science skills Flashcards
(12 cards)
Principles of bioethics + pros and cons
DUTYAND/OR RULE BASED
decision is aligned with a set of rules with the consequences not considered in the decision making process
PROS: simple to apply
CONS: rigid application
VITURE BASED APPROACH:
moral character of the person is considered.
PROS: not binding on all people
CONS: a virtue is subjective
CONSEQUNCES BASED APPROACH:
the outcome of the decision is considered with minimization of harm a key consideration
PROS: flexible decision making
CONS: hard to predict outcome
ethical concepts
Integrity (HONEST): the commitment to searching for knowledge and understanding and the honest reporting of all sources of information and communication of results, whether favourable or unfavourable, in ways that permit scrutiny and contribute to public knowledge and understanding.
Justice ( FAIR ): the moral obligation to ensure that there is fair consideration of competing claims; that there is no unfair burden on a particular group from an action; and that there is fair distribution and access to the benefits of an action.
Beneficence (BENEFIT): the commitment to maximising benefits and minimising the risks and harms involved in taking a particular position or course of action.
For example - have considerations been taken to ensure that the planting of a new crop will benefit the farmer, the consumer, and the ecosystem
ring harm
Non-maleficence ( NO HARM ): involves avoiding the causations of harm. However, as positions or courses of actions in scientific research may involve some degree of harm, the concept of non-maleficence implies that the harm resulting from any position or course of action should not be disproportionate to the benefits from any position or course of action.
Respect (VALUING): involves consideration of the extent to which living things have an intrinsic value and/or instrumental value
Bioethical issues
SOCIAL ISSUES
Social issues affect society. For example, are person who is unable to work due to a genetic issue. Socially, if genetic testing were available, the individual would have less reliance on hospitals in the future. This affects more than the person therefore is a social issue. If we just stated that the person would be unwell, this affects the individual but not society as a whole.
LEGAL ISSUES
Legal issues are often governed by legislation and government regulation. As ethical issues are often using new technologies, the laws may not be current.
ECONOMIC ISSUES
Economic factors include areas such as bioprospecting and who owns the rights to materials. Is it the company who conducted the research or is it the locals that reside in an area? Who owns a genome, and is it fair to allow large companies to grow crops that are GM and more likely to survive, when the sole farmer
Accuracy
The accuracy of a measurement relates to how close it is to the true value of the quantity being measured
Precision
Refers to how closely a set of measurement values agree with each other
Repeatability
The closeness of the agreement between the results of successive measurements of the same quantity being measured, carried out under the same conditions of measurement. These conditions include the same measurement procedure, the same observer
Reproducibility
The closeness of the agreement between the results of measurements of the same quantity being measured, carried out under changed conditions of measurement. These different conditions include a different method of measurement, different observer
validity
The validity of data refers to the credibility of the research results from experiments or from observations. For a measurement to be valid, it needs to measure what it sets out to investigate through fair testing. Validity is linked closely with the accuracy of the results obtained.
Validity factors apply in both experimental design and implementation.
Experiments that are valid usually:
use the results from one manipulated variable, where other variables are controlled
are not affected by factors such as experimental bias.
Internal validity is about whether the results are caused by the manipulation of the independent variable and not other factors (e.g., bias, poor controls).
External validity is about whether the results can be generalised to other people, settings, or times.
Reproducibility vs. Repeatability
Repeatability means the same researcher uses the same method and equipment, with the same participants or conditions, and gets similar results.
Reproducibility means a different researcher or group, possibly in a different location, uses the same method and still gets similar results.
what is bias and what types are there
Bias is an intentional or unintentional influence on an investigation as a result of errors introduced by the researcher into the sampling or the testing procedures of an experiment.
- Measurement bias: This bias occurs when experimenters manipulate results in order to get a desirable outcome.
- Selection bias This type of bias can arise when test subjects are not randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups.
- Sampling bias This type of bias can arise if the subjects chosen for the study are not representative of the target population.
different types of errors
Personal errors are mistakes or miscalculations that often result from carelessness. If a personal error is made, the experiment should be repeated and the correct results should be included.
Systematic errors are errors that affect the accuracy of a measurement and cannot be improved by repeating the experiment in the same conditions. They are usually due to equipment or system errors. They produce measurements that are consistently too high or too low.
Random errors are chance variations in measurements that affect the precision of measurements. They are always present in measurements of continuous data. They can be reduced through repeating measurements and calculating an average.
reliability
the consistency of a measurement across multiple trails
