Research Ethics

Summary

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But what has
ethics got to do
with research?
Is “pure” research
above ethics and
morality?
Is ethics and morality
to do with technology
and politics (the
appliance of research)
not research itself?
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 The Impact of Research on Values
and Values on Research
• Ethical
considerations are to I’m damned if they are going
to make me redundant
the fore with the
development of new
technologies and
new social systems

• Society is inherently
conservative and
seeks to set the
limits of research
activity
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 The scope of research ethics
• Ethical considerations
cover all aspect of
research but they are
fore-grounded when
the subject of the
research are humans
or animals

4
• Research involving human
subjects in the Medical,
Social and Behavioral
Sciences poses complex
ethical issues.
But it
pays well
• It requires careful thought It has its
and consideration on the disadvantages

part of both researchers

and research participants.

• Prospective participants
must be given adequate
information on both the
possible risks and the
potential benefits of their
involvement to allow them
to make informed decisions
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 Ethical Issues
• Justification for the
research

• Access to
participants/Privacy

• Informed consent

• Potential harm
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• With research involving
human subjects the risks
and costs must be
balanced against the
potential benefits

• Trivial or repetitive
research is may be
unethical where the
subjects are at risk
After years of experimentation the
scientist proved that children
become addicted to nicotine

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 Autonomy
• The ethical principle of
autonomy means that each
person should be given the
respect, time, and opportunity
necessary to make his or her
own decisions.

• Prospective participants must

be given the information they
will need to decide to enter a
study or not to participate.

• There should not be pressure

to participate.

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 Vulnerable participants
• Potentially vulnerable participants
such as children, the elderly, the
mentally ill may be incapable of
understanding information that would
enable them to make an informed
decision about study participation.
• Consequently, careful consideration
of their situation and needs is
required, and extra care must be
taken to protect them.
• For example, how will you assess the
diminished capacity of an elderly
individual, who will be the guardian,
and how and when will you involve
another individual as guardian in the
process?

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 The process of obtaining consent
1. Identify participant population
2. Produce information sheet and consent document
3. Obtain permission from school’s ethics committee
4. Present research information to participant and
discuss its contents – indicating that withdrawal at
any time is possible
5. Answer participants questions
6. Give a copy of the consent document
7. Allow the participant time to consider
8. Meet participant and discuss documents, to answer
any more questions and assess participants
understanding
9. Obtain appropriate signed consent
10. Start research
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 The participants
• The participants may not have
the experience or educational
background in order to fully
understand the implications of
the research

• They may be swayed because

of their respect of and trust in
the researcher who stands as
an authority figure

• If they are being paid for their

participation they may be
swayed by economic
considerations from a free
judgement of the risks
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 Peer pressure
• The participants
may be subject to
social pressure of
their peer group
• This is particularly
prevalent in
research groups

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 Assessing Participant Understanding
An important part of the process is for
the researcher to ensure that the
prospective participants
understands the research, their
role in it, and any risks they may be
taking.

During discussion the use of open-

ended and nondirective questions
(i.e. those that begin with words
such as "what," "where," "how
often," "when," and "please
describe.“) is most effective at
doing this .

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 A few of the questions you may
want to ask are:
• Describe in your own words the purpose of the study.
• What more would you like to know?

• Would you please explain to me what you think we're

going to ask you to do?

• What are your concerns?

The idea is not to quiz the participant but to encourage an

open exchange of information and encourage them to
ask questions.

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 Contact Information
Give the names of people who can
answer questions about the
research; include the principal
investigator.
If the researcher is a student, include
the names and phone numbers of
the principal investigator and, where
applicable, the chair of the school
ethical committee for questions.
Furnish the contact name of a neutral
third party who can explain the
rights of research participants if the
participant has any questions.

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 Withdrawal
• Always stress the fact that
participation is voluntary and that
the participant can withdraw at any
time
• State that refusing to participate will
involve no penalty or decrease in
benefits to which the participant is
otherwise entitled.
• Emphasize that the individual may
discontinue participation at any time
without penalty or loss of benefits.
• If there are limitations or risks
involved in withdrawal, such as a
danger to the participant's well
being, these must also be clearly
explained.

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 Ethical problems may arise
The requirements of effective
research sometimes
conflict with the simple
fulfillment of the obligation
to obtain informed
consent.

For example
• in psychological research
information and fore-
knowledge may bias the
results
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 Reasons for limiting information
• The most common reason for
limiting information is that valid
data could not be obtained if the
participants were fully informed
about the purposes and
procedures of the research.
• Methodological requirements of
the research may demand that the
participants remain unaware of the
specific hypotheses under
investigation.
• In other situations, incomplete
information or misinformation may
have to be provided to elicit the
behavior of a naive individual or to
create psychological reality under
conditions that permit valid
inference. 18
 Deception or concealment
Fully informed consent cannot be obtained in
some kinds of research without the
possibility that the results may be biased
In those circumstances where a
methodological requirement may
necessitates the use of concealment or
deception, the researcher has a special
responsibility
1. to determine whether the use of such
techniques is justified by the study's
prospective scientific, educational, or
applied value
2. whether alternative procedures are available
that do not use concealment or deception
3. that the participants are provided with
sufficient explanation as soon as possible.
These issues should be explored before
undertaking the research with colleagues,
supervisor(s) and the school/departmental
ethics committee.
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 Risk assessment
Research is by nature uncertain.
• The researcher may not be
fully aware of the possible
hazards involved in the
proposed research.

• For example in the early

stages of the development of
new drugs their long term
effects may not be known.

• In these circumstances the

participant may not be fully
informed of potential risks.

