Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2010; 1(1):3

Ethical Issues in Social Research

Prof. Ahmadullah Mia, Ph.D. Dean, Faculty of Sciences and Humanities, American World University, 
Dhaka Campus, Email: amia1941@gmail.com

The aims of social research include broadly understanding and explaining human behaviour and relations, influences 
of  social  institutions  on  behaviour,  interactions  between  individuals’  innate  tendencies  and  social  institutions, 
behaviour changes and conditions that lead to changes, scope of manipulations of the environment for positive social 
outcome, and impact of social interventions on individuals and groups or communities, etc. Varied methodologies 
are applied in social  studies  for  theoretical  development as well  as  advancing social  inventions contributing to 
improvement of the living conditions of human population. Forms of studies are planned to suit the purpose. Also, 
methodology used in a study determines the type of study. Ethical issues in social studies emanate from the debate 
on the purpose of social studies – whether studies should primarily focus on building knowledge or application for 
change in the social conditions. Similarly methods applied to investigating into human life as making scientific 
exploration or influencing social  conditions invite ethical controversy.  Values that guide social research contain 
ethical elements, which are unavoidable, like research in any other field. Social research concerned with human 
being is always likely be plagued by controversy on ethical judgment. The only way to bypass the problem is to give 
priority consideration to ‘those who the research is meant for’.    

The Goals of Bioethics Education

Prof.  Darryl  Macer,  Ph.D.,  Regional  Adviser  for  Social  and Human Sciences  in  Asia and Pacific,  RUSHSAP, 
UNESCO Bangkok, Email: d.macer@unesco.org

The rationale for Bioethics education is in the Asia-Pacific regional action plan, “Joint Plan of Action for Regional 
Networking in Bioethics Education Towards Better Bioethics Education”, developed at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific 
Conference  on Bioethics  Education in  2006.  Please refer  to  the goals  there  for  a  discussion.  The International 
Bioethics Education Network was also launched. The current strategies will be discussed including: 

1)  Use of  on-line teaching materials  for  bioethics education in different  countries.  Production of  cross  cultural 
materials.  Improvement  via  expert  meetings.  Adapted and translated in different  languages  to teach school and 
university classes about bioethics.

2) A network of teachers in different countries , sharing bioethics curricula for schools, bioethics clubs and other 
endeavours.

3) Implementation of the joint regional action plan (July 2006)

4) Mapping of bioethics teaching programs in Global Ethics Observatory (GEObs)

5) Sharing of museum displays and over stimuli to enhance classroom interactions

6) Development of moral games and participatory methods

7) Conducting teacher training workshops with UNESCO national commissions and colleges

8) Curriculum review and development

9) UNESCO Core Curriculum on Bioethics and MOUs with pilot institutions

10) Mainstreaming of ethics, integration into professional educational review and training

11) Evaluation of teaching bioethics.

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