BIOET 533
Ethical Dimensions of Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems

1.3 Ethical Dimensions of Systems Research (EDSR)

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1.3 Ethical Dimensions of Systems Research (EDSR)

Ethics of Systems Research

Venn diagram. 3 circles Extrinsic (Social, Political), Procedural (RCR, Professional), Intrinsic (Analytical, Technical) overlap at EDRS
Figure 1.5: EDSR Venn Diagram
Credit: Erich W. Schienke © Penn State University is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The Ethical Dimensions of Scientific/Systems Research (EDSR) approach describes how to recognize and evaluate ethical issues in research procedure and conduct, in the consideration of broader public and environmental impacts, and as values become embedded in research and analysis itself. Because common topics, types, and methods for ethical recognition and analysis are common across many cases of scientific research and technical application, it is efficient and helpful to develop a set of tools for critical reflection on various issues of ethical importance.

The EDSR Approach

As developed in the EDSR approach, three main categorical distinctions for research ethics used here are 1) broader social and political impacts of research (extrinsic ethics), 2) research practice and conduct (procedural ethics), and 3) embedded values within research (intrinsic ethics). By showing where and how to look for these types of ethical issues, the EDSR approach helps practitioners to anticipate where ethical issues may arise in a given research or application context.

Type of Ethics in Research Description
Ethics Extrinsic to Research - Social/Political NSF broader impacts criteria, social justice issues, S&T policy, policy implications, improving representation and distribution
Ethical Research Procedure - RCR/Professional Responsible conduct of research, professional codes, conflicts of interest, treatment of human & animal subjects, informed consent
Ethics Intrinsic to Research - Analytical/Technical Embedded values, parameterizations, theory selection, error analysis, global assumptions, outliers, data cleaning

Ethics Requires Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Research ethics is not a matter of memorization of rules about proper behavior. Rather, it is important to approach learning research ethics as the skill of being able to derive the ethics of a given situation, by asking similar key questions across multiple situations. While ethical contexts and possibilities are vast for a field like sustainability or renewable energy, we can still maintain a reasonable handle on things by addressing some core principles.