Research Ethics
“I have never known an interviewer to be completely honest with his respondents [… ] Neither does any researcher ever have adequate insight for a perfect representation of his identity; it is always a matter of greater or lesser misrepresentation […] The researcher must also keep in mind that no method can ever be completely safe for himself or his respondents […] The ethics of social science are situation ethics” (Humphreys, 1970).
Outline • What are ethics • Ethical statements: BSA • Examples of unethical research: • What’s the problem? • Was it worth it? • Why bother with ethics? • Ethical: • Principles • Problems • Solutions
What do we mean by research ethics? • An ‘ethic’ is a moral principle or a code of conduct which … governs what people do. It is concerned with the way people act or behave. The term ‘ethics’ usually refers to the moral principles, guiding conduct, which are held by a group or even a profession (though there is no logical reason why individuals should not have their own ethical code)” (Wellington, 2000: 54) WELLINGTON, J. (2004) Ethics and Citizenship in Science Education
When are research ethics a concern? • “Ethical concerns should be at the forefront of any research project and should continue through to the write-up and dissemination stages” (Wellington, 2000: 3)
BSA Ethical Statement http://www.britsoc.co.uk/about/equality/statement-of-ethical-practice.aspx
Unethical Research • Nazi Doctors’ Experiments • Milgram Experiment • Tuskegee Syphilis Study • Willowbrook Study • Humphries Tearoom Study • Vipeholm Experiments
The Nazis • Euthanasia & Experimentation / medical torture • Targeted the racially impure & deviants • No informed consent • Horrific injuries / death • What should we do with this data?
Milgram
Tuskegee • Syphilis study (’32 - ’72) • Monitor the progression of untreated syphilis • Study group was rural African Americans • Promised free medical care • Diagnosis of syphilis withheld & treatment for syphilis withheld • No one was told what the experiment was really about
Willowbrook • Hepatitis experiments (1963 – 1966) • Took place in Willowbrook State School (for “mentally defective persons”) • The subjects, all children, were deliberately infected with the hepatitis virus • early subjects were fed extracts of stools from infected individuals • Subjects were monitored as hepatitis was combated
Humphries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSwicg3k_rM#t=225
Vipeholm • Tooth decay experiment (1947 – 49) • Vipeholm facility for "uneducable retards“ • Patients fed sweets only • Donated by the chocolate industry • Teeth brushing forbidden • Monitored progression of tooth decay • 660 patients teeth rotted
The Police • Mark Kennedy: • http://policespiesoutoflives.org.uk/
Why be concerned with research ethics? • Professional responsibility – avoidance of exploitation of research participants • Research can be harmful: • to research participants • to individual researchers • to the School / University • to our relations with society • to the research community • Ethical malpractice exists • We live in a more litigious society.
Standard ethical principles / obligations to (prospective) research participants • Fully informed consent of prospective participants & (for minors) ‘responsible others’. Researcher should provide information about: • the aims and nature of the research • identity and contact details of researchers • likely duration of research & their involvement • who will have access to data • how data will be stored • possible consequences of participation and of the research • whether participants would have right to see/amend transcripts, comment on provisional data analyses etc. • how results are likely to be disseminated • the extent to which confidentiality and anonymity will be protected
Standard ethical principles / obligations to (prospective) research participants (cont.) • Participants’ right to withdraw from study • Confidentiality – whilst researchers know who has provided data, they should not make this known to others • Anonymity • Non-traceability • Protection of participants’welfare – attempt to ensure that participants are not harmed or detrimentally affected by the research • Respect for participants’ right to privacy • Respect for knowledge – ‘pursuit of truth’ • Sensitivity to differences relating (for example) to age, culture, disability, race, sex, religion, sexual orientation.
Problems with codes of ethical conduct • Codes of ethical or professional conduct are only ever relatively finished products • The principles listed in such codes are not always: • desirable e.g. anonymity • achievable e.g. fully informed consent; avoidance of harm • compatible e.g. pursuit of knowledge versus fully informed consent / avoidance of deception. • Individual researchers must therefore make choices • weigh up competing ethical and other methodological considerations • produce ethically and methodologically defensible position.
Contrasting solutions / positions: • Ethics of research not priority: …it is always a matter of greater or lesser misrepresentation… The ethics of social science are situation ethics” (Humphreys, 1970). • Ethics of research a priority : “My own view is that the MAIN CRITERION for educational research is that it should be ethical… [E]very researcher [should] place it foremost in the planning, conduct and presentation of his / her research. Ethical considerations override all others” (Wellington, 2000: 54; original emphasis). • Research student and supervisor may not agree on where balance should lie.
