Human Practices/Resources
Human Practices Resources
Thinking about how your team might approach human practices? Check out some of the resources below to help get you started, many of which have been developed specifically for iGEM teams. You should also look at the ‘how to succeed’ page (which includes tips for teams and more details on medals, awards and competition requirements)) and examples from past teams (some of which have developed and frameworks to help iGEM teams) to get inspired.
As we describe on the how to succeed page,your human practices work can also be a form of human subjects social science research. Resources below can help you get started in designing your approach. iGEM requires that teams must demonstrate their awareness of the relevant institution and country policies around human subjects research and their adherence to them. We encourage you to put this information on your wiki.
Have a resource to contribute?
Please email the executive committee at humanpractices [AT] igem [DOT] org with copies and/or links to material and a short description.
Synenergene collaborated with iGEM teams to explore Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and to strengthen their Human Practices work. Check out their tools developed for iGEM teams, including the iGEMer’s Guide to the Future, which can help your team get started with HP.
Building With Biology provides digital kits to help facilitate and prototype public engagement. You can read about iGEM teams’ experiences using and adapting these tools on their blog.
Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Tools is curating a toolkit for understanding the relationship between science, technology and society.
How to choose your iGEM project (keeping Human Practices in mind) is a blog post by Andy Balmer, 2010 Sheffield Team Advisor and 2011 Judge
Resources on Methods of Social Science Research
Similar to doing your synthetic biology research, conducting surveys, focus groups or interviews requires good planning and design so as to ensure that the findings give you an accurate representation of how people would think about, react to and benefit from your research. After setting out what you want to understand (for example, ‘what technical changes would potential users want to have?’ or ’how will local communities think about my research’), you will need to think about sampling strategies, that is, who should you reach out to? Should factors such as gender, age, income or educational backgrounds need to be taken into account so as to establish a more rounded view? Similar to conducting research in the lab, you may also need to think through how surveys or interviews can be best organised. For example, how do you word a question in a jargon-free and neutral way, so that it would not falsely sway the responses in one direction? What may be better asked first and what questions may be better saved toward the end?
To make your human practices more informative and effective, here are lists of resources that can help you get started. You can find more resources at your local libraries and via online databases.
Resources on Ethics
Research ethics and its regulations vary from country to country. Yet there are some basic principles, such as informed voluntary participation, confidentiality, anonymity and minimising harm, that could be regarded as universal. While carrying out social research and outreach, UNESCO’s Code of Conduct for Social Science Research should also be observed: http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SHS/pdf/Soc_Sci_Code.pdf
A brief summary of key ethical concerns relating to human practices can be found here: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/relandval.php
Resources on how to conduct interviews
Harvard University Strategies for Qualitative Interviews Guide: https://sociology.fas.harvard.edu/files/sociology/files/interview_strategies.pdf
Jacob, S. A., & Furgerson, S. P. (2012). Writing Interview Protocols and Conducting Interviews: Tips for Students New to the Field of Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, 17(42), 1-10. Online access: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol17/iss42/3 (a step-by-step guide written in accessible language)
Resources on how to organise focus groups
England’s National Health Service’s ‘bite-size guide to Run focus groups’: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/bitesize-guide-focus-groups.pdf (while this guide was originally written for patient research, the practical steps enclosed can be applied to focus groups on various topics).
US Environmental Protection Agency’s guide on focus groups: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/public-participation-guide-focus-groups
Anderson, C. (2010) Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative Research. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74(8): 141 Online access: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987281/ (provides good examples of how to present qualitative data and an Appendix on Checklist for qualitative research)
iGEM Foundation
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