What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?

 What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?

When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think of rules for distinguishing between
right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you"), a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath ("First of all, do no harm"), a
religious creed like the Ten Commandments ("Thou Shalt not kill..."), or a wise aphorisms
like the sayings of Confucius. This is the most common way of defining "ethics": norms for
conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings.
Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral
development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of
growth as they mature. Ethical norms are so ubiquitous that one might be tempted to regard
them as simple commonsense. On the other hand, if morality were nothing more than
commonsense, then why are there so many ethical disputes and issues in our society?

One plausible explanation of these disagreements is that all people recognize some common
ethical norms but interpret, apply, and balance them in different ways in light of their own
values and life experiences. For example, two people could agree that murder is wrong but
disagree about the morality of abortion because they have different understandings of what it
means to be a human being.

Most societies also have legal rules that govern behavior, but ethical norms tend to be broader
and more informal than laws. Although most societies use laws to enforce widely accepted
moral standards and ethical and legal rules use similar concepts, ethics and law are not the
same. An action may be legal but unethical or illegal but ethical. We can also use ethical
concepts and principles to criticize, evaluate, propose, or interpret laws. Indeed, in the last
century, many social reformers have urged citizens to disobey laws they regarded as immoral
or unjust laws. Peaceful civil disobedience is an ethical way of protesting laws or expressing
political viewpoints.

Another way of defining 'ethics' focuses on the disciplines that study standards of conduct,
such as philosophy, theology, law, psychology, or sociology. For example, a "medical
ethicist"is someone who studies ethical standards in medicine. One may also define ethics as
a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analyzing complex
problems and issues. For instance, in considering a complex issue like global warming, one
may take an economic, ecological, political, or ethical perspective on the problem. While an
economist might examine the cost and benefits of various policies related to global warming,
an environmental ethicist could examine the ethical values and principles at stake.

Many different disciplines, institutions, and professions have standards for behavior that suit
their particular aims and goals. These standards also help members of the discipline to
coordinate their actions or activities and to establish the public's trust of the discipline. For
instance, ethical standards govern conduct in medicine, law, engineering, and business.
Ethical norms also serve the aims or goals of research and apply to people who conduct
scientific research or other scholarly or creative activities. There is even a specialized
discipline, research ethics, which studies these norms. See Glossary of Commonly Used
Terms in Research Ethics.

There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research. First,
norms promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error. For
example, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting research data
promote the truth and minimize error.

Second, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among
many different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards promote
the values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual
respect, and fairness. For example, many ethical norms in research, such as guidelines for
authorship, copyright and patenting policies, data sharing policies, and confidentiality rules in
peer review, are designed to protect intellectual property interests while encouraging
collaboration. Most researchers want to receive credit for their contributions and do not want
to have their ideas stolen or disclosed prematurely.

Third, many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable to
the public. For instance, federal policies on research misconduct, conflicts of interest,
the human subjects protections, and animal care and use are necessary in order to make sure
that researchers who are funded by public money can be held accountable to the public.
Fourth, ethical norms in research also help to build public support for research. People are
more likely to fund a research project if they can trust the quality and integrity of research.

Finally, many of the norms of research promote a variety of other important moral and
social values, such as social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, compliance with
the law, and public health and safety. Ethical lapses in research can significantly harm human
and animal subjects, students, and the public. For example, a researcher who fabricates data
in a clinical trial may harm or even kill patients, and a researcher who fails to abide by
regulations and guidelines relating to radiation or biological safety may jeopardize his health
and safety or the health and safety of staff and students.

Codes and Policies for Research Ethics

Given the importance of ethics for the conduct of research, it should come as no surprise that
many different professional associations, government agencies, and universities have adopted
specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics. Many government agencies,
such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF),
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and
the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have ethics rules for funded researchers. Other
influential research ethics policies include Singapore Statement on Research Integrity,
the American Chemical Society, The Chemist Professional’s Code of Conduct, Code of
Ethics (American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science) American Psychological
Association, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, Statements on Ethics
and Professional Responsibility (American Anthropological Association), Statement on
Professional Ethics (American Association of University Professors), the Nuremberg
Code and the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki.

