Experimental ethics

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Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to a variety of topics involving scientific research.

A well constructed research ethics policy should seek to address the following issues:

• Requirement for a clear research protocol statement from the outset, including clear timetable and detailed procedures.
• Protection of clinical trial subjects
• Clinical trials on minors
• Clinical trials on incapacitated adults not able to give informed legal
• Establishment of mandatory Ethics Committees
• Governace procedures and independent ongoing oversight of the study.
• Appropriate desemination of the results

These include the design and implementation of research involving human participants (human experimentation) as well as animal experimentation and animal welfare.

The proper implementation of such policies should protect participants and guard against academic scandal, due to including scientific misconduct, such as fraud, fabrication (science) of data and plagiarism.

Research ethics is most developed as a concept in medical research. The key agreement here is the 1964 Declaration of Helsinkiwhich followed on from the Nurenburg Codes published after the Second World War trials and the revelations about the research performed on people in the concentration camps.

Within psychology emphasis has been placed on proper ethical control of experimental work in response to concerns expressed about the conduct of high profile studies as the Stanford prison experiment in the 1960's which showed on the one hand, how people could be brought to act in an unethical manner, and on the other how poor ethical procedures made the studies themselves potentially harmful to the participants.

All research proposals now have to be submitted for ethical appproval by a local ethics committee in most countries.

Research ethics guidelines are included in the professional ethical guidelines of many national psychological societies and in some cases are published seperately.

See also

• Debriefing
• Ethical failures in psychological research
• Fraud
• Informed consent
• Internet research ethics
• Professional ethics

Key texts

Books

• APA Guidelines for the Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Animals][1]
• Kimmel, A.J. (1982).Ethics and Values in Applied Social Research. APA Books. ISBN 0912704829

Additional material

Papers

• Google Scholar

External Resources about Research Ethics

• On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct In Research. National Academy of Sciences guidelines
• A useful Research Ethics Training Curriculum has been prepared by Family Health International (FHI). Its focus is on human experimentation.
• The References section includes references to some of the major documents of research ethics, such as:
  • Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects Research (produced by The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research),
  • World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki
  • [CIOMS 1993 International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects.
• The Research Ethics section of the SHiPS (Sociology, History and Philosophy of Science) website provides some useful resources, including case studies relevant to scientific misconduct.

Other External Links

• Scientists for Global Responsibility (UK)
• INES Global
• UNESCO - Ethics of Science and Technology
• Ethical Practice: Principles and Guidelines for Research with Vulnerable Individuals and Families An ethical protocol for social science research developed by the Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System