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In-Residence II Ethical Principles in

Research

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Ethical Principles of the Research Process

• According to the American Psychological Association (Smith, 2003), there are five principles to help researchers avoid ethical conflicts ◦ Discuss Intellectual Property Frankly ◦ Be Conscious of Multiple Roles ◦ Follow Informed Consent Rules ◦ Respect Confidentiality and Privacy ◦ Tap Into Ethics Resources

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PRINCIPLE 1

• Discuss intellectual property frankly • Make sure to give credit when credit is due in your

research

• This means to always cite sources for ideas and thoughts • This also means to provide a complete reference list of

all works referenced in your writing

3

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Principle 2

• Be conscious of multiple roles • Conflicts of interest can have a negative effect on the

research process

• Make sure to investigate roles and relationships to ensure there is no conflict of interest

• When having a dual relationship, where one role is being a researcher, make sure potential participants do not feel compelled to participate because of the nature of their relationship with you (such as being your friend, family member, student, employee or work colleague)

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Principle 3

• Follow informed consent rules • Ensuring that participants have complete information

about the proposed nature of the study and that they have given informed consent is a critical part of the research process

• Informed consent ensures that participants understand the specifics of the research and any associated risks, and that they agree to participate without coercion

• Informed consent allows the participant a choice to participate in the research or to quit at any time

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Principle 4

• Respect confidentiality and privacy • In your informed consent, be sure to discuss your

practices for assuring confidentiality of the participants and the data you collect from them, as well as how you will use data you collect

• As a researcher, you should understand the limitations of your research and not ask more than what is required to complete your study; this includes limiting demographic information only to that which is absolutely necessary to conduct your study

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Principle 5

• Tap into ethics resources • According to Smith, “One of the best ways researchers

can avoid and resolve ethical dilemmas is to know both what their ethical obligations are and what resources are available to them” (2003, p. 38)

• Examples of ethical errors made (both intentionally and unintentionally) during research studies that have harmed participants are all too common

• Review these stories to help learn what not to do

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Ethical Considerations

• The most important consideration for researchers who will be working with human subjects is protecting research participants from harm

• Studying past human rights violations gives us a background to the development of processes such as Institutional Review Boards and documents such as the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

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Examples of Unethical Research

• Nazi Concentration Camp Experiments • Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments • Milgram’s Obedience to Authority Experiment • Stanford Prison Experiment

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Nazi Concentration Camp Experiments

• Experiments were conducted on thousands of Jewish prisoners and disabled German nationals

• Experiments fell into four categories: mass sterilization experiments, drug treatment testing, survival tests in extreme conditions, and genealogy experiments

• Ethical considerations include: treatment of political prisoners, conducting research without informing participants of the risks, conducting experiments on human subjects without consent, risks that outweigh benefits to participants

• Learn more about Nazi Medical Experiments: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=100 05168

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Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

• Some human rights violations have occurred here in the U.S. • From 1932 to 1972, U.S. researchers intentionally exposed

poor black men in Alabama to syphilis for the purpose of studying the effects of this disease on the human body

• 400 participants were unknowingly infected with syphilis and were then told they were being treated for “bad blood”

• Those infected were not given proper treatment needed to cure the disease

• Participants were allowed to die, despite the availability of generally accepted treatment, so that researchers could study the effects of syphilis on the body

• For an overview click the link below https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm

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Milgram’s Obedience to Authority Experiment

• In the early 1960s, Yale psychologist, Stanley Milgram, conducted an experiment in which he tested the willingness of people to submit to authority

• The participants were required to administer electrical shocks to another person

• In reality, no shocks were applied, but participants thought they were administering increasingly painful and potentially lethal shocks to another human

• Over 60% of subjects obeyed the experimenter’s commands to continue and gave the maximum "shock" of 450 volts

• For an overview, see: http://www.apa.org/research/action/order.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek4pWJ0_XNo

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Stanford Prison Experiment • In 1971, Stanford psychologist, Phillip Zimbardo, conducted

an experiment of prison behavior using male college students • Some participants were assigned to be “guards” and they

enforced harsh measures and ultimately subjected the “prisoners” to psychological trauma

• Other participants were assigned to be “prisoners” and most passively accepted the abuse dealt them by the “guards”

• Zimbardo, in his role as “prison superintendent,” allowed the abuse to continue when he didn’t stop the experiment despite the escalation in obvious harm

• For an overview see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZwfNs1pqG0 http://www.prisonexp.org/

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Ethical Protections

• As a result of these egregious cases and others, a series of responses to the ethical treatment of human subjects emerged: • Nuremburg Code

http://www.imarcresearch.com/blog/bid/359393/Nurembe rg-Code-1947 https://history.nih.gov/research/downloads/nuremberg.pdf

• Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects: “Common Rule” https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and- policy/regulations/common-rule/index.html

• American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

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Homework: Your Reflections

• Review the materials in this presentation on research ethics • Study the Nuremberg Code, the “Common Rule” and the APA

Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

• What do these ethical guidelines have in common? • What are the over-arching principles that apply to the

treatment of human research participants?

• Of these, which resonate most strongly for you as a graduate student researcher?

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References

Smith, D. (2003). Five principles for research ethics. Monitor, 34(1). American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan03/principles.aspx