Research Ethics and Challenges to Best Practice

Research conducted in the Department of Computer Science, and in collaboration with other disciplines, builds on the very latest technological developments. This includes, for instance, the use of cutting edge techniques to harness the potential of Big Data for research or to explore the implications of the Internet of Things and automated technologies designed for use in daily life. Whilst this kind of research creates exciting opportunities to generate knowledge it also represents considerable challenges: responding to the fast pace of technology requires the generation of new research practices and new understandings of best practice. Researchers and research groups find themselves at a new frontier in which it can be unclear how to conduct work in a manner that is ethical and avoids causing harm.

Members of the HCC theme are conducting work to address these issues. We:

-        contribute to the work of the Departmental Research Ethics Committee

-        publish work on dilemmas in research ethics. For example, here

-        collaborate with members of the Cyber Security theme to run workshops bringing together researchers and research governance professionals. These workshops facilitate the sharing of experience and discussions aiming to identify solutions to the problems at hand.