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 The perception of risk is central to informed
consent
Perceived through investigation
e.g. in science by experiment and observation

RISK
Virtual risk
Perceived directly by that is not known or
the participant’s own cannot be known,
senses or experience or where there are
e.g. such as driving a car different opinions

A participant in research will probably not have the experience to

perceive the risk directly and may be confused by mixed messages
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of virtual risk and so rely on the researcher’s understanding of risk
 Consent
Form
I have read the Information Sheet and have had the
• Might take details of the study explained to me. My questions
the following have been answered to my satisfaction, and I may ask
form further questions at any time.
I understand I have the right to withdraw from the
study at any time and decline to answer any particular
questions.
I agree to provide information to the researcher(s) on
the understanding that my name will not be used
without my permission.
I agree/do not agree to the interview being recorded
electronically.
I understand that I have the right to ask for the tape to
be turned off at any time during the interview
I agree to participate in this study under the conditions
set out in the information sheet
Signature – Name - Date
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 Research design
Most research is sponsored

It is ethical behaviour for a

researcher
• to use resources efficiently
and effectively
• to work hard
• to ensure the well-being of
all colleagues and
participants

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 Minimising the risks
Maximising the potential for valuable results
It is standard practise in research to carry out
a preliminary small-scale project in order to
enable
• more effective assessment of risks
• more efficient design of the main project

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 Who owns the information?
However the participants in research
have a right to privacy

Alternatively much research is

private, owned by the funder of the
research either the government or
a commercial concern

The conflict between privacy,

confidentiality and the public
access to knowledge creates an
ethical arena
“Who owns the information?”

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Secrecy

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 Whistle-blowing
• Researchers are in a privileged
position
• They may come across
information about wrong-doing or
danger to the public
• The reporting of this information
may go against any confidentiality
agreement
• The reporting of such information
is likely to damage their career
• The Public Disclosure Act 1998
protects certain classes of
workers from the consequences
of whistle-blowing
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 Confidentiality
• Confidentiality of
electronically stored
participant information.

• Appropriate selection and

use of tools for analysis of
the primary data

• Who has access to the data

• Data protection act

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 Universalism
There are no privileged
sources of scientific
knowledge
• Race, sex, politics ?
• Specialism ?
• Authority ?
But certain classes and
ethnic groups are
under-represented in
research.
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 Disinteredness
Science is done for its own
sake
How impersonal is research
in practice ?
Research is competitive, not
just in the search for
funding but also for
status.
• High achieving
researchers tend to be
highly ambitious?
• Personal feuds are rife in
academia ? For example
in disputes over priority ?
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 Originality
Science is the discovery of
the unknown

• Plagiarism ?
• Publication of the same
results in multiple
journals ?
• Routine “stamp-
collecting” surveys ?
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 Research is social activity
• Research is not just a
method and a system of
organised knowledge

• It is a social activity
carried out by groups of
competing/co-
operating/communicating
scientists

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 The participation of colleagues
• A key consideration concerns
the status/rank/class of not just
subjects but all participants
including colleagues
• This will influence the ethical
relationship/responsibility of the
researcher. Not all people are
equal.
• Colleagues may vary from
superiors such as project
leaders, “equals” but with
varying degrees of experiences
and status, to technicians and
support staff. There is a special
responsibility to colleagues with
less experience or of a lower
rank who may find it more
difficult to refuse to participate.
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 Ethical relationships with
supervisors
• The relationship between the
student and the supervisor is
unequal and hierarchical.
• the supervisor plays many
roles as "adviser", "promoter",
"boss", "teacher", "friend",
"principal investigator” etc.
• This multiplicity of roles may
lead to conflict
• the relationship may be or
may seem to be co-ercive
abusive
• A student must feel free to
make their own decisions

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 Ethical supervision
• Non-coercive
• Nurtures the student’s confidence
and skills
• Permissive
• Does not use the student just as a
technician or assistant but allows
the student to develop the project
in new ways
• Not jealous of the student’s
success but allows the student to
take ownership of their project and
get the credit for it

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 Ethical relationships with
colleagues
• Effective and
ethical
relationships with
colleagues will aid
a student to make
more rapid
progress on their
project

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 PUBLICATIONS
• Are how the world sees
you.
• Determine whether you
get funding for further
research or not!
• Determine whether you
get promoted or not!!
• Determine whether you
keep your job or not!!!

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 Respect for Intellectual Property
• Write to the authors

• Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of

intellectual property.

• Permission for instrument, If paid ,then pay and

buy

• Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results

without permission.

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THE NEGATIVE DATA PROBLEM

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THE NEGATIVE DATA PROBLEM
• Can negative results be
important?
• Are they publishable?
• Would journals full of negative
results sell?
• If they are not published are
they doomed to be repeated
wastefully?
• How can positive results be
validated without knowing
about negative ones?

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 Two types of authorship problem
• Gift  Authorship
– Inclusion of authors who did not
contribute significantly to the
study – this might include a PhD
supervisor!
• Hierarchy (Expectation / favour)
• Colleagues ( Increase
publications)
• Ghost Authorship
– Absence of Authors
• Professional writers ( Should be
acknowledged)
• Hierarchical / political / personal
reasons

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 PLAGIARISM
• Plagiarism is dishonesty.
• The research may be excellent
but it wasn’t done by the
author of the paper.
• No point in trying to plagiarise
published work.
• Plagiarism mostly involves
unpublished theses.
• Difficult to detect unless
editor/referee familiar with
unpublished work in subject as
well as published work.
• Sanctions seen as a default
option now.

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