Empirical Approaches in Bioethics
- Course Number
- CHL3003H
- Series
- 3000 (Bioethics)
- Format
- Hybrid
- Course Instructor(s)
- Daniel Z. Buchman
Course Description
This course explores key concepts and applications of empirical approaches in bioethics. The course aims to produce educated consumers of empirical literature—with the skills to assess and critique it from a methodological perspective—and provide foundational skills to contribute to the empirical bioethics literature. Students will be introduced to fundamental conceptual and methodological considerations in the empirical creation of bioethics knowledge, explore the relationships between descriptive empirical data and normative ethical reasoning, examine and assess a broad range of empirical methods employed in contemporary bioethics (including but not limited to quantitative methods such as randomized control trials and cross-sectional surveys, and qualitative methods such as phenomenology and ethnography), and develop skills in the critical appraisal of empirical literature.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, you will have demonstrated your ability to:
- Describe the relationship between descriptive empirical data and normative ethical reasoning
- Apply critical appraisal methods to analyze and critique the empirical bioethics literature from a methodological perspective
- Develop research questions and identify appropriate empirical methods to study bioethics issues
Methods of Assessment
| Critical Appraisal of an Empirical Bioethics Article | 30% |
| Developing an Empirical Bioethics Research Approach [Group Project] | 25% |
| Empirical Inquiry in Practice: Outline and Annotated Bibliography | 45% |