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Professional and Ethical Issues of Software Engine
Professional and Ethical Issues of Software Engine
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supported the development of generic skills in a good way. concerns and we are adding an ethical concerns criteria to
Even though the list of generic skills that the study was our examination rubrics. In the following we describe these
based on was taken from official lists developed within the in more detail.
Bologna program of the European Union, they did not ex-
plicitly consider ethical issues.
Based on the results from these earlier phases the PIFF
8. ETHICS SUPPORT IN SOFTWARE EN-
project is now developing two main sets of resources for Soft- GINEERING MASTER THESIS
ware Engineering Master theses support. One is a set of We apply the integrative approach of Burkholder et al in
rubrics to support the judgment of quality of different phases the PIFF project, making ethical deliberation part of the
of a Master thesis project. The rubrics cover the proposal Software Engineering Master Thesis work [6]. During the
for a thesis, the process of conducting the thesis project, the thesis work, a student will meet a number of professional
thesis report itself, as well as the oral presentation of the ethical questions and especially in thesis work with empirical
work. Each of these four rubrics state quality criteria and research such as surveys, case studies, field studies, metrics
different levels of quality for each criterion. and experiments, ethical aspects will be important to recog-
The other set of resources developed within PIFF is a web- nize and deal with, from informed consent to confidentiality
based support tool for knowledge exchange between academia, and privacy, see Singer and Vinson [38].
industry and research during diploma work, supporting both Our snippet for support of ethical concerns in the the-
a student and an advisor in the different phases (planning, sis project covers two major areas: student work ethics and
execution and grading/assessment). The portal contains ethics of the research itself. The student work ethics fo-
‘snippets’ relating to different parts of a Master thesis project. cus on the professional conduct of the student during the
A snippet has general information and guidelines, a check- project and aims to prepare students for their professional
list, links to further information, and sometimes templates career. This is considered very important by industrial the-
to support the student in this aspect of her thesis work. sis advisors and contact persons and they use it as one of the
Some of the snippets will also have short videos where a main criteria in judging whether a thesis student would also
teacher or student goes through the main aspects of the make a good future employee. For the student work ethics
snippet for the student. These videos are important since the PIFF snippet describes that the student will need to
not all Master thesis courses have specific lecture elements exhibit: character (such as integrity, dependability, respon-
or room in the schedule for covering all aspects in the class; sibility etc.), punctuality (respecting schedules and dead-
the videos are an inexpensive and simple way to give sup- lines etc.), attitude (realistic expectations etc.), social and
port to all students and other thesis stakeholders without teamwork skills (cooperativeness), communication (verbal
incurring additional costs. and non-verbal skills), working and organizational skills (pri-
The results from the early phases of PIFF showed that oritization and stress management, flexibility), cooperation
there was little to no awareness of or support for ethical is- (leadership skills, criticism and conflict), and respect (cul-
sues within the Master thesis projects. This is surprising tural and other diversity, harassment issues etc). Super-
since the importance of ethical concerns can be expected visors are encouraged to include a discussion about these
to be more evident in practical projects closer to reality. issues when starting up a thesis project and some aspects
As argued in [6], it is necessary to integrate the study of are covered by criteria in the thesis process rubric the su-
Ethics into professional Software Engineering education us- pervisor uses to judge the quality of the work of the student.
ing a case-based approach (Burkholder), practical methods The ‘Timeliness’ criterion covers punctuality, while the ‘Bal-
for ethical reasoning (Covey) and by presenting integration ance’ criterion covers teamwork, organization and coopera-
models (Gotterbarn). This should be all the more natural tion skills. Communication skills are partly covered by the
within the context of a practical and/or applied diploma presentation rubric. A selection of relevant quality crtieria
project. We have thus developed specific support for ethical are shown in Table 2. We are also developing a video to
Table 2: Selection of Quality Criteria from Thesis Rubrics that relate to Ethics and Professional Issues
Criteria Superior Good Fair Minimal
Timeliness (Project) Student(s) have kept Student(s) have Student(s) have been Student(s) have a
continuous contact mostly sent deliv- late to meetings or in serious problem with
during the work erables on agreed sending deliverables keeping agreed to
and have been on dates. With only a in a way that have meeting and dead-
time both to meet- few exceptions stu- hampered the pro- lines. Advisor have
ings and in sending dent(s) have been on cess. The advisor not been able to
deliverables. time to meetings and had to prompt the get a picture of the
reported continously students with ques- status of the work
on their progress. tions about the sta- during the project.
tus of the work.
