Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC3140: Data, Experiments, and Society

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Whilst the module’s precise content will vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following themes:

The experimental landscape - why an epistemology of experiment? Why an ethics of experiment?
Experimental data: why does it matter?
Reliability of experimentation: how do we know when we have “good” data?
Doing experiments with animals: Epistemic and ethical issues raised by animal research
Doing experiments with people: The clinical trial and the problem of randomisation
The question of consent in the digital age
The ethics of A/B testing - unconstrained power for private corporations?
AI and Big Data in science: Challenge or opportunity?
Open Science and Open Data: open to whom?

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities	22	Weekly 2-hour lectures/seminars or 1 hour lecture + 1 hour seminar
Guided independent study	55	11x5h Reading and preparation for classes
Guided independent study	3	Preparation for presentations
Guided independent study	70	Independent research for written assignments

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).