Transcript Day 4- Research Ethics

Conducting Ethical
Research
Recap
Empirical generalization
Objectivity
Provisional
Inductive vs. Deductive
Challenges of doing research
Research Ethics
Concern- How do we balance positive and
negative impacts of research?
Protection of participants
Staying true to spirit of empiricism
Use of results
Experimental Manipulation
Experiment- Control
Vary one variable at a time
Greater confidence in results
Example- drug trial
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Give one group medicine, another placebo
Social Science Example: Iyengar and
Kinder
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Show subtly altered news broadcasts
Protection of Subjects
Research may involve harm to do good
Tuskegee Syphilis Study
WWII medical experiments
Stuttering Study
Asthma Death
Risks in Social Science Research
Risks not typically life or death
Embarrassment
Psychological discomfort
Confidentiality
IRBs: Protecting Participants
Review procedures prior to study
Balance risks and benefits
Minimize Risks
Evaluate all aspects of research
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Recruitment
Suitability of population
Measures/techniques
Informed Consent
Basic Protection
Describe Study
Allow people to weigh risks and benefits
Assess their understanding
Allow withdrawal at any time
Do not use improper inducements
Consent- Transgressions
Tuskegee Study
Cold War Military Studies
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Chemical weapons protection
Radiation experiments
LSD trials
Deception
Why use deception in studies?
Milgram Obedience Experiments
Subjects come for a study of “punishment
and learning”
Increasing voltage
Increasing resistance from “learner”
Instructions to continue
Psychological Harm/Discomfort
Milgram study classic example
Stanford Prison Experiments
Certain topics taboo
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Religion?
Sex?
Politics?
Solutions
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Be upfront in consent process
Be respectful and appropriate
Allow people to refuse questions/end participation
Protecting Privacy
Don’t collect identifying information
Don’t record identifying information
Don’t report names/identifying information
without permission
Store records in “locked drawer”
Ultimately leads to better quality data
Protecting Sensitive Populations
Children
Prisoners
Patients
Cross cultural issues
Foreign Citizens
Objective Research
Empiricism
Must remain independent from funders
Must allow data to speak for itself
Use of Results
Difficult to control
Examples:
Shively- Use of research on eyes to
develop missile guidance
Shively- Use of studies of manipulation to
support authoritarian regime
For Tuesday
Hypotheses, Variables, and Research
Design
Johnson 3-4
Shively- 2, 6,11