Wetenschap voor academische professionals

Course goals

After completing this course, you will have:

• Developed insight into the role of science within the medical profession and society, including the interaction between science, healthcare, technology, and society, as well as the pathway from fundamental research to clinical application and guidelines.
• Acquired skills to understand, critically evaluate, and apply scientific research and publications, including different research traditions, basic statistics, evidence appraisal, pharmacognosy, and philosophical argumentation.
• Gained knowledge and skills related to conducting and communicating scientific work, including information literacy, proper referencing, the publication process, and the recognition and evaluation of scientific integrity and questionable research practices.

Content

What does it mean to be scientifically trained? What constitutes high-quality (bio)medical research? How is research communicated within the scientific community? How do scientists evaluate and utilize the research findings of others? And how are such findings integrated into professional judgment and decision-making? These questions form the core of this course.
The course reflects on the historical development of (bio)medical science within its societal context. It also considers the current state of the field and explores future developments, with particular attention to the interaction between science, professional practice, and society.
Specific focus is given to the philosophy of science, open science, and recent developments in scientific publishing. In addition, the course examines the historical evolution of the biomedical sciences, decision-making processes within the scientific community, and the pathway from the initial concept of a pharmaceutical intervention to its approval for market use, including regulatory frameworks. Finally, the course addresses how science can go astray, the mechanisms underlying such failures, strategies to safeguard against them, and public perceptions of science.
Students will develop skills in selecting, interpreting, critically appraising, and applying existing scientific research. They will practice writing scientific texts, evaluating scientific evidence and its implications, and will be introduced to cases of scientific misconduct as well as notable success stories.