating in research. But what do these ideas mean in the context of qualitative methodology, e.g. in ethnographic and participatory urban research or when it comes to collaborating with different institutions? Especially in action-oriented research, it is not unusual that research processes produce certain social ambivalences (due to structural factors that are difficult to change) and discomfort, such as revealing instances of social exclusion. A clear positioning in the field often is required. In addition, research ethics issues also touch on the "generation" of data and the representation of the latter in the final text.
Qualitative research approaches have in common the need for the researcher to have the capacity to deal with research ethics issues and to situate them in their own project. Sometimes, researchers make use of abstract figures and texts, whereas, at other moments, we are in close research dialogue with the subjects in the processes of co-producing research (co-research). In both cases, research ethics apply, albeit in different ways. The need for researchers "not to commit any harm" to the participants in the research, to other partners involved in the research, and to their colleagues is particularly pronounced due to the social and physical proximity between researchers and participants. Contrary to what might be assumed, dealing with such issues in a competent and consistent way does not lead to further impediments but, on the contrary, to a sustainable increase in research quality. TU Wien sees itself as a pioneer in these questions within the Austrian research landscape and provides or establishes low-threshold offers. Thus, in the course of the seminar, we will also deal with questions of the institutionalisation of ethics through boards or codices, ranging from the EU research programmatic frames context to professional organisations and universities, and beyond.
The seminar is based on self-determined and self-organised learning and promotes text comprehension through group discussion and presentation. During the seminar, discourses on the ethics of research are related to and discussed in relation to specific problems that arise in the context of developing urbanistic or qualitatively social science-oriented research projects. In the context of group work, a total of four thematic focal points will be further deepened; Institutional ethics, ethics of empirical field research, ethics of participatory research and ethics of collaborative research. Participants will be asked to conduct the writing of a research ethics diary throughout the course of the semester. The lessons learned from our joint debates will be collectively transferred into a final outcome (Lessons learned and shared, or: A mini code-of-ethics when doing urban studies). Thereby we are aiming to convey independent ethical research practice skills that may prove useful beyond the scope of the seminar.
