TY - JOUR
T1 - Methods for Practising Ethics in Research and Innovation
T2 - A Literature Review, Critical Analysis and Recommendations
AU - Reijers, Wessel
AU - Wright, David
AU - Brey, Philip
AU - Weber, Karsten
AU - Rodrigues, Rowena
AU - O’Sullivan, Declan
AU - Gordijn, Bert
PY - 2018/10
Y1 - 2018/10
N2 - This paper provides a systematic literature review, analysis and discussion of methods that are proposed to practise ethics in research and innovation (R&I). Ethical considerations concerning the impacts of R&I are increasingly important, due to the quickening pace of technological innovation and the ubiquitous use of the outcomes of R&I processes in society. For this reason, several methods for practising ethics have been developed in different fields of R&I. The paper first of all presents a systematic search of academic sources that present and discuss such methods. Secondly, it provides a categorisation of these methods according to three main kinds: (1) ex ante methods, dealing with emerging technologies, (2) intra methods, dealing with technology design, and (3) ex post methods, dealing with ethical analysis of existing technologies. Thirdly, it discusses the methods by considering problems in the way they deal with the uncertainty of technological change, ethical technology design, the identification, analysis and resolving of ethical impacts of technologies and stakeholder participation. The results and discussion of our literature review are valuable for gaining an overview of the state of the art and serve as an outline of a future research agenda of methods for practising ethics in R&I.
AB - This paper provides a systematic literature review, analysis and discussion of methods that are proposed to practise ethics in research and innovation (R&I). Ethical considerations concerning the impacts of R&I are increasingly important, due to the quickening pace of technological innovation and the ubiquitous use of the outcomes of R&I processes in society. For this reason, several methods for practising ethics have been developed in different fields of R&I. The paper first of all presents a systematic search of academic sources that present and discuss such methods. Secondly, it provides a categorisation of these methods according to three main kinds: (1) ex ante methods, dealing with emerging technologies, (2) intra methods, dealing with technology design, and (3) ex post methods, dealing with ethical analysis of existing technologies. Thirdly, it discusses the methods by considering problems in the way they deal with the uncertainty of technological change, ethical technology design, the identification, analysis and resolving of ethical impacts of technologies and stakeholder participation. The results and discussion of our literature review are valuable for gaining an overview of the state of the art and serve as an outline of a future research agenda of methods for practising ethics in R&I.
KW - Ethical impact assessment
KW - Ethics assessment
KW - Ethics of technology
KW - Practising ethics
KW - Research and innovation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85029152756&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11948-017-9961-8
DO - 10.1007/s11948-017-9961-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85029152756
VL - 24
SP - 1437
EP - 1481
JO - Science and engineering ethics
JF - Science and engineering ethics
SN - 1353-3452
IS - 5
ER -