Three Cases of Ethical Controversy

Editor's Notes

• #3: The Belmont Report is the foundational document of the current system of U.S. human subjects protections. The Belmont Report outlines three key ethical principles for conducting research with human subjects: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. The Belmont Report, in turn, informed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR 46), which was created in 1974 and later revised. In 1991, Subpart A of these regulations "Basic HHS Policy for the Protection of Human Research Subjects" was adopted by 15 federal agencies and became known as the Common Rule.
• #4: A prospective research subject's autonomy is honored through the process of informed consent. The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP 2014) offers these guidelines: The informed consent process involves three key features: (1) disclosing to potential research subjects information needed to make an informed decision; (2) facilitating the understanding of what has been disclosed; and (3) promoting the voluntariness of the decision about whether or not to participate in the research.
• #5: Social researchers sometimes deceive or lie to participants in field and experimental research. Misrepresentation of actions occur at times and deviate from our true actions for legitimate methodological reasons (Neuman, 2011). In this case, if all the participants knew the true purpose, they would modify their behaviour. If we use deception, we should have informed consent (Neuman, 2011). Deception and covert research may increase mistrust and cynicism and diminish public respect for social research (Neuman, 2011).
• #6: Researchers who wish to obtain information in a context in which subjects would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, may choose to use covert observation (concealed audio or video recording devices, or using a one-way mirror) or assume a role in the setting or group being studied. Such studies raise significant concerns about violation of privacy and require additional protections and safeguards for subjects(.
• #7: Social and behavioral sciences research has the potential to cause psychological and even physical distress (Bailey, 2014). Risks to subjects are minimized: (i) By using procedures which are consistent with sound research design and which do not unnecessarily expose subjects to risk, and (ii) whenever appropriate, by using procedures already being performed on the subjects for diagnostic or treatment purposes. Regarding, beneficence, risks to subjects are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits, if any, to subjects, and the importance of the knowledge that may reasonably be expected to result. In evaluating risks and benefits, the IRB should consider only those risks and benefits that may result from the research (as distinguished from risks and benefits of therapies subjects would receive even if not participating in the research). The IRB should not consider possible long-range effects of applying knowledge gained in the research (for example, the possible effects of the research on public policy) as among those research risks that fall within the purview of its responsibility. When appropriate, the research plan makes adequate provision for monitoring the data collected to ensure the safety of subjects (Bailey, 2014). In thinking about justice toward subjects, researchers need to consider equitable selection so that individuals are chosen on the basis of factors clearly relevant to the problems being studied. Researchers also need to consider equitable distribution of advantages to research subjects and others who could benefit from the knowledge gained by the research (Gostin 1991, 191-201).
• #8: The Belmont Report outlines three key ethical principles: for conducting research with human subjects: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. These principles should be immediately applied at the onset and continuation of any research study in pursuit and in my future research applications. In addressing ethical issues, respect for others and automony should be consistent and highly regarded when dealing with subjects of a research study. Individuals must be given the choice whether to participate in research, and they must be provided sufficient information and possess the mental competence to make that choice (Bailey, 2014). Voluntariness should be incorporated into any research study. Research subjects must be free to choose to participate in research. They also must be free to end their participation for any reason, without consequences (Bailey, 2014).
• #9: 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. Such treatment falls under the principle of beneficence (Bailey, 2014). Justice requires that the benefits and burdens of research are equitably distributed- that is, no individual or population is exposed to risks of harm while other individuals or populations receive the benefits (Bailey, 2014). Scientific misconduct occurs when a researcher falsifies or distorts the data or the methods of data collection or plagiarizes the work of others. It also includes significant departures from the generally accepted practices of the scientific community for doing or reporting on research. (Neuman, 2011). Research fraud occurs when a researcher fakes or invents data that were not really collected or falsely reports how research was conducted (Neuman, 2011). Plagiarism is fraud that involves someone stealing the ideas or writings of another or using them without citing the source (Neuman, 2011).
• #10: It is important to keep in mind that whether a setting is public, by federal definition, is determined in large part by the potential subjects' expectations of privacy, rather than any absolute distinctions between public and private spaces. For example, one might expect that certain behavior, even if conducted in public spaces, is in fact private, such as a conversation in a public park. It is reasonable to assume that one might expect not to be taped while dining with a date at a restaurant.
• #11: Interactions include communication or interpersonal contact between the subject and the researcher. Communication does not have to be face to face, and may even exist entirely on paper or in electronic realms. Online surveys that do not ask for any identifying information about the subjects are considered interactions. Participant observation is a variant of interaction, often including both formal and informal interviews in addition to observation. Interventions include physical procedures through which data are gathered, such as (1) measuring brain function to supplement paper and pencil inquiries into the development of language, and (2) behavioral interventions such as experimental education programs or unproven psychosocial therapies. They also include manipulation of the subject or the subject's environment performed for research purposes, for example, studies investigating the effect of music on memory (Hicks, 2014).
• #12: A systematic investigation is the opposite of a disorganized, random venture. In other words, researchers need to have constructed a research plan with ideas about what they want to learn and how best to do that. Both qualitative and quantitative researchers use systematic investigation in the course of their research. Both types of research are organized, albeit around differing notions about the role of the researcher, the purpose of the research, the nature of the data collected, and so on. Quantitative researchers may test hypotheses and theories with the data they collect, while qualitative researchers may generate hypotheses or theories based on the data they gather. Quantitative researchers may focus on statistical analyses based on precise measurements; however, it is not necessary for precise, replicable measurements to be collected in order for research to be considered systematic. (Hicks, 2014). Research participants have knowledge about them taken and analyzed by others. The information can then be used for a number of purposes, including actions against the subjects’ interests. Large businesses collect, buy, sell, analyze, and exchange information on people everyday. Private businesses and government agencies use information about buying habits, personal taste, spending patterns, credit ratings, voting patterns, Internet surfing, and the like. Information is a form of private property (Neuman, 2011).
• #13: Professional social science associations have committees that review codes of ethics and hear about possible violations but does not strictly enforcement the codes. The penalty for a minor violation rarely goes beyond a letter. If no laws are violated, the main penalty is the negative publicity surrounding a well-documented and serious ethical violation. The publicity may result in the loss of employment, a refusal to publish research findings in scholarly journals, and a prohibition from receiving funding for research—in other words, banishment from the community of professional researchers (Neuman, 2011).