Aims and structure of this course
What is the responsibility of a social scientist? Can a political scientist or public administration scholar ever be truly neutral, or is research inevitably shaped by value‑laden choices? And if such choices are unavoidable, what does it mean to leave them to individual researchers? Should they not instead be subject to open public debate? Further questions follow: Who determines what counts as societally relevant, and by what criteria? How can researchers uphold scientific rigor while simultaneously striving for real‑world impact? To what extent should scientists assume active or even activist roles beyond the traditional production of knowledge? When studying politically or morally charged issues, is controversy simply unavoidable? Is there any merit to the critique that academia is dominated by liberal‑progressive values, potentially introducing systematic biases into research practices? And how does academic freedom fit into this landscape? What responsibilities accompany the right to speak freely? Ultimately, how do these questions lead us back to the core principles of scientific independence and integrity?

Though these questions vary, they share a common thread: they challenge researchers in ways that theory, methodology, and data alone cannot resolve. At their core, these are normative questions – questions about values, ethics, and the responsibilities that come with conducting research in general, and in political science and public administration in particular.

This course does not deal with specific theories or particular methodologies of political science and public administration – nor with philosophy of science and epistemology – but with the values and ethics involved in the practice of research.

By the end of this course, PhD students will be able to:

• Recognize and analyze ethical dilemmas in research – Identify key issues of scientific integrity, value conflict, and societal responsibility in the practice of governance research;
• Critically evaluate the role of values in social science – Assess the implications of the fact-value distinction, scientific independence, and normative commitments in research;
• Engage in informed discussions on scientific responsibility – Reflect on and debate classical and contemporary perspectives on the societal responsibility of social scientists, both within academia and in society;
• Apply ethical reflection to their own research – Recognize implicit value choices in their own work and develop a well-reasoned position on their role as researchers in politically and morally charged contexts.

The course consists of three morning sessions and three afternoon sessions. As a starting point, we take Max Weber’s classical position on the honorable, value-neutral scientist. We will try to come to grips with Weber’s stance and identify key questions about Weber’s position. These questions will be dealt with in the rest of this course. We will discuss alternative positions on the social scientist’s responsibility, deviating from Weber’s classical position: the value-aware, the value-realizing and the value-critical social scientist. We will look into the arguments provided for these alternative positions and see whether they can stand critical scrutiny. We will do so together, as participants and lecturers, but also guided by experienced researchers that present their perspectives on values and ethics in the practice of research. As input for the course, participants write a brief paper setting out their position on scientific responsibility, value conflicts and societal engagement.