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Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ethics in Research

Research Ethics

Ethical guidelines for

            1. treatment of research participants (both humans & animals)

            2.

Evolution of Ethical Principles

y       Nazi freezing experiments (1936-1944).

y      

y       The Milgram Obedience Study (1960s).

y      

Establishment of Ethical Principles

nThe Nuremberg code

n1947:

n1953: 1st ethical code of APA accepted. 

n1981:

Basis of guidelines for behavioral & medical research

Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research (1979).

Belmont Report

3 basic ethical principles:

n           Beneficence

n           Respect for persons

n           Justice

Justice

In Milgram’s study on obedience, deception was present because:

• Participants were not told the real purpose of the study.

• Participants were not told they could quit the experiment at any time.

•.

Milgram Study

Pros and Cons of Deception

Pros:

•          .

•          Some deception makes the experiment more plausible and lifelike.

Cons:

•          Misleading others is morally wrong.

•          .

•          Deception can get out of control & be used unnecessarily.

Minimizing the Effects of Deception

.

The researcher must also provide any care (counseling) for the participant due to potential physical and/or psychological harm.

Who Decides the Merits of the Study?

Institutional Review Board. 

The main job of the IRB is to determine whether participants are at risk in the research study.  

Institutional Review Boards

nMinimum of 5 members (1 from outside the institution).

n.

nSeparate review board for animal research.

IRB Criteria

n         Minimization of risk to participants

n          

n         Equitable selection—no discrimination and does not exploit vulnerable individuals

n         Informed consent

n         Documentation of informed consent—is written consent necessary?

n          

n         Privacy & confidentiality

Personal Information

n    Includes attitudes & opinions, measures of performance, demographic characteristics

n    Confidentiality:

n    Anonymity:

The IRB Process

Research proposals submitted to the IRB must include:

y       .

y       Procedures for minimizing risks.

y       The exact wording of the informed consent  form.

y       How participants will be debriefed.

y       The procedures to insure confidentiality is maintained.

Exempt Research

Research where there is minimal risk to the participant is granted exemption from a full IRB review.

Examples:

            Education testing & classroom activities.

            Archival research.

Minimal-Risk Research

y.

yExtensive risk prevention methods are not mandated by the IRB.

Greater-Than-Minimal-Risk Research

y 

yComplete informed consent and extensive safeguards are required.

Ethics in Scientific Reporting

The most serious of ethical misconduct is fraudulent/dishonest reporting including: 

            a)         .

            b)        

            c)

            d) Selectively reporting data (do a study 5 times and report only the 1 significant result).

The best safeguard against such misconduct is replication. 

Peer Review is a another safeguard.

Summary of APA Ethical Standards

•          Researchers must plan their research to be competent, ethical, legal, and get appropriate approval from their supportive institutions.

•          Researchers must get informed consent from their participants and minimize invasiveness in their data collection methods.

•         

•          Researchers must provide information about their results, share their results with others and honor their commitments to their participants.