1. Research Ethics

2. 2 A Dilemma Researchers want to help advance understanding of behavior and perhaps improve lives while at the same time preserve the rights and welfare of the participants they study

3. 3 Evolution of Ethical Principles WWII to 1990s  Nuremberg Code

4. 4 Evolution of Ethical Principles WWII to 1990s  Nuremberg Code  Tuskegee Syphilis Studies

5. 5 Evolution of Ethical Principles WWII to 1990s  Nuremberg Code  Tuskegee Syphilis Studies  Belmont Report Post-1990s  Patient groups for those with cancer and AIDS fought the long approval process for potentially helpful treatments

6. 6 How to solve? Deontology  Universal moral code Ethical skepticism  Individual researcher conscience Utilitarian  Potential costs versus potential benefits

7. 7 Cost-Benefit Analysis Knowledge Improvement of research techniques Practical benefits Researcher benefits Participant benefits Risks to welfare  Physical  Psychological Time and effort Confidentiality Financial Profession

8. 8 Issues in Research with Human Participants Lack of informed consent Invasion of privacy Coercion to participate Physical/mental discomfort Deception Violation of confidentiality

9. 9 Informed Consent Give enough information about the study so people can make a reasoned decision about participation Why not obtain informed consent?  May compromise the validity of the study  Some research participants cannot give informed consent  In some cases it would be ludicrous to obtain consent

10. 10 Invasion of Privacy Right to privacy is a person’s right to decide when, where, to whom and to what extent his or her attitudes, beliefs, behavior will be revealed to others No official guidelines about protecting privacy

11. 11 Coercion to Participate The participant believes that refusing to participate will have negative consequences Must respect people’s right to refuse to participate  Don’t offer exceptionally high rewards  No requirement to participate

12. 12 Physical/Mental Discomfort How much discomfort may we inflict?  Extreme discomfort?  Minimal risk?

13. 13 Deception Methodological deception increased in use in the 1960s  Prevent participants from discovering the true purpose of the study  Use a confederate  Provide false feedback  Present related studies as unrelated  Give incorrect information about stimulus materials

14. 14 Deception Debriefing  Inform participants about deception as early as is feasible  Clarifies the nature of the study  Remove stress/negative consequences  Obtain participants’ reactions to the study  Help participants leave the study feeling good about participation

15. 15 Confidentiality Data participants provide must only be used for research purposes  Maintain anonymous data  Give participants a code  Remove identifying information as soon as possible

16. 16 Right to Service Especially relevant in counseling research No-treatment control groups are by definition denied the potentially helpful service of counseling  One way of dealing with this is the wait-list control group

17. 17 Other Ethical Issues: Scientific Conduct Scientific dishonesty  Plagiarism  Falsification/Fabrication of data Questionable research practices  Assigning authorship credit where it might not belong  Failing to report data inconsistent with personal views Unethical behavior