How to use fiction movies in education on responsible conduct of research

Objective: Several major violations of research integrity shook up academia and society during the last decade. Fostering responsible conduct of research (RCR) and preventing research misbehaviour were put high on the agenda. Teaching students and researchers about rules and norms in research is one thing, but empowering them to deal with moral dilemmas in research practice is a challenge. We argue that fictional narratives can be very useful in exploring the tough choices scientists have to make. In this project, we investigated the usefulness and applicability of a selection of fiction movies for RCR education. Method: A format for structured description of (fragments of) movies was developed and after pilot testing consensus on the format was achieved. This format was applied to 31movies. Legal and practical aspects of using (fragments of) movies for educational purposes and of sharing the teaching materials online (creative commons) were explored. Results: Not all movies in our initial selection were deemed useful for RCR education. Of the 31 movies we considered, 20 movies remained in the final selection. The main RCR topics addressed in these movies are: conflicts of interest, selective reporting and citation, scientific writing, authorship, research waste and data collection and study design issues. Discussion: The structured format, an annotated list of useful fiction movie fragments for RCR education, and descriptions of the legal aspects and practicalities, will be published on the website of the Netherlands Research Integrity Network (http://www.nrin.nl/). Also first experiences with the use of the selected movie fragments in RCR education will be presented.