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Chapter Three Ethics: What Are My Responsibilities as a Researcher? Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Key Concepts • Communication research could harm participants. • Classic ethical positions provide bases for decisions about treating participants. • Codes of practice provide practical guidelines about treating participants. • Formal review is often required where research on humans is proposed. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications For Discussion Would you . . . ▫ Show participants offensive materials? ▫ Deliberately deceive participants? ▫ Accept funding from a source that wants your research to help sell its products? ▫ Start false rumors? ▫ Record people’s behavior without them being aware of it? Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Some Classic Ethical Positions • Judeo-Christian “Do unto others.” • Kant – categorical imperative – A behavior is valid if you are willing to accept it as a universal rule. • Bentham, Mill – utilitarianism – Greatest good for the greatest number. • Rawls – “Veil of Ignorance” – Dispassionate; review all sides of decision equally. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications The Purpose of Ethics Codes The primary purpose of ethics codes in human communication research is to protect research participants. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Key Points of Ethics Codes • • • • • • • • Do no harm. Informed consent. Voluntary participation. Participants can leave at any time. Debriefing after the study. Anonymity or confidentiality. Crediting other researchers. Full reporting. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Nuremberg & Helsinki Codes Nuremberg Code (1948) – ▫ Participants must consent to research. ▫ Research benefits must outweigh risks. Declaration of Helsinki (1964) – ▫ ▫ ▫ ▫ Review by independent committee. Informed consent. Research by qualified individuals. Research benefits should exceed risks. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications The Belmont Report (1979) • Respect for Persons ▫ Information. ▫ Comprehension. ▫ Voluntariness. • Beneficence ▫ Maximize benefits / minimize harm. • Justice ▫ Fair procedures and outcomes in selecting research subjects. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Peer Review • Basic Assumption: Those best equipped to evaluate your work and its impact on human participants are appropriately qualified people doing similar work to your own. • Formal Review: Institutional Review Boards, editorial process. • Informal Review: Networking, conferences. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Institutional Review Board IRB A formal review mechanism established to review research proposals for their impact on human participants. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Relationships of Participants to Researchers. • Subject • Respondent • Informant • Participant • Collaborator • Partner Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Ethics of the Literature Review • How far back in time to review. • Use of secondary sources (summary articles) versus primary (original) sources. • Reporting research that does not support your viewpoint. • Reporting research that is proprietary (“owned”). Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Ethical Issues in Reporting Research • Honesty. • Plagiarism. • Confidentiality or anonymity. • Crediting others. • Appropriate language. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications The Internet and Research Ethics Advantages • Rapid access to large numbers of research participants. • Low cost. Disadvantages • Conceptual problems defining the Internet. • Practical problems of sampling, obtaining consents & establishing authenticity of participants Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications The Internet Research Ethics Dilemma • Human participants are being studied. • Consent of participants is therefore required. versus • The web is published content. • Internet research is content analysis. • Consent of participants is therefore not required. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Guidelines for Internet Research • The more vulnerable the participants, the greater the researcher’s obligation to protect them. • The more public the venue, the less obligation there may be to protect individual privacy, confidentiality, & right to informed consent. Adopted from the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) http://aoir.org/documents/ethics-guide. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Chapter Summary Research Ethics . . . • Focus on how research participants should be treated. • Basic concern is protecting participants from harm. • Review mechanisms include IRBs and informal peer review. • Formal ethics codes include “Nuremberg”, “Helsinki”, the Belmont Report and the “Common Rule”. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Vocabulary Review confederates unobtrusive measures confidentiality anonymity debriefing consent forms literature review. proprietary information Judaeo-Christian ethic categorical imperative Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications principle of utilitarianism Veil of Ignorance plagiarism Nuremberg Code Declaration of Helsinki Belmont Report informed consent institutional review board (IRB) peer review Common Rule Vocabulary Review • • • • • • • • • • Anonymity Autonomy Belmont Report Beneficence Categorical imperative Common Rule Confederate Confidentiality Control/control group Debriefing Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications • • • • • • • • • • Declaration of Helsinki Informed consent Institutional review board/IRB Judeo-Christian ethic Justice Nuremberg Code Principle of utilitarianism Proprietary information Unobtrusive measures Veil of ignorance Web Resources • The National Institutes of Health Bioethics Resources http://bioethics.od.nih.gov/IRB.html • American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx • American Association for Public Opinion Research http://www.aapor.org/aaporcodeofethics Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications