Teaching Methodologies
The course will be taught in a theoretical-practical format, in an active expository manner. The approach to the content is developed through structured exposition of the content and the respective analysis, discussion or debate. An interrogative and interactive methodology is used prior to the presentation of the main contents and concepts, and their demonstration through practical application.
Analysis and discussion of scientific articles on epidemiological, clinical and/or laboratory research, taking into account the core areas of the master’s degree.
Periodic assessment – students are assessed through the development of group work and a written, summative knowledge assessment.
The course unit is passed with a mark of 9.5 or higher, resulting from the sum of the marks obtained:
– Group work (30%)
– Summative written test (70%).
Assessment by exam will cover all the elements (contents) taught in the course.
Learning Results
The master’s student will acquire knowledge of the universal ethical principles applicable to scientific research, such as autonomy, justice and beneficence. They will also understand the legal and institutional requirements for ethical approval of studies on humans and animals.
In terms of research design, the master’s student will acquire a set of knowledge about the type of research studies (epidemiological, laboratory, experimental) and basic aspects of causality in research as fundamental principles in the training of health professionals in the areas of Food, Nutrition and Metabolism.
In terms of skills, the master’s student will acquire the ability to construct a research study and make decisions on the selection of evaluation measures, measurements and analytical strategies (statistics).
In terms of competences, the student should be able to conceptualise and outline strategies for creating projects in the core areas of the master’s degree.
Program
1 – Definition of ethics in science and its relevance to ethics in nutrition, food and health research.
2 – Universal ethical principles.
3 – Ethical issues in studies with human beings and animal studies.
4 – Informed consent and data protection and privacy (GDPR).
5 – Conflicts of interest in research.
6 – Transparency in the publication of results.
7 – Regulation and ethics in research (ethics committees; national and international legislation).
8 – Fundamental principles in epidemiological/clinical and/or laboratory research (study design and conception);
9 – Basic aspects of causality;
10 – Observational studies and case studies.
11 – In vitro trials, pre-clinical trials, clinical trials;
12 – Translational Research;
13 – Determining the sample and power for a clinical study;
14 – Data Management and Analysis.
Internship(s)
NAO
Bibliography
Beauchamp, T.L., & Childress, J.F. (2019). Principles of Biomedical Ethics (8th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Concato, J., & Horwitz, R.I. (2004). Beyond randomised versus observational studies. Lancet.; 363:1660-1.
Cresswell, J.W. (2009), Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches. 3th ed. London: Sage Pub, Emanuel, E.J., et al. (2020). The Oxford Textbook of Clinical Research Ethics. Oxford University Press.
Guillemin, M., et al. (2018). Ethics, Equity and Health for Health Professionals. Routledge.
Holliday, A. (2002), Doing and Writting Qualitative Research. UK: Sage.
Jadhav, S.S. & Patil, S. (2024). Big Data Analytics. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology 12, n.º 4: 843-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2024.59806.
Pocock, S.J., et al. (2004). Issues in the reporting of epidemiological studies: a survey of recent practice.
Resnik, D. B. (2021). The Ethics of Science: An Introduction. Routledge.