List of ethical principles in research

Tative tation ch questions & ts, constructs & ples of research are a number of ethical principles that should be taken into account when performing undergraduate and master's level dissertation research. At the core, these ethical principles stress the need to (a) do good (known as beneficence) and (b) do no harm (known as non-malfeasance). In practice, these ethical principles mean that as a researcher, you need to: (a) obtain informed consent from potential research participants; (b) minimise the risk of harm to participants; (c) protect their anonymity and confidentiality; (d) avoid using deceptive practices; and (e) give participants the right to withdraw from your research. This article discusses these five ethical principles and their practical implications when carrying out dissertation you look at these five basic ethical principles, it may appear obvious that your dissertation should include these. However, there are many instances where it is not possible or desirable to obtain informed consent from research participants. More often than not, such choices should reflect the research strategy that you adopt to guide your y speaking, your dissertation research should not only aim to do good (i. Whilst ethical requirements in research can vary across countries, these are the basic principles of research ethics. This is important not only for ethical reasons, but also practical ones, since a failure to meet such basic principles may lead to your research being (a) criticised, potentially leading to a lower mark, and/or (b) rejected by your supervisor or ethics committee, costing you valuable time. In the sections that follow, we discuss the five of the main practical ethical principles that stem from these basic principles. Each of these basic principles of research ethics is discussed in turn:Principle one: minimising the risk of ple two: obtaining informed ple three: protecting anonymity and ple four: avoiding deceptive ple five: providing the right to sing the risk of tation research should not harm participants. Privacy and lly, it is not harm that we need to think about since a researcher does not intentionally go out to cause harm. In order to minimising the risk of harm you should think about:Obtaining informed consent from ting the anonymity and confidentiality of ng deceptive practices when designing your ing participants with the right to withdraw from your research at any discuss each of these ethical principles in the sections that follow, explaining (a) what they mean and (b) instances where they should (and should not) be ing informed of the foundations of research ethics is the idea of informed consent. Simply put, informed consent means that participants should understand that (a) they are taking part in research and (b) what the research requires of them. Such information may include the purpose of the research, the methods being used, the possible outcomes of the research, as well as associated demands, discomforts, inconveniences and risks that the participants may face. We discuss these in more detail under the section: avoiding deceptive ting anonymity and ting the anonymity and confidentiality of research participants is another practical component of research ethics. After all, participants will typically only be willing to volunteer information, especially information of a private or sensitive nature, if the researcher agrees to hold such information in confidence. Whilst it is possible that research participants may be hurt in some way if the data collection methods used are somehow insensitive, there is perhaps a greater danger that harm can be caused once data has been collected. However, this does not mean that all data collected from research participants needs to be kept confidential or anonymous. It may be possible to disclose the identity and views of individuals at various stages of the research process (from data collection through to publication of your dissertation). However, such a stripping of identifiable information may not always be possible to anticipate at the outset of your dissertation when thinking about issues of research ethics. This is not only a consideration for dissertations following a qualitative research design, but also a quantitative research design [for more information, see the article: research strategy and research ethics]. That your dissertation used a quantitative research design and a survey as your main research method. If the work is later published, adjustments would then need to be made to protect the confidentiality of are also a wide range of potential legal protections that may affect what research you can and cannot perform, how you must treated the data of research participants, and so forth. After all, how can participants know (a) that they are taking part in research and (b) what the research requires of them if they are being deceived? For this reason, in most circumstances, dissertation research should avoid any kinds of deceptive practices. However, this is not always the ion is sometimes a necessary component of covert research, which can be justified in some cases. Covert research reflects research where (a) the identity of the observer and/or (b) the purpose of the research is not known to participants. Cases where you may choose to engage in covert research may include instances where:It is not feasible to let everyone in a particular research setting know what you are observation or knowledge of the purpose of the research may alter the particular phenomenon that is being 's take each of these in turn:It is not feasible to let everyone in a particular research setting know what you are feasibility, we are not talking about the cost of doing research. Instead, we mean that it is not practically possible to let everyone in a particular research setting know what you are doing.

