Ethical considerations in research

Ethical considerations when developing and carrying out a research project

Ethical considerations in researchDr Emile van der ZeeUniversity of Lincoln

Overview Tension between Research and Ethics Where do we get our Ethical Guidance from? Procedures for you? What about you / me? How good are we really?

Why bother with Research Ethics? Why should we be interested in ethics?

Tension between research and ethicsGet results quickly Fabricate / PlagiariseDisregard (original) evidence(at any costs)

Get interesting results Coerce / -ConsentDisregard participants / researchers (at any costs)

Diederik Stapel Marc HauserJoseph MengeleTwin experimentsTension between research and ethics

Publish quickly information pollutionDisregard Science & Society(at any costs)

Number of retractions on the rise!

http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/

http://pmretract.heroku.com/byyear(PubMed Retractions)

Where do we get ourEthical Guidance from?Our own intuitions (!)Ethical Theories / Principles

Professional Codes; BPS, APA, NHS, etc.UniversityDepartment

Environmental factors

Ethical TheoriesAristotelian Ethics: lead a virtuous life / do good.

Deontology (Kant): acts are right if they could be a universal law.

Do as you would be done by; never lie.

Ethical TheoriesUtilitarianism (Bentham): maximise benefits and reduce harm.

The greatest good for the greatest number.

Theory of Justice (Rawls): each person has equal rights to basic liberties, such as free speech.

Fairness.

Ethical PrinciplesBeauchamp and Childress (2008) four prima facie moral principles when doing (biomedical) research:

Autonomy: capacity to self-govern / personal wishes

Beneficence: maximise benefits for those involved

Non-maleficence: minimise potential harm

Justice: distribute benefits, risks and costs fairly, treat everyone the same, and be aware of power differential Ethical CodesThe relevant parties in a research project?Autonomy:Participant information (give / take)ConsentData withdrawal (limits specified)Protecting those with diminished autonomy(children, those mentally / physically incapacitated)Beneficence:Does participant / science / society benefit?Ethical CodesNon-maleficance:Care (deception, stress, etc.)After-careConfidentiality ( anonymity)Legal issues (who is liable, who has intellectual property rights, etc.)

Justice:Data storage (7 years)DebriefRewards for participation

Implementing the codesA Case

Imagine that you aim to investigate the relation between psychopathic traits and violent behaviour in sex offenders. For that purpose you carry out a qualitative study which involves interviewing offenders in a secure setting who receive therapy, as well as their therapists.

What issues should be addressed in judging the ethical soundness of this research project?

Implementing the codesclarity of research design, method and responsibilityscientific context, including appropriate referencingissues relating to writing (spelling, sentence structure, etc) ethical issues identifiedmechanisms used to address the issuesnecessary accompanying documents (letters, consent, debrief, etc)

Procedures for your programme?University Ethical GuidelinesProfessional GuidelinesIRAS approvalSee http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/psychology/Ethics.htm for examples

What about you / me?Survey of graduate students from 40 training programs in clinical psychology (Mearns & Allen, 1991):

49% were aware of unethical behaviors by peersonly 42% confronted peers behaving unethically

Question; where do you go to report ethical violations?

What about you / me?Survey of counseling and clinical psychology training directors from 75 APA-accredited programmes (Fly, et al 1997):89 ethical transgressions by studentsconfidentiality (25%), professional boundaries (20%), plagiarism (15%)54% of students committing ethical violations had taken an ethics course

Changing attitude changing behaviourQuestions?

ReferencesHaidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychological Review, 108, 4, 814-834. http://www.mc.edu/campus/users/sbaldwin/emotional%20dog%20rational%20tail.pdfHauser, M. (2006). Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.Hauser, M., Young, L. & Cushman, F. (2008). Reviving Rawls Linguistic Analogy; Operative principles and the causal structure of moral actions. In Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Ed), Moral Psychology; The Cognitive Science of Morality: Intuition and Diversity (pp 107-143). Cambridge, US: The MIT Press. http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~mnkylab/publications/recent/ReviveRawslChpt.pdfKohlberg, L. (1984). Essays on Moral Development. Volume II; The Psychology of Moral Development. San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers.Lee, S. W. S. & Schwartz, N. (2011). Wiping the Slate Clean: Psychological Consequences of Physical Cleansing. Current Directions in Psychological Science 20(5) 307311.Piaget, J. (1932). The moral judgment of the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/psychology/Ethics.htm