Research ethics
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Research ethics is a discipline within the study of applied ethics. It is concerned with the moral issues that arise or as part of scientific research, as well as the conduct of individual researchers. It has implications for research communities.[1]
Ethical issues may arise in the design and implementation of research involving human or animal experimentation. Consequences for the environment, for society and for future generations must be considered.
Governance
Historically, scandals such as Nazi human experimentation and the Tuskegee syphilis experiment led to the realisation that clear measures are needed for the ethical governance of research to avoid undue harm from scientific inquiry. No approach has been universally accepted.[2][3][4] Declarations, treaties, and best practices have been proposed. Research ethics committees (institutional review boards in the US) are one governance mechanism.
Fields of study that involve human and animal experimentation are the subject of research ethics. The discipline is most developed in medical research. Typically cited codes are the 1947 Nuremberg Code, the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki, and the 1978 Belmont Report. Informed consent is a key concept in biomedical research.
Research in other fields such as social sciences, information technology, biotechnology, or engineering may generate ethical concerns.[2][3][5][6][7][8]
Research ethics may be included as part of the broader field of responsible conduct of research (RCR in North America) or Responsible Research and Innovation in Europe. Government agencies such as the United States Office of Research Integrity or the Canadian Interagency Advisory Panel on Responsible Conduct of Research promote/require relevant training for researchers. Research integrity part of RCR, but is distinct from research ethics. The former includes issues such as scientific misconduct (e.g. fraud, fabrication of data or plagiarism).
Legislation
In Canada, mandatory research ethics training is required for students, professors and others who work in research.[9][10] The US first legislated institutional review boards procedures in the 1974 National Research Act.
Bioethics
Medical ethics
Ethics committees
Guidelines for human subject research
The main points of the 1931 Guidelines for Human Experimentation are:[11]
JUnambiguous and informed consent from test subjects is required, except in extreme extenuating circumstances. Risks must be balanced by potential benefits. Caution must be taken for juvenile subjects. Extreme caution should be taken if microorganisms are involved. Poor or socially disadvantaged subjects must not be exploited. Animal testing must be conducted first, and human experiments are to be avoided if other means of collecting data are still available.
References
- ↑ Douglas, Heather (2014). "The Moral Terrain of Science" (in en). Erkenntnis 79 (S5): 961–979. doi:10.1007/s10670-013-9538-0. ISSN 0165-0106. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10670-013-9538-0.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Israel, Mark; Allen, G.; Thomson, C. (2013). "The Rise and Much-Sought Demise of the Adversarial Culture in Australian Research Ethics: Australasian Ethics Network Conference 2013". Proceedings of the 2013 Australasian Ethics Network Conference N/A: 12–27. https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/the-rise-and-much-sought-demise-of-the-adversarial-culture-in-aus.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Israel, Mark (2015) (in en). Research Ethics and Integrity for Social Scientists: Beyond Regulatory Compliance. SAGE Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4739-1009-6. https://methods.sagepub.com/book/research-ethics-and-integrity-for-social-scientists-2e.
- ↑ Eaton, Sarah Elaine (2020). "Ethical considerations for research conducted with human participants in languages other than English" (in en). British Educational Research Journal 46 (4): 848–858. doi:10.1002/berj.3623. ISSN 0141-1926. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/berj.3623.
- ↑ Stahl, Bernd Carsten; Timmermans, Job; Flick, Catherine (2016-09-19). "Ethics of Emerging Information and Communication Technologies". Science and Public Policy: scw069. doi:10.1093/scipol/scw069. ISSN 0302-3427. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scw069.
- ↑ Iphofen, Ron (2011). "Ethical Decision-Making in Social Research" (in en). SpringerLink. doi:10.1057/9780230233768. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230233768.
- ↑ Wickson, Fern; Preston, Christopher; Binimelis, Rosa; Herrero, Amaranta; Hartley, Sarah; Wynberg, Rachel; Wynne, Brian (2017-06-09). "Addressing Socio-Economic and Ethical Considerations in Biotechnology Governance: The Potential of a New Politics of Care". Food Ethics 1 (2): 193–199. doi:10.1007/s41055-017-0014-4. ISSN 2364-6853. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s41055-017-0014-4.
- ↑ Whitbeck, Caroline (2011-08-15). Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89797-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511976339.
- ↑ Stockley, Denise; Wright, Madison (2022), "The Course on Research Ethics (CORE): Implications for SoTL", Ethics and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (Cham: Springer International Publishing): pp. 1–11, ISBN 978-3-031-11809-8, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11810-4_1, retrieved 2024-01-07
- ↑ Khaliq, Yasmin (November 2002), "Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans", Encyclopedia of Clinical Pharmacy (Informa Healthcare): pp. 876–882, ISBN 0-8247-0608-0, http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/9780824706081.150, retrieved 2024-01-07
- ↑ Sass, HM. "Reichsrundschreiben 1931: Pre-Nuremberg German Regulations Concerning New Therapy and Human Experimentation," Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 8 (1983): 99-111
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