ethics & research communication research week 2 myra gurney

Ethics & Research

Communication Research

Week 2Myra Gurney

Communication Research Spring 2005 2

What is Ethics? Can be defined as a systematic attempt,

through the use of reason, to make sense of our individual and social moral experience in such a way as to determine the rules which govern human conduct and the the values worth pursuing in life

A set of standards that regulate our behaviour

Can be socially and culturally determined


What is Ethics? Enables us to distinguish between what

is acceptable and legitimate and what is not

The word ‘ethics’ comes from the Greek ethos meaning custom and character

An important aspect of any ethical system is the role of truth and lies


Types of Ethics

Normative – dictate what is morally

correct behaviour. Fundamental concern is the

development and justification of systems of moral rules which guide conduct

Statements of ‘ought’


Types of Ethics

Relative – “Fire burns both in Hellas and in

Persia; but men’s ideas of right or wrong vary

from place to place.” … Aristotle’s

Nichomanchean Ethics

Absolute – application of principles regardless

of context or circumstances eg exercise of

absolute power in politics – tyranny


Research Ethics All researchers, even students, have a

responsibility to conduct ethical research

Participants in research studies should know and understand their rights and responsibilities

Ethical considerations are part of the design of the research project


The 10 point Nuremburg Code

1. Participation must be voluntary, and subjects should have the capacity to give consent. Further, subjects should be fully informed of the purposes, nature, and duration of the experiment.

2. The research should yield results that are useful to society and that cannot be obtained in any other way.



3. The research should have a sound footing in animal research and be based on the natural history of the problem under study.

4. Steps should be taken in the research to avoid unnecessary physical or psychological harm to the subjects.

5. Research should not be conducted if there is reason to believe that death or disability will occur in the subjects.



6. The risk involved in the research should be proportional to the benefits to be obtained.

7. Proper plans should be made and facilities provided to protect the subject from harm.

8. Research should be conducted by highly qualified scientists only.



9. The subject should have the freedom to withdraw at any time if he or she has reached the conclusion that continuing in the experiment is not possible.

10. The researcher must be prepared to discontinue the experiment if it becomes evident that continuing will be harmful to the subject.


Unethical research – The Willowbrook Studies

1963-66 at Willowbrook State School in New York for “mentally defective persons”

Children deliberately infected with hepatitis in order to understand the natural history of the disease and the effects of gamma globulin in preventing the disease

Defended on the grounds that the children would have caught it anyway – better under “controlled conditions”


Unethical research – John B Watson and “Little Albert”

Famous psychological experiment to test the effects of classical conditioning

Little Albert was 11 months old Introduced to a laboratory white rat of whom he initially

had no fear When the rat was later introduced, a scary stimulus (eg

a loud noise) was “paired” with the original Albert was later conditioned to fear anything white

including a Santa Claus mask


Unethical research – Simulated Rape Field Study

Harari, Harari & White (1985) male participants alone or in groups were exposed to simulated rape (screaming woman grabbed by male assailant and dragged into bushes)

Measured yes or no to intervention by participants

Prior to intervention, participants debriefed


Simulated Rape Study – problems

Should informed consent have been obtained? Post hoc informed consent?

Psychological Stress? Unexpected reactions by participants, e.g.

what if someone had a gun? Should subjects be stopped and

debriefed? What about those who didn’t stop? What should debriefing include?


The Belmont Principles The primary task of the National Commission

was to identify the ethical principles that would guide all research involving humans. The Belmont Report -- Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects was published in 1978.

The principles of The Belmont Report govern all research supported by the U.S. government today.


Current Standards

3 BASIC FACTORS 1. Respect for Persons: This principle

acknowledges the dignity and freedom of every person. It requires obtaining informed consent from research subjects (or their legally authorized representatives).

2. Beneficence: This principle requires that researchers maximize benefits and minimize harms associated with research. Research-related risks must be reasonable in light of expected benefits

3. Justice: This principle requires equitable selection and recruitment and fair treatment of research subjects.


The Problem of Deception

Deception interferes with a subjects’ right to be informed

Role-Playing Research shows that informed and uninformed

participants behave differently Prior Consent

General consