Data Ethics

From the board room to the shop floor, employees today are constantly raising, responding to, and thinking through various ethical issues surrounding data. This course goes beyond the regulatory requirements of what you can do, building an in-depth understanding of these issues to determine what you should do.

Gain foundational knowledge to identify and respond to ethical issues that arise when dealing with data. You’ll learn to identify, evaluate and mitigate ethical data issues, exploring concepts like autonomy, confidentiality and informed consent. Using a case-based approach, you’ll become confident using data ethics principles at every stage of data analysis to guide your practice, from planning, processing and sharing analyses.

This course includes a focus on data sovereignty, exploring how data ethics and Te Tiriti o Waitangi connect, looking at Māori data sovereignty, partnership and justice. You’ll walk away with a framework to guide your work with data, helping ensure that your processes are appropriate, ethical and impactful.   

This course is equivalent to Level 8 postgraduate study therefore applicants must meet the entry criteria as approved by NZQA, and have; 

• Either a Bachelor's degree or equivalent level qualification
• OR equivalent professional experience in a relevant field. Learners will be asked to demonstrate equivalent professional experience, which can include paid or voluntary work. If you’d like to check if you have the equivalent professional experience you can email us at info@uconline.ac.nz

Pre-requisites

Courses are taught in English and therefore learners should be confident reading, writing and listening in English.

Technology Requirements

We recommend a laptop or desktop computer and a reliable internet connection. For most courses you'll need to download and complete assignments. These are usually available in Microsoft Word.

Course fees
Course fees must be paid before learning can begin, either via online credit-card payment, or by contacting info@uconline.ac.nz to request an invoice. Please note: fixed invoice payment dates apply, so we recommend getting in touch with us as soon as possible to request an invoice, as this option is subject to availability.

Our courses are flexible, enabling you to plan your study around your other commitments. You can choose to study when it suits you during the 8-week learning period (9 October – 3 December), followed by a 2-week period for marking and feedback (4 – 18 December).

We recommend completing around 12 hours of study a week during the 8-week learning period – you can view the course overview here for more details on assessment timings. 

Module 1: Introduction to Data Ethics, Ethics and Reasoning
Become familiar with core ethical concepts and reasoning skills that will be explored in this course.

Module 2: Gathering and Generating Data
Explore ethical issues around privacy, confidentiality, data sovereignty and informed consent.

Module 3: Recording and Storing Data
Explore ethical issues around recording and storing data, such as confidentiality, privacy, and social justice.

Module 4: Processing Data
Consider the limitations of algorithms, sources of bias, cultural considerations and questions of fairness.

Module 5: Sharing Data and Results of Data Analysis
Explore ethical concerns that arise when data and results are shared or not.

Module 6: Planning
Learn how to pre-emptively identify and mitigate ethical risks during project planning.

Module 7: Synthesis
Bring together your learning and apply your ethical reasoning skills in a comprehensive case study analysis. 

Dr Carolyn Mason, Presenter 
Lecturer | University of Canterbury 

Carolyn Mason has been an ethicist or Chair on a number of ethics committees, including the Upper South Island Health and Disability Ethics Committee and the Ethics Committee for Artificial Reproductive Technology. Her university teaching has included work on health science, bioethics, data ethics, legal ethics, political philosophy, criminal justice and computer game design. Carolyn’s research includes work on people’s relationship with the environment, artificial reproductive technology legislation, de-extinction (recreating extinct species), the provision of health care, reasons for action, and friendship. 

Dr Dean Sutherland, Contributor 
Associate Professor | University of Canterbury 

Dean Sutherland is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury. Dean has served as the Chair of the University’s Human Research Ethics Committee since 2019. His teaching and research activities includes ethics, culture, and professional practices for speech-language therapists and audiologists. 

Dr Marty J. Wolf, Contributor 
Professor Emeritus | Bemidji State University 

Dr Marty J. Wolf is the Chair of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)’s Committee on Professional Ethics, and an Erskine Visiting Fellow in the Philosophy Department at the University of Canterbury. He is an Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota USA with over thirty years’ of experience teaching undergraduate computer science. His research spans theoretical computer science, bioinformatics and graph theory, and, over the last twenty years, he has engaged in collaborative interdisciplinary scholarship in computing and information ethics and the philosophy of computation. He was also part of the team that led the most recent update to the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Dr Dan McKay, Contributor 
Tutor | University of Canterbury

Dr Dan McKay is a philosopher specializing in ethics. He works at the University of Canterbury. His research interests include consequentialism, free will, and freedom.