Balance (Project) A well-balanced A balanced collab- A collaboration An imbalanced col-
collaboration where oration where both where both students laboration where one
both students have students have a have contributed student have con-
a good grasp of all grasp of the whole equally to the work tributed more than
parts of the work. work even though even if they have the other. Stronger
they have focused worked more inde- students name: X
on sligthly different pendetly on different
parts. parts.
Ethical issues (Thesis) Ethical issues anal- Ethical issues ad- Ethical isssues only Ethical issues not
ysed and discussed in dressed in research partly addressed in considered at all.
report and have been but only partly anal- research and discus-
fully addressed in de- ysed and discussed sion is lacking.
sign and execution of in thesis.
research.
summarize for the students what a professional work ethic a form, ethical considerations are naturally integrated in the
means in practice for their thesis project. Over time this master thesis course. As a final element, the thesis report
will be complemented with concrete examples of how ethi- rubric contains criteria to evaluate if ethical concerns have
cal concerns have been addressed in different, previous thesis been taken into account and properly discussed in the thesis.
projects. The above thesis support elements create the awareness
The other aspect we cover is ethics of the research work and discussion among stakeholders around professional con-
itself. Even though thesis project does not always strictly duct and ethical issues and help to develop an ability of
qualify as research, in practice it is often indistinguishable sound ethical judgment by a student. We are currently eval-
from academic research, and thus has clear ethical implica- uating the effectiveness of our approach including the views
tions. Furthermore, since the thesis work is learning for of different stakeholders.
research, it must be preparing for future professional re-
search activity in which ethical concerns are fundamental.
Our snippet discusses: the precautionary principle, envi-
9. CONCLUSIONS
ronmental impact of research, privacy issues and security The aim of including ethics in science and engineering
issues in general, as well as safety aspects. Furthermore, it curricula is to increase the ability of future professionals to
presents examples of specific ethical rights and how they can recognize and address ethical problems, to accept different
be assured in practice. Some examples are: ensuring prior ethical perspectives and allow for ethical pluralism. Ethics
consent by participants/subjects of the research signing an courses develop the skill and habit of thinking rationally
informed consent form, with restriction of access to data col- about ethical issues and in that way prepare students for
lected during the research to ensure privacy and anonymity, the challenges of their future profession.
considering the social and long-term impact of the research Experiences from the Professional Ethics in Science and
through discussion in the thesis, etc. Engineering and related courses at Mälardalen University
Many of the ethical concerns for the research are covered are encouraging. An overall impression is that the course
by the issue of informed consent. Since studying Software participants discovered a very important factor that influ-
Engineering methods, tools and processes is common in mas- ences their professional judgments and decision making, the
ter thesis projects, ensuring that students have their study engineering ethical aspect. With all the positive experiences
subjects sign an informed consent form is a good way to we have, we are definitely intended to continue giving the
ensure the awareness, discussion and practical decisions on courses in the future, convinced in their indispensability for
ethical issues. We have thus developed a template informed educating future engineering professionals in general, and es-
consent form which outlines the different aspects the stu- pecially Software Engineering professionals, who are among
dent should consider and detail, before presenting them to those engineers who are going to meet the largest variety of
the subjects (see Appendix A). By requiring that they de- ethical issues of all Computing professionals.
velop, by filling in the different sections of the template with One of the steps of establishing the culture of ethical
the specifics of their study, and then get all subjects to sign thinking is through Master Thesis works done by students
in Computing on specific Engineering Ethics issues as well
as the inclusion of ethical discussion in PhD theses. [14] R. Feldt, M. Höst, and F. Lüders. Generic Skills in
Even higher impact is expected from the PIFF project, Software Engineering Master Thesis Projects:
which will, through a web based support tool, including an Towards Rubric-Based Evaluation. In Proceedings of
informed consent template and evaluation criteria for the CSEET 2008, 2008.
quality judgment of theses and thesis projects, regularly sup- [15] D. Gotterbarn. The capstone course in computer
port Software Engineering students at Mälardalen Univer- ethics. In Proceedings of the National Conference on
sity, Blekinge Institute of Technology and Lund University Computing and Values, New Haven, CT, 1991.
in thinking through ethical issues in their diploma work. [16] C. E. Harris, M. S. Pritchard, and M. J. Rabins.
Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases. Wadsworth
Publishing, 1995.
10. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
[17] V. Horniak. Privacy Of Communication - Ethics And
The authors would like to thank Keith Miller, Martin Höst Technology. Technical report, Mälardalen University
and Frank Lüders for reading the manuscript and offering (Master Thesis), 2004.
valuable suggestions.
[18] M. Höst, R. Feldt, and F. Lüders. Support for
Different Roles in Software Engineering Master’s
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(Master Thesis), 2007. who participate must be described. If no benefits accrue to
[36] S. D. Personick and C. A. Patterson (Eds.). the subjects, what are the larger societal benefits for con-
Committee on Critical Information Infrastructure ducting the research? After analysing and comparing the
Protection and the Law - An Overview of Key Issues. risks and the benefits it must be clear that the benefits are
The National Academies Press, 2003. greater than the risks.]
[37] SCU. A Framework for Ethical Decision Making.
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ A.5 Anonymity and Confidentiality
framework.html. [The extent to which subjects will be identifiable must
[38] J. Singer and N. G. Vinson. Ethical issues in empirical be explained. If anonymity is promised (individuals cannot
studies of Software Engineering. IEEE Transactions be identified), you need to explain how that will be accom-
on Software Engineering, 28(12):1171–1180, 2002. plished. If confidentiality is promised (individuals can be
[39] H. Tavani. The uniqueness debate in computer ethics: identified, but the researchers promise not to reveal that in-
What exactly is at issue, and why does it matter? formation), you must explain how that will be accomplished.
Ethics and Information Technology, 4:37–54, 2002. Social security numbers should not be used as identifiers in
[40] Trakya. On Being A Scientist - Responsible Conduct place of names. You may also say, ‘at no time will the re-
In Research. http://cemece.trakya.edu.tr/images/ searchers release the results of the study to anyone other
OnBeingAScientist.pdf. than individuals working on the project without your writ-
ten consent’.]
[If taping (video or audio) is to occur, the subjects must
APPENDIX be informed. You must state how the tapes will be se-
A. TEMPLATE FOR INFORMED CONSENT cured and stored, under whose supervision, who will score
or transcribe, who will have access and when they will be
FORM destroyed.]
For participants in research projects involving human sub-
jects. A.6 Compensation
Title of project: X
[There is no requirement that subjects are compensated,
Investigators: Y
but if they are, they must be fully informed. If no compen-
Before agreeing to participate in this research study, it
sation is to be earned, subjects must be so informed.]
is important that you read the following explanation. This
statement describes the purpose, procedures, benefits, risks, A.7 Freedom to Withdraw
and precautions of the program. Also described are the al-
ternative procedures available to you, as well as your right Subjects are free to withdraw from a study at any time
to withdraw from the study at any time. without penalty. If they choose to withdraw, they will be
[Note to student: Text in square brackets is instructions compensated for the portion of the time of the study (if
for you on what you need to write and clarify in the different financial compensation is involved). If they choose to with-
sections. When you write you should ensure that you cover draw, they will not be penalized
all the underlined concepts.] Subjects are free not to answer any questions or respond
to experimental situations that they choose without penalty.
A.1 Purpose of this Research/Project There may be circumstances under which the investigator
may determine that a subject should not continue as a sub-
[Subjects will be informed in clear, concise language about
ject. The subject must be compensated for the portion of
the nature of the study and the purpose for conducting the
the project completed.
research. The total number of subjects involved and a brief
description of the subject group will be given.] A.8 Subject’s Responsibilities
I voluntarily agree to participate in this study. I have the
A.2 Procedures following responsibilities:
[The research procedures that involve human subjects will [List responsibilities]
be explained so that the subjects will be fully informed
about their role, what activities or functions they will be A.9 Subject’s Permission
expected to perform, for how long, the number of times
I have read the Consent Form and conditions of this project.
they are expected to appear and over what period of time.
I have had all my questions answered. I hereby acknowledge
They must be told where the research will take place, what
the above and give my voluntary consent:
instrumentation is to be used, if any, and conditions in-
Subject signature
volved. At the end of this section, the subjects must have a
Investigator(s) signature
clear understanding of what will be expected of them.]
Faculty advisor(s) signature
A.3 Risks [NOTE: Subjects must be given a complete copy (or du-
plicate original) of the signed Informed Consent.]
[Any risks or discomforts to the research subject must be
fully disclosed. Risks may range from physical danger such
as injury to emotional distress, consequences of disclosing
personal and private opinion etc. Safeguards that are to be
employed to reduce or minimize the risks will be described.]