The OEC invites submissions of high-quality ethics education resources in the areas of engineering and science, including the social sciences, for review and inclusion in its collection. Resources can be submitted via the OEC Resource Submission Form below.
We invite resources that:
- describe or demonstrate active learning or successful use in a class, workshop, or other educational context;
- are developed as part of research projects or collaborations with colleagues;
- are developed as part of an NSF-supported ethics research or education project;
- are based on ethical challenges faced in the work of scientists and engineers;
- are single, stand-alone resources;
- are suites of materials, compiled from many resources or curricula;
- are freely available; and/or
- engage students and practitioners in understanding and discussing ethical issues in the sciences and engineering.
Special Call for Submissions: The OEC is currently seeking cases, articles, reviews, commentary, and other kinds of resources on ethics concerns related to "Social Justice" and "Racial Equity" in engineering and science.
Resources should be designed to engage one or more of the key audiences of the OEC, assisting them to understand and act responsibly with respect to the range of ethical issues associated with a topic or real-life situation. Key audiences for the OEC are undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and instructors in higher education, postdoctoral scholars, professionals and practitioners, and academic administrators. The site has a special interest in assisting faculty new to teaching and learning in science and engineering ethics as well as in serving and supporting populations who are underrepresented in scientific or engineering fields.
The OEC is particularly interested in materials for the social, behavioral, and economic sciences, life and environmental sciences, and mathematics and physical sciences as well as interdisciplinary materials. Also needed are resources that examine ethical issues that arise in international settings or from cultural differences, ethics and society, and social responsibility in science.
Current OEC resources include case studies, lesson plans, teaching notes, essays, descriptions of educational activities, assessment tools, videos, syllabi, and bibliographies. The various types of materials collected on the site are described below.
Submissions should include a brief description of the resource, a copy or online link to the resource, and a brief explanation or demonstration of how the resource has been successfully used in a learning environment. If possible, include an image to go with the resource (please ensure that it is available through open access or has the proper permissions for OEC posting). OEC staff and Editorial Board will review the submissions. Click here to learn about the review process.
How to Submit
Feel free to be creative! Fill out the submission form below to get started. After submitting a resource, please also fill out the OEC license and release form and return it to onlineethics@virginia.edu.
OEC Resource Submission Form OEC License and Release Form
Resource Collection
The OEC collects resources in the following areas. We welcome submissions that have appropriate permissions to allow them to be shared with OEC users.
Case Studies
These include hypothetical/fictional, historical/nonfiction, technical cases, minicases, open-ended cases, role-playing cases, and moral exemplars. Some include commentaries by experts in science and engineering, explaining the specific ethical issues and providing guidance for handling them.
Essays
With guidance and review from the OEC Editorial Boards, the OEC posts selected white papers or essays on ethics issues in areas of science and engineering.
Bibliographies
Bibliographies are organized by topic with links to the full text or its source. Many are annotated. More resources are available in the Ethics Education Library.
Topical Collections
Smaller and more specific topical collections of resources help users find resources on specific areas of interest.
Assessment Tools
Qualitative and quantitative assessment tools, such as pre- and post-tests, surveys, and interview protocols and results, are provided for assessing the teaching and learning of ethics.
Multimedia
Information about full-length feature films, video clips, documentaries, podcasts, software, and applications that can help students and practitioners explore issues.
Online Courses
Descriptions of and links to open source online courses on ethics and social implications of engineering, science, and research.
Instructor Materials
Resources such as lecture notes; syllabi; lesson plans; and pedagogical notes on strategies and approaches for teaching ethics in science and engineering are available for instructors with varying levels of familiarity and experience with ethics education.
Educational Activities
Descriptions of educational activities or programs that can be used to recreate or enhance programs at your institution include courses, institution-wide programs, online activities, service learning programs, multiyear programs, public engagement efforts, train the trainer activities, and exercises, assignments, or modules.
Events and Presentations
Presentations and videos of events on ethics in science and engineering are posted here.
Codes and Policies
This section has links to relevant honor codes, government policies, and international declarations and standards as well as many current professional codes and policies on ethics in science and engineering. Some records link to the Codes of Ethics Collection run by the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at the Illinois Institute of Technology, which hosts the full text of both the current and past versions of many codes. The IIT Center and Ethics Education Library received an award in 2015 to expand and enhance this code collection.
Published Works and Texts
The OEC selects published texts to serve as OEC Subject Aids and Teaching Aids. Access to and information about additional published items are provided through our Bibliographies collection and through our partner website, the Ethics Education Library (EEL). The EEL has an extensive bibliographic collection of 15,000+ published articles, case studies, and teaching aids on ethics, including ethics related to engineering and the sciences. The OEC collection also includes reports and workshop summaries of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Commentaries
We welcome commentaries on any of the resources in the OEC that share helpful reflections, teaching notes, or additional information that augment existing materials in our collection. Additional information should be clearly related to the original resource and the commentary should describe this explicitly. The commentary will be connected to the resource at the end of the web page.
