Education and Implementation Mechanism of Research Ethics in Taiwan's Higher Education Project
(Phase 1: 2014-2017; Phase 2: 2018-present)
Background
To align with the vision and goals of Taiwan’s national science and technology policies, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has implemented the On-Campus Academic Ethics Education and Management System Development Program (2013-2017). Prior to the establishment of the Program, Taiwan did not have a holistic and systematic framework for academic ethics education. Academic ethics education has only become a priority for the government and academia in recent years, while cases of research misconduct have been occurring one after another simultaneously. Reflecting this, the Program aims to provide every researcher with relevant training on academic ethics. Initially serving newly-enrolled graduate students, the Program has gradually expanded its learning resources and curriculum to all faculty and researchers at universities and colleges. The Program is developed by a team of nearly 100 academic ethics experts from various fields, online learning experts, and professional digital production teams in Taiwan.
Objective
- Develop Taiwan’s academic ethics curriculum
Develop courses in Mandarin that are integrated with local case examples in Taiwan and present them on a multimedia website. The main contents include academic ethics codes across countries; strategies to avoid research misconduct; research laboratory and data management; conflict of interest in research; research subject protection; copyright laws; privacy in research; and the personal data protection act. At present, there are 140 units of courses (each unit takes about 20 minutes), out of which 35 are available in English for international students.
- Establish the Center for Taiwan Academic Ethics Education (http://ethics.moe.edu.tw/)
Establish and manage the Center for Taiwan Academic Ethics Education and its website, which is the Center’s platform for consolidating related learning resources, hosting online examinations, and providing consultation services. Currently, there are over 100 colleges and universities in Taiwan appointing this course as a students’ assignment, and also over 250 medical and research institutions listing it as one of researchers’ training platforms. - Promote academic ethics education and its management system
Cultivate instructors with professional qualifications in academic ethics education and conduct in-person and hybrid courses at universities and colleges. To date, the Program has sponsored 183 academic ethics courses at 63 institutions, with a total participation of 164 teachers and 5,569 students. Under the Program, a series of international conferences and workshops are also held in an effort to align with the international community and extend the research in academic ethics.
Future Work
- Continuously promote academic ethics education
Academic ethics education is integral to the basic training of a researcher. As such, the Program strives to facilitate the MOE in reviewing the development of academic ethics regulations, the establishment of specialized units, and the implementation of educational programs at colleges and universities. - Develop diverse content for academic ethics education
Develop diverse learning units targeted at different users, such as units for university and college students (e.g., why cheating is prohibited), university and college faculty (e.g., important notes on faculty promotion, journal submission, and trends and writing conventions regarding international academic publications), researchers (e.g., laboratory management, research funding allocation, and important notes on project applications), and on industry-academia collaboration (e.g., ethical issues in innovation and entrepreneurship, research ethics in industry-academia collaboration). - Promote international collaboration and exchange
Actively participate in the activities of international academic ethics communities, such as World Conferences on Research Integrity (WCRI) and Asian and Pacific Rim Research Integrity (APRI), to keep Taiwan’s academic ethics education and management system in line with international standards through learning and knowledge exchange. - Enhance Taiwan’s research environment and quality of results
Assist the government, academia, and research institutions to jointly improve the understanding and practice of academic ethics and raise the researchers’ ethical awareness and sensitivity, thereby establishing a robust research environment and culture, enhancing the quality of research, and preventing research misconduct.
