Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL2122: Data, Experiments, and Society

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

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to enable you to critically reflect on the ethical and epistemic issues that experimental practice raises in various contexts. The module draws on a mixture of literature from philosophy, the natural and social sciences, and the corporate world (Google, Facebook, etc.) to build a conceptual toolbox that will allow you to perform such critical reflection. In the process you will also learn how to apply philosophical/ethical analyses to complex practical issues.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. apply a selection of conceptual tools for analysing the nature of experimentation in contemporary research 2. critically engage with a case study of experimental practice
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. demonstrate in writing and orally some competence in using major theoretical perspectives and concepts in philosophy and how they apply to real-world cases 4. illustrate the role and importance of detailed empirical knowledge for philosophical understanding
Personal and Key Skills	5. learn to think, write, and argue logically through class discussions and written assignments 6. reconsider your personal understanding of experimentation and its place in your own culture/discipline

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

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?

Learning and Teaching

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	0

...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	11 x 2 hours per week comprising of lectures and seminars
Guided independent study	55	11x 5 hours reading and preparation for classes
Guided independent study	3	Preparation for presentations
Guided independent study	70	Independent research for written assignments

Online Resources

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