List of ethical considerations in research

This is most likely to be the case where research involves observation, rather than direct contact with participants, especially in a public or online setting. You may not be intentionally trying to engage in deceptive practices, but clearly participants are not giving you their informed observation or knowledge of the purpose of the research may alter the particular phenomenon that is being observations or a participants? Knowledge of the true purpose of the research have the potential to alter the particular phenomenon that you are interested in, this is a major concern in terms of the quality of your ore, when you think about whether to engage in covert research and possibly deceptive practices, you should think about the extent to which this could be beneficial in your dissertation, not research in general; that is, everything from the research paradigm that guides your dissertation through to the data analysis techniques you choose affect issues of research ethics in your dissertation [see the article: research strategy and research ethics]. Some of the following scenarios where covert research may be considered justifiable:You are conducting a piece of research looking at prejudice. Furthermore, participants are not told that the research is about prejudice because it is felt that this could alter their responses. You feel that observation would be an appropriate research method in such a naturalistic setting. Therefore, you may have received permission to go undercover or provide a story to explain why you are there, which is not the such covert research and deceptive practices, especially where used intentionally, can be viewed as controversial, it can be argued that they have a place in ing the right to the exception of those instances of covert observation where is not feasible to let everyone that is being observed know what you are doing, research participants should always have the right to withdraw from the research process. Furthermore, participants should have the right to withdraw at any stage in the research process. When a participant chooses to withdraw from the research process, they should not be pressured or coerced in any way to try and stop them from your supervisor and/or ethics committee expect you to complete an ethics consent form, it is likely that you will have to let participants know that they have the right to withdraw at any time [see the article: ethics consent form]. That you have read these basic principles of research ethics, you may want to understand how the research strategy you have chosen affects your approach to research ethics [see the article: research strategy and research ethics]. You will need to understand the impact of your research strategy on your approach to research ethics when writing up the research ethics section of your research strategy chapter (usually chapter three: research strategy). 2012 lund research are herehome » health information » nih clinical research trials and clinical research trials and g principles for ethical researchpursuing potential research participants protections. When people are invited to participate in research, there is a strong belief that it should be their choice based on their understanding of what the study is about, and what the risks and benefits of the study are,” said dr. Christine grady, chief of the nih clinical center department of bioethics, to clinical center radio in a al research advances the understanding of science and promotes human health. There are precautions researchers can take – in the planning, implementation and follow-up of studies – to protect these participants in research. Ethical guidelines are established for clinical research to protect patient volunteers and to preserve the integrity of the clinical center researchers published seven main principles to guide the conduct of ethical research:Social and clinical subject ble risk-benefit t for potential and enrolled and clinical research study is designed to answer a specific question. In other words, answers to the research question should contribute to scientific understanding of health or improve our ways of preventing, treating, or caring for people with a given disease to justify exposing participants to the risk and burden of research. Study should be designed in a way that will get an understandable answer to the important research question. This includes considering whether the question asked is answerable, whether the research methods are valid and feasible, and whether the study is designed with accepted principles, clear methods, and reliable practices. Invalid research is unethical because it is a waste of resources and exposes people to risk for no subject primary basis for recruiting participants should be the scientific goals of the study — not vulnerability, privilege, or other unrelated factors. Participants who accept the risks of research should be in a position to enjoy its benefits. Specific groups of participants  (for example, women or children) should not be excluded from the research opportunities without a good scientific reason or a particular susceptibility to ble risk-benefit ainty about the degree of risks and benefits associated with a clinical research study is inherent. Everything should be done to minimize the risks and inconvenience to research participants to maximize the potential benefits, and to determine that the potential benefits are proportionate to, or outweigh, the minimize potential conflicts of interest and make sure a study is ethically acceptable before it starts, an independent review panel should review the proposal and ask important questions, including: are those conducting the trial sufficiently free of bias? The panel also monitors a study while it is ial participants should make their own decision about whether they want to participate or continue participating in research. This is done through a process of informed consent in which individuals (1) are accurately informed of the purpose, methods, risks, benefits, and alternatives to the research, (2) understand this information and how it relates to their own clinical situation or interests, and (3) make a voluntary decision about whether to t for potential and enrolled duals should be treated with respect from the time they are approached for possible participation — even if they refuse enrollment in a study — throughout their participation and after their participation ends. This includes:Respecting their privacy and keeping their private information ting their right to change their mind, to decide that the research does not match their interests, and to withdraw without a ing them of new information that might emerge in the course of research, which might change their assessment of the risks and benefits of ring their welfare and, if they experience adverse reactions, unexpected effects, or changes in clinical status, ensuring appropriate treatment and, when necessary, removal from the ing them about what was learned from the information on these seven guiding principles and on bioethics in page last reviewed on march 16, media & for human research protections. Department of health & human ance & er irbs & obtain home > ohrp > regulations & policy > the belmont tionshas sub items, regulations45 cfr cehas sub items, guidancefrequently asked questions45 cfr 46 nce process en: research with children research determination ed consent igator responsibilities registration process er research y improvement activities able ical materials & ts for tions & policy archived belmont reportoffice of the l principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of national commission for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioral : department of health, education, and : notice of report for public y: on july 12, 1974, the national research act (pub. 93-348) was signed into law, there-by creating the national commission for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioral research. One of the charges to the commission was to identify the basic ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects and to develop guidelines which should be followed to assure that such research is conducted in accordance with those principles.

List of ethical issues in research

In carrying out the above, the commission was directed to consider: (i) the boundaries between biomedical and behavioral research and the accepted and routine practice of medicine, (ii) the role of assessment of risk-benefit criteria in the determination of the appropriateness of research involving human subjects, (iii) appropriate guidelines for the selection of human subjects for participation in such research and (iv) the nature and definition of informed consent in various research belmont report attempts to summarize the basic ethical principles identified by the commission in the course of its deliberations. It is a statement of basic ethical principles and guidelines that should assist in resolving the ethical problems that surround the conduct of research with human subjects. The two-volume appendix, containing the lengthy reports of experts and specialists who assisted the commission in fulfilling this part of its charge, is available as dhew publication no. Attorney, vombaur, coburn, simmons & turtle, washington, l principles and guidelines for research involving human subjects. Basic ethical ment of risk and ion of l principles & guidelines for research involving human ific research has produced substantial social benefits. This code became the prototype of many later codes[1] intended to assure that research involving human subjects would be carried out in an ethical codes consist of rules, some general, others specific, that guide the investigators or the reviewers of research in their work. Broader ethical principles will provide a basis on which specific rules may be formulated, criticized and principles, or general prescriptive judgments, that are relevant to research involving human subjects are identified in this statement. These three are comprehensive, however, and are stated at a level of generalization that should assist scientists, subjects, reviewers and interested citizens to understand the ethical issues inherent in research involving human subjects. These principles cannot always be applied so as to resolve beyond dispute particular ethical problems. The objective is to provide an analytical framework that will guide the resolution of ethical problems arising from research involving human statement consists of a distinction between research and practice, a discussion of the three basic ethical principles, and remarks about the application of these principles. Boundaries between practice and is important to distinguish between biomedical and behavioral research, on the one hand, and the practice of accepted therapy on the other, in order to know what activities ought to undergo review for the protection of human subjects of research. The distinction between research and practice is blurred partly because both often occur together (as in research designed to evaluate a therapy) and partly because notable departures from standard practice are often called "experimental" when the terms "experimental" and "research" are not carefully the most part, the term "practice" refers to interventions that are designed solely to enhance the well-being of an individual patient or client and that have a reasonable expectation of success. By contrast, the term "research' designates an activity designed to test an hypothesis, permit conclusions to be drawn, and thereby to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge (expressed, for example, in theories, principles, and statements of relationships). Research is usually described in a formal protocol that sets forth an objective and a set of procedures designed to reach that a clinician departs in a significant way from standard or accepted practice, the innovation does not, in and of itself, constitute research. The fact that a procedure is "experimental," in the sense of new, untested or different, does not automatically place it in the category of research. Radically new procedures of this description should, however, be made the object of formal research at an early stage in order to determine whether they are safe and effective. Thus, it is the responsibility of medical practice committees, for example, to insist that a major innovation be incorporated into a formal research project [3]. And practice may be carried on together when research is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a therapy. This need not cause any confusion regarding whether or not the activity requires review; the general rule is that if there is any element of research in an activity, that activity should undergo review for the protection of human b: basic ethical principles. Basic ethical expression "basic ethical principles" refers to those general judgments that serve as a basic justification for the many particular ethical prescriptions and evaluations of human actions. Three basic principles, among those generally accepted in our cultural tradition, are particularly relevant to the ethics of research involving human subjects: the principles of respect of persons, beneficence and justice. Respect for persons incorporates at least two ethical convictions: first, that individuals should be treated as autonomous agents, and second, that persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection. The judgment that any individual lacks autonomy should be periodically reevaluated and will vary in different most cases of research involving human subjects, respect for persons demands that subjects enter into the research voluntarily and with adequate information. On the one hand, it would seem that the principle of respect for persons requires that prisoners not be deprived of the opportunity to volunteer for research. On the other hand, under prison conditions they may be subtly coerced or unduly influenced to engage in research activities for which they would not otherwise volunteer. Persons are treated in an ethical manner not only by respecting their decisions and protecting them from harm, but also by making efforts to secure their well-being. Claude bernard extended it to the realm of research, saying that one should not injure one person regardless of the benefits that might come to others. The problem posed by these imperatives is to decide when it is justifiable to seek certain benefits despite the risks involved, and when the benefits should be foregone because of the obligations of beneficence affect both individual investigators and society at large, because they extend both to particular research projects and to the entire enterprise of research. In the case of particular projects, investigators and members of their institutions are obliged to give forethought to the maximization of benefits and the reduction of risk that might occur from the research investigation.

List of ethical issues in psychology

In the case of scientific research in general, members of the larger society are obliged to recognize the longer term benefits and risks that may result from the improvement of knowledge and from the development of novel medical, psychotherapeutic, and social principle of beneficence often occupies a well-defined justifying role in many areas of research involving human subjects. Effective ways of treating childhood diseases and fostering healthy development are benefits that serve to justify research involving children -- even when individual research subjects are not direct beneficiaries. Research also makes it possible to avoid the harm that may result from the application of previously accepted routine practices that on closer investigation turn out to be dangerous. A difficult ethical problem remains, for example, about research that presents more than minimal risk without immediate prospect of direct benefit to the children involved. Some have argued that such research is inadmissible, while others have pointed out that this limit would rule out much research promising great benefit to children in the future. However, they are foreshadowed even in the earliest reflections on the ethics of research involving human subjects. For example, during the 19th and early 20th centuries the burdens of serving as research subjects fell largely upon poor ward patients, while the benefits of improved medical care flowed primarily to private patients. Subsequently, the exploitation of unwilling prisoners as research subjects in nazi concentration camps was condemned as a particularly flagrant injustice. These subjects were deprived of demonstrably effective treatment in order not to interrupt the project, long after such treatment became generally t this historical background, it can be seen how conceptions of justice are relevant to research involving human subjects. For example, the selection of research subjects needs to be scrutinized in order to determine whether some classes (e. Finally, whenever research supported by public funds leads to the development of therapeutic devices and procedures, justice demands both that these not provide advantages only to those who can afford them and that such research should not unduly involve persons from groups unlikely to be among the beneficiaries of subsequent applications of the ations of the general principles to the conduct of research leads to consideration of the following requirements: informed consent, risk/benefit assessment, and the selection of subjects of research. Most codes of research establish specific items for disclosure intended to assure that subjects are given sufficient information. These items generally include: the research procedure, their purposes, risks and anticipated benefits, alternative procedures (where therapy is involved), and a statement offering the subject the opportunity to ask questions and to withdraw at any time from the research. Additional items have been proposed, including how subjects are selected, the person responsible for the research, r, a simple listing of items does not answer the question of what the standard should be for judging how much and what sort of information should be provided. One standard frequently invoked in medical practice, namely the information commonly provided by practitioners in the field or in the locale, is inadequate since research takes place precisely when a common understanding does not exist. This, too, seems insufficient since the research subject, being in essence a volunteer, may wish to know considerably more about risks gratuitously undertaken than do patients who deliver themselves into the hand of a clinician for needed care. Special problem of consent arises where informing subjects of some pertinent aspect of the research is likely to impair the validity of the research. In many cases, it is sufficient to indicate to subjects that they are being invited to participate in research of which some features will not be revealed until the research is concluded. In all cases of research involving incomplete disclosure, such research is justified only if it is clear that (1) incomplete disclosure is truly necessary to accomplish the goals of the research, (2) there are no undisclosed risks to subjects that are more than minimal, and (3) there is an adequate plan for debriefing subjects, when appropriate, and for dissemination of research results to them. Information about risks should never be withheld for the purpose of eliciting the cooperation of subjects, and truthful answers should always be given to direct questions about the research. Care should be taken to distinguish cases in which disclosure would destroy or invalidate the research from cases in which disclosure would simply inconvenience the hension. Even for these persons, however, respect requires giving them the opportunity to choose to the extent they are able, whether or not to participate in research. The objections of these subjects to involvement should be honored, unless the research entails providing them a therapy unavailable elsewhere. The person authorized to act on behalf of the subject should be given an opportunity to observe the research as it proceeds in order to be able to withdraw the subject from the research, if such action appears in the subject's best ariness. The assessment of risks and benefits requires a careful arrayal of relevant data, including, in some cases, alternative ways of obtaining the benefits sought in the research. Thus, the assessment presents both an opportunity and a responsibility to gather systematic and comprehensive information about proposed research. For the investigator, it is a means to examine whether the proposed research is properly designed. The requirement that research be justified on the basis of a favorable risk/benefit assessment bears a close relation to the principle of beneficence, just as the moral requirement that informed consent be obtained is derived primarily from the principle of respect for persons. However, when expressions such as "small risk" or "high risk" are used, they usually refer (often ambiguously) both to the chance (probability) of experiencing a harm and the severity (magnitude) of the envisioned term "benefit" is used in the research context to refer to something of positive value related to health or welfare.

Importance of ethical issues in research

While the most likely types of harms to research subjects are those of psychological or physical pain or injury, other possible kinds should not be and benefits of research may affect the individual subjects, the families of the individual subjects, and society at large (or special groups of subjects in society). Previous codes and federal regulations have required that risks to subjects be outweighed by the sum of both the anticipated benefit to the subject, if any, and the anticipated benefit to society in the form of knowledge to be gained from the research. In balancing these different elements, the risks and benefits affecting the immediate research subject will normally carry special weight. On the other hand, interests other than those of the subject may on some occasions be sufficient by themselves to justify the risks involved in the research, so long as the subjects' rights have been protected. Only on rare occasions will quantitative techniques be available for the scrutiny of research protocols. This ideal requires those making decisions about the justifiability of research to be thorough in the accumulation and assessment of information about all aspects of the research, and to consider alternatives systematically. This procedure renders the assessment of research more rigorous and precise, while making communication between review board members and investigators less subject to misinterpretation, misinformation and conflicting judgments. Thus, there should first be a determination of the validity of the presuppositions of the research; then the nature, probability and magnitude of risk should be distinguished with as much clarity as possible. It should also be determined whether an investigator's estimates of the probability of harm or benefits are reasonable, as judged by known facts or other available y, assessment of the justifiability of research should reflect at least the following considerations: (i) brutal or inhumane treatment of human subjects is never morally justified. Iii) when research involves significant risk of serious impairment, review committees should be extraordinarily insistent on the justification of the risk (looking usually to the likelihood of benefit to the subject -- or, in some rare cases, to the manifest voluntariness of the participation). Iv) when vulnerable populations are involved in research, the appropriateness of involving them should itself be demonstrated. Just as the principle of respect for persons finds expression in the requirements for consent, and the principle of beneficence in risk/benefit assessment, the principle of justice gives rise to moral requirements that there be fair procedures and outcomes in the selection of research e is relevant to the selection of subjects of research at two levels: the social and the individual. Individual justice in the selection of subjects would require that researchers exhibit fairness: thus, they should not offer potentially beneficial research only to some patients who are in their favor or select only "undesirable" persons for risky research. Social justice requires that distinction be drawn between classes of subjects that ought, and ought not, to participate in any particular kind of research, based on the ability of members of that class to bear burdens and on the appropriateness of placing further burdens on already burdened persons. The institutionalized mentally infirm or prisoners) may be involved as research subjects, if at all, only on certain ice may appear in the selection of subjects, even if individual subjects are selected fairly by investigators and treated fairly in the course of research. Thus, even if individual researchers are treating their research subjects fairly, and even if irbs are taking care to assure that subjects are selected fairly within a particular institution, unjust social patterns may nevertheless appear in the overall distribution of the burdens and benefits of research. Although individual institutions or investigators may not be able to resolve a problem that is pervasive in their social setting, they can consider distributive justice in selecting research populations, especially institutionalized ones, are already burdened in many ways by their infirmities and environments. When research is proposed that involves risks and does not include a therapeutic component, other less burdened classes of persons should be called upon first to accept these risks of research, except where the research is directly related to the specific conditions of the class involved. Also, even though public funds for research may often flow in the same directions as public funds for health care, it seems unfair that populations dependent on public health care constitute a pool of preferred research subjects if more advantaged populations are likely to be the recipients of the special instance of injustice results from the involvement of vulnerable subjects. Certain groups, such as racial minorities, the economically disadvantaged, the very sick, and the institutionalized may continually be sought as research subjects, owing to their ready availability in settings where research is conducted. Given their dependent status and their frequently compromised capacity for free consent, they should be protected against the danger of being involved in research solely for administrative convenience, or because they are easy to manipulate as a result of their illness or socioeconomic condition. 1] since 1945, various codes for the proper and responsible conduct of human experimentation in medical research have been adopted by different organizations. Department of health, education, and welfare codes for the conduct of social and behavioral research have also been adopted, the best known being that of the american psychological association, published in 1973. The fact that some forms of practice have elements other than immediate benefit to the individual receiving an intervention, however, should not confuse the general distinction between research and practice. Even when a procedure applied in practice may benefit some other person, it remains an intervention designed to enhance the well-being of a particular individual or groups of individuals; thus, it is practice and need not be reviewed as research. 3] because the problems related to social experimentation may differ substantially from those of biomedical and behavioral research, the commission specifically declines to make any policy determination regarding such research at this time. Rather, the commission believes that the problem ought to be addressed by one of its successor t created by office for human research protectionscontent last reviewed on march 15, up for ohrp sign up for updates, please click the sign up button for human research protections. Wootton parkway, suite crimination to main content to ples of ethical issues in making proposed research ethical are two-fold:Will participants be adequately informed about the research to meaningfully consent to participate in it? Participant's competence to consent: participants must be adults (18 or older in the us), and must have the freedom and the mental capacity to consent or decline to participate in the research.

List of ethics in research

Students in a faculty member's class, prisoners, ill people who cannot afford medications or others in a power situation where they are disempowered may feel coerced to participate in the researcher is and who is sponsoring the research: the researcher must disclose his or her name and contact information and must provide full disclosure about who is sponsoring the research; if the researcher believes disclosure of sponsorship will bias the participant’s responses, the sponsors may be identified at the end of the research rather than at the the research investigates: the researcher need not reveal the specific hypothesis, but must give enough information that the participant can understand what the research is participation entails: participants must be informed about the activities they will be asked to complete as well as the expected time harms might result from participation: participants may consent to participate in potentially harmful research, but they must be fully informed of any potential harm—whether these are psychological from answering questions about a distressing experience or physical, e. Muscle strain from an exercise guarantee of confidentiality exists: the researcher’s intent in terms of the use of participants’ names and the conditions under which the researcher would reveal participants’ names, must be clear to participants. Especially if the research involves illegal activities or politically controversial participant matter, the researcher must be clear with participants about the degree of confidentiality that is being promised. Will happen to the data after the research is completed: after this research is completed, will the data be destroyed, or stored for future use? If others will have access to the data, how will the original researcher insure confidentiality? If harm is anticipated for some participants, participants must be fully informed about the research and must consent to participate nonetheless. If participants are not fully informed about the nature of the research or their participation in it, the researcher must take special care to avoid any harm to the participants. Researchers are obligated to make a compelling argument that the potential benefits or goods resulting from a given piece of research outweigh the potential harms or risks to participants or participant populations in order to justify carrying out the research, in this case both to professors and to the ous use of time: participants provide a service to researchers by donating their time. Researchers should be respectful of participants’ time by utilizing the most effective and efficient data collection instruments possible. Researchers should not include instruments because the findings will be “interesting”—every question asked, every activity observed, every manipulation completed should be used in the service of a specific research question. Don’t waste participants’ time on a fishing on of privacy: anything humans can do or conceive is legitimate fodder for the research enterprise. People may consent to an invasion of their privacy, but they must be competent adults, and they must know in advance that the research will entail an invasion of privacy. Researchers often inform participants that they may withdraw from the research at any time or that they may refuse to answer any question or perform any ssing thoughts: to the extent possible researchers should warn potential participants if they think the participant matter of the research will cause distressing thoughts, whether those thoughts are memories of prior traumatic events or confrontations with weaknesses and foibles, immoralities or crimes in one’s behavior. The ethical obligation is to warn potential participants if the researcher anticipates distressing thoughts, and to debrief the participants following the research to assure that there are no negative effects. Especially if the research addresses past traumas, researchers often provide participants with a list of community resources to deal with the ion of confidentiality: researchers must take every precaution to assure that promised confidentiality is not violated; common ways of doing so include:Giving participants pseudonyms or using initials or not collecting identifying information in the first leaving questionnaires, interview transcripts, or field notes with participant identifications sitting around on tables (or other public places) where other people might see ng details in the write-up in order to prevent readers from identifying participants; this is especially important when the research has involved a small, on-going group of people who know each sensitive interviews that will be tape-recorded or with participants who are hesitant to sign a consent form, the researcher may read t form into the tape recorder and the participant can verbally consent without revealing his or her ng interview tapes so that it is clear they have interviews instead of music on g field notes, transcripts or questionnaires that have been purged of identifying information separately from any identifying information (e. Identifying information as soon as tizing of a group in which the individual participant is a member: researchers may honor the confidentiality of individual participants and still cause a participant to face ridicule or embarrassment by reporting results that would stigmatize the group. Great care should be taken to weigh potential benefits and harms when stigmatized groups are al harm: researchers are obligated to warn participants of any physical harm that might occur as a result of participation in the research. If participants might not appreciate that they could be at risk, the researcher should screen for risk factors. For example, if the research involves performance comparisons under the influence of two different food products or drinks, the researcher must ascertain whether a participant has any contra-indications that would put him or her at risk, e. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and shortness of l behavior: researchers have no legal guarantee of confidentiality in the matter of illegal behavior. If a researcher collects information about illegal activities, the police may subpoena the researcher's data. A researcher who refuses to comply with such a subpoena may face contempt of court and jail time. A researcher who anticipates that he or she may collect information about illegal activities should inform participants whether the researcher will or will not comply with subpoenas for identifying us government started mandating reviews of research that it funds because of egregious examples of research in which researchers lost track of their responsibilities to treat their participants as fellow human beings. The most infamous example is the tuskegee syphilis study in which african-american men with syphilis were not told about their disease or effective treatments for it in order to allow researchers to document the progression of the disease. Social science research rarely has such serious physiological consequences (and may not be funded by the us government), and many social scientists complain that we are handicapped by a review process that was designed to supervise medical research. Nonetheless, there are numerous debates among social scientists about whether classical research projects have been ethical; most notably:Milgram studies on obedience to authority in which researchers asked participants to give apparently lethal electric shocks to fellow participants. Issues: 1) participants not informed that the research investigated obedience and were deceived to think that the research focused on learning; 2) participants experienced psychological rd prison experiment in which researchers assigned some participants to be prisoners and other participants to be guards. Issues: 1) prisoners were dehumanized and experienced severe distress; 2) guards experienced themselves as brutal; 3) researchers got so caught up in the simulation that they allowed the research to go on for too humphreys' study on impersonal sex in public restrooms in which humphreys posed as a "watch queen" and observed men having impersonal sex in public bathrooms. Issues: 1) men did not consent to have their sexual behavior observed; 2) men were potentially at risk of exposure or incarceration due to humphreys' collection of identifiable information; 3) men were deceived about how they were selected for the interview t camelot in which a group of us social scientists were prevented from doing comparative research on the causes of revolution.

Issues: 1) the research was sponsored by the us army, which sought information about how to control revolutions in latin america; the social scientists did not problematize the presumed right of the us to intervene in the affairs of other countries; 2) researchers thought the value of the information would outweigh the potential harms to citizens of other countries; 3) project camelot served to raise suspicions about any social science research in latin america. Danger in using too strict a guideline for what is ethical is that necessary research will not be doable. To the extent that social scientists conduct research about institutions or individuals about which we are critical, inevitably our research will participant those institutions or individuals to harm. The goal of any researcher--and of the irb that reviews research proposals--must be to achieve a balance between these utional review the irb is ipant questions & ples of ethical sional association statements of ethical ational ch not requiring irb irb supports human subjects research with no or minimal harm, good consent processes, no deception or debriefed deception, confidentiality or anonymity and the use of fairly chosen participants who can refuse to participate if they udis-kessler, phd, chair719-227-8177audiskessler@.