Research ethics All research has ethical implications Research activities can affect the health and...
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Research ethics
Research ethics All research has ethical implications Research activities can affect the health and wellbeing of subjects and of society as a whole There
Research ethics All research has ethical implications Research
activities can affect the health and wellbeing of subjects and of
society as a whole There is often a tradeoff between protection of
subjects and the potential social value of the research
Slide 3
Individual v. institutional ethics All researchers must
determine whether their research meets their personal standards of
ethics However, practices in the past have led to a concern that
individual ethics are not adequate to protect research subjects
Incentives encourage researchers to carry out even questionable
research Historical examples of research that are either horrific
(Nazi experiments on prisoners) or questionable at best (Tea-room
trade)
Slide 4
Development of institutional safeguards Over time, a number of
ethical critiques of research practices has generated a variety of
codes of conduct for researchers The Belmont Report provides the
guiding philosophy for most institutional research ethics in the
United States today Basic ethical principles: Respect for Persons
Beneficence Justice
Slide 5
Institutional Review Boards UK, like other research
universities, has set up boards for applying these ethical
principles to proposed research Required by the federal government
if the institution receives federal research funding At UK, these
IRBs are located within the Office of Research IntegrityOffice of
Research Integrity
Slide 6
When a faculty member proposes a study she must gain acceptance
of the proposal by the IRB. All research, whether funded or
not
Slide 7
IRBs are divided into medical and non-medical IRBs Some focus
on animal research and others on human subjects Three levels of
review: Exempt Expedited Full Research studies are reviewed on a
regular basis or in the case where they need to be modified or
problems have occurred
Slide 8
The IRB is made up of university faculty. They are not involved
in the research they review. A number of guidelines for research
have been written and the IRB applies them to each research
proposal. They may accept a proposal, call for changes or reject.
The researcher cannot go forward with the research until it is
approved by the IRB.
Slide 9
Ethical principle #1: Respect for persons Two moral
requirements: Individuals should be treated as autonomous agents
Persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection
Slide 10
Informed consent Informed consent is obtained when subjects are
provided with adequate information prior to a study to determine
whether they are willing to act as a subject and they affirmatively
agree to provide information. Most social science research includes
some form of informed consent. An opt-out system is not
acceptable
Slide 11
The most vulnerable groups (special populations) People who are
unable to adequately weigh the potential positive and negative
consequences of participation in research Children Some elderly
Institutionalized populations Mental health facilities Prisons
Circumstantially affected Just lost baby
Slide 12
Informed consent for special populations Often requires that
someone act as a guardian for the member of the special population
An adult who has the interests of the potential subject at heart
Often research on children cannot begin until the parents/guardians
have consented, children have agreed to participate (if they are
old enough), and sometimes even school officials have
consented
Slide 13
Deception When subjects are in any way misled about the nature
of a study, or are given inadequate information to weigh the pros
and cons of participation, then true informed consent is not
possible When considering deception, the researcher must balance
the merits of deception against its costs The researcher and the
IRB may well be at odds over this Tea-room trade Mystery shopper
Commercial pretesting
Slide 14
When deception is used, its effects should be minimized by: 1.
Providing as much true and accurate information as possible without
giving away the deception 2. Debriefing after the data gathering is
concluded
Slide 15
Ethical principle 2: Beneficence The obligation to respect
persons decisions, protect them from harm, and secure their
well-being Rules of beneficence: Do not harm Maximize possible
benefits and minimize possible harms
Slide 16
Respect for research subjects Treating subjects as people
rather than objects of research What about animals?
Topics/manipulations that are not appropriate Tuskeegee syphilis
study Obedience studies Giving a placebo to AIDS/cancer patient
ACT-UP militancy
Slide 17
Main concerns Subject welfare Physical harm? (rare)
Mental/emotional harm? (more common) Weighed against the potential
social impact of findings What is the potential for an increase in
social welfare? Is there a potential for significant social harm
resulting from the research?
Slide 18
Subject welfare Will subjects be at risk of physical harm? Rare
occurrence Studies of illegal behavior Stanford prison experiment
Studies of stigmatized behavior Gay and Lesbian studies
Slide 19
Mental/emotional harm More common Exposure to upsetting content
Violence, sex, etc. Stress or fear Milgram, etc. Embarrassment
Demonstration of ignorance, etc. Long-term effect of powerful
stimulus Exposure to snuff pornography
Slide 20
Research anonymity/ confidentiality One means of protecting
subjects is to assure them that the information they give will be
held in confidence.
Slide 21
Anonymity Once the data are collected, it is no longer possible
to match the source of the data with the actual information
provided removal of names from data, etc. potential for false data
(cannot call back)
Slide 22
Confidentiality (more common) Researcher agrees not to make
personally identifiable information available to third parties
Publish only aggregated data Respondent can physically be
identified Allows for checking/validity analysis What if researcher
is subpoenaed? student drinking focus group drug survey among
adolescents
Slide 23
Privacy has become a significant research issue New
technologies allow for the collection of large amounts of personal
data without respondent awareness/knowledge Privacy notices are
hard to understand, unclear in their implications It is likely that
new legal restrictions on collection/sharing/use of data will be
developed
Slide 24
Major concerns How will you handle data protection? What about
information that was inadvertently gathered? What about respondents
who change their minds?
Slide 25
Ethical Principle 3: Justice Justice concerns whether the costs
and benefits of research are fairly distributed. Those who pay the
costs of research (either as subjects or as taxpayers) should
receive the benefits (not being excluded from use of vaccines due
to their high cost, etc.) For example, if poor people serve as
subjects of medical research and then are unable to receive the
medicine, the principle of justice has been broken
Slide 26
Stanford Prison Experiment Power of the situation How do the
three issues covered in ethics reviews relate to the Stanford
Prison Experiment?
Slide 27
Scientific integrity When using scientific methods or carrying
out scholarly research it is expected that you will follow the
dictates of science in terms of fairness and accuracy
Pseudo-science Unscientific polls Abusing science as a means of
bolstering the acceptance of non-scientific arguments is unethical
Race
Slide 28
Biased data collection Researchers should not have an economic
(or political, etc.) stake in the outcome of the research they
conduct Independent evaluation
Slide 29
Biased data collection Sponsor interests Government Investment
in certain topics, etc. Influence over research TV violence
Pornography Private organizations, foundations Drug companies
sponsoring tests of their own drugs RIAA research on music
downloading
Slide 30
Biased reporting/use of data Proprietary research Researcher
may have little control over use of findings Sponsor may continue
studying a topic until he/she gets the results he wants Tobacco
advertising; culpability Advocacy groups PR, spin Lies, damned
lies, and statistics
Slide 31
Public v. proprietary research Political concerns Compensation
Access to data, reports Control over, interpretation of results
Forms of influence over study design, interpretation, use