The following is a rough and general summary of some ethical principals that various codes
address*:

Honesty

Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data, results, methods and
procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data. Do not
deceive colleagues, research sponsors, or the public.
Objectivity

Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer review,
personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other aspects of research where
objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception. Disclose
personal or financial interests that may affect research.

Integrity

Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of thought and
action.

Carefulness

Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own work and the
work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as data collection, research
design, and correspondence with agencies or journals.

Openness

Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.

Respect for Intellectual Property

Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use unpublished
data, methods, or results without permission. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all
contributions to research. Never plagiarize.

Confidentiality

Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication,

personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.

Responsible Publication

Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own career.
Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
Responsible Mentoring

Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their welfare and allow them to make
their own decisions.

Respect for colleagues

Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.

Social Responsibility

Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research, public
education, and advocacy.

Non-Discrimination

Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or
other factors not related to scientific competence and integrity.

Competence

Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise through lifelong
education and learning; take steps to promote competence in science as a whole.

Legality

Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.

Animal Care

Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not conduct
unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.

Human Subjects Protection

When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms and risks and maximize
benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special precautions with
vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of research fairly.
* Adapted from Shamoo A and Resnik D. 2015. Responsible Conduct of Research, 3rd
ed. (New York: Oxford University Press).

The following are some step that researchers, such as Dr. Wexford, can take to deal with
ethical dilemmas in research:

What is the problem or issue?

It is always important to get a clear statement of the problem. In this case, the issue is
whether to share information with the other research team.

What is the relevant information?

Many bad decisions are made as a result of poor information. To know what to do, Dr.
Wexford needs to have more information concerning such matters as university or funding
agency or journal policies that may apply to this situation, the team's intellectual property
interests, the possibility of negotiating some kind of agreement with the other team, whether
the other team also has some information it is willing to share, the impact of the potential
publications, etc.

What are the different options?

People may fail to see different options due to a limited imagination, bias, ignorance, or fear.
In this case, there may be other choices besides 'share' or 'don't share,' such as 'negotiate an
agreement' or 'offer to collaborate with the researchers.'

How do ethical codes or policies as well as legal rules apply to these different options?

The university or funding agency may have policies on data management that apply to this
case. Broader ethical rules, such as openness and respect for credit and intellectual property,
may also apply to this case. Laws relating to intellectual property may be relevant.

Are there any people who can offer ethical advice?

It may be useful to seek advice from a colleague, a senior researcher, your department chair,
an ethics or compliance officer, or anyone else you can trust. In the case, Dr. Wexford might
want to talk to her supervisor and research team before making a decision.
After considering these questions, a person facing an ethical dilemma may decide to ask more
questions, gather more information, explore different options, or consider other ethical rules.
However, at some point he or she will have to make a decision and then take action. Ideally, a
person who makes a decision in an ethical dilemma should be able to justify his or her
decision to himself or herself, as well as colleagues, administrators, and other people who
might be affected by the decision. He or she should be able to articulate reasons for his or her
conduct and should consider the following questions in order to explain how he or she arrived
at his or her decision: .

 Which choice will probably have the best overall consequences for science and
society?
 Which choice could stand up to further publicity and scrutiny?
 Which choice could you not live with?
 Think of the wisest person you know. What would he or she do in this
situation?
 Which choice would be the most just, fair, or responsible?

After considering all of these questions, one still might find it difficult to decide what to do.
If this is the case, then it may be appropriate to consider others ways of making the decision,
such as going with a gut feeling or intuition, seeking guidance through prayer or meditation,
or even flipping a coin. Endorsing these methods in this context need not imply that ethical
decisions are irrational, however. The main point is that human reasoning plays a pivotal role
in ethical decision-making but there are limits to its ability to solve all ethical dilemmas in a
finite amount of time.