Transcript Ethics & Research

Ethics & Research
Communication Research
Week 2
Myra Gurney
What is Ethics?
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Can be defined as a systematic attempt,
through the use of reason, to make sense of
our individual and social moral experience in
such a way as to determine the rules which
govern human conduct and the the values
worth pursuing in life
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A set of standards that regulate our behaviour
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Can be socially and culturally determined
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What is Ethics?
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Enables us to distinguish between what
is acceptable and legitimate and what is
not
The word ‘ethics’ comes from the Greek
ethos meaning custom and character
An important aspect of any ethical
system is the role of truth and lies
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Types of Ethics
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Normative – dictate what is morally
correct behaviour.
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Fundamental concern is the
development and justification of
systems of moral rules which guide
conduct
Statements of ‘ought’
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Types of Ethics
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Relative – “Fire burns both in Hellas and in
Persia; but men’s ideas of right or wrong vary
from place to place.” … Aristotle’s
Nichomanchean Ethics
Absolute – application of principles regardless
of context or circumstances eg exercise of
absolute power in politics – tyranny
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Research Ethics
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All researchers, even students, have a
responsibility to conduct ethical research
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Participants in research studies should know
and understand their rights and
responsibilities
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Ethical considerations are part of the design
of the research project
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The 10 point Nuremburg Code
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1. Participation must be voluntary, and
subjects should have the capacity to give
consent. Further, subjects should be fully
informed of the purposes, nature, and
duration of the experiment.
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2. The research should yield results that are
useful to society and that cannot be obtained
in any other way.
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The 10 point Nuremburg Code
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3. The research should have a sound footing
in animal research and be based on the
natural history of the problem under study.
4. Steps should be taken in the research to
avoid unnecessary physical or psychological
harm to the subjects.
5. Research should not be conducted if there
is reason to believe that death or disability will
occur in the subjects.
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The 10 point Nuremburg Code
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6. The risk involved in the research should be
proportional to the benefits to be obtained.
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7. Proper plans should be made and facilities
provided to protect the subject from harm.
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8. Research should be conducted by highly
qualified scientists only.
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The 10 point Nuremburg Code
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9. The subject should have the freedom to
withdraw at any time if he or she has reached
the conclusion that continuing in the experiment
is not possible.
10. The researcher must be prepared to
discontinue the experiment if it becomes
evident that continuing will be harmful to the
subject.
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Unethical research – The
Willowbrook Studies
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1963-66 at Willowbrook State School in New York
for “mentally defective persons”
Children deliberately infected with hepatitis in
order to understand the natural history of the
disease and the effects of gamma globulin in
preventing the disease
Defended on the grounds that the children would
have caught it anyway – better under “controlled
conditions”
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Unethical research – John B
Watson and “Little Albert”
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Famous psychological experiment to test the effects of
classical conditioning
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Little Albert was 11 months old
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Introduced to a laboratory white rat of whom he initially
had no fear
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When the rat was later introduced, a scary stimulus (eg
a loud noise) was “paired” with the original
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Albert was later conditioned to fear anything white
including a Santa Claus mask
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Unethical research –
Simulated Rape Field Study
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Harari, Harari & White (1985) male participants
alone or in groups were exposed to simulated
rape (screaming woman grabbed by male
assailant and dragged into bushes)
Measured yes or no to intervention by
participants
Prior to intervention, participants debriefed
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Simulated Rape Study –
problems
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Should informed consent have been
obtained? Post hoc informed consent?
Psychological Stress?
Unexpected reactions by participants, e.g.
what if someone had a gun?
Should subjects be stopped and
debriefed? What about those who didn’t
stop? What should debriefing include?
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The Belmont Principles
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The primary task of the National Commission
was to identify the ethical principles that
would guide all research involving humans.
The Belmont Report -- Ethical Principles and
Guidelines for the Protection of Human
Subjects was published in 1978.
The principles of The Belmont Report govern
all research supported by the U.S.
government today.
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Current Standards
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3 BASIC FACTORS
1. Respect for Persons: This principle
acknowledges the dignity and freedom of every person.
It requires obtaining informed consent from research
subjects (or their legally authorized representatives).
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2. Beneficence: This principle requires that
researchers maximize benefits and minimize harms
associated with research. Research-related risks must
be reasonable in light of expected benefits
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3. Justice: This principle requires equitable selection
and recruitment and fair treatment of research subjects.
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The Problem of Deception
Deception interferes with a subjects’ right to be
informed
 Role-Playing
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Prior Consent
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Research shows that informed and uninformed
participants behave differently
General consent to be uninformed
Debriefing
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Inform participants about study (methods,
purpose, results) including deception used
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What is active deception?
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Misrepresenting the purpose
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False statements about the identity of the
researcher
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False promises to the participant
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Violations of promise of anonymity
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Misleading statements about equipment and
procedures
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Use of pseudosubjects
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What is active deception?
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False diagnoses and other reports
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False interaction
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Using placebos or secret administration of
drugs
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Misleading settings and behavior of the
experimenter
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Passive Deception
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Doing unrecognized conditioning
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Provoking and secretly recording negative
behavior of participants
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Making concealed observations
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Doing unrecognized participant observation
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Using projective techniques and other
personality tests.
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Debriefing
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Make a full disclosure of purposes of the research
Give a complete description of and justification for the
deception
Discuss the problem of perseverance
Provide a convincing argument for the need for
deception
Demonstrate bogus experiment or show participants
that actual responses were never seen by the
experimenter
Have participants observe a subsequent session
showing deception
Make the individual an active participant in the
research
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Ethical issues in conducting
research
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Intentional deception
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Use of confederates
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Physical and psychological harm
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Upholding anonymity and confidentiality
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Videotaping and audiotaping participants
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Debriefing participants
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Ethical Issues in reporting research
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Ensuring accuracy
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Avoiding plagiarism by
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Researcher is always responsible for
accuracy regardless of who helps
Using direct quote
Using summaries or paraphrases
Acknowledge ideas or contributions
Protecting identities of participants
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