Module PHL2122 for 2022/3
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
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.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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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 |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Bertolaso, M. and Sterpetti, F., 2020. A Critical Reflection on Automated Science. Springer International Publishing.
Iltis, A.S. and MacKay, D., 2021. The Oxford Handbook of Research Ethics. Oxford University Press.
Issenberg, S., 2012. The victory lab: The secret science of winning campaigns. Crown Publishing.
Kohavi, R., Tang, D. and Xu, Y., 2020. Trustworthy Online Controlled Experiments: A Practical Guide to A/B Testing. Cambridge University Press.
Radder, H. (Ed.)., 2003. The Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation. University of Pittsburgh Press.
Salganik, M.J., 2019. Bit by bit: Social research in the digital age. Princeton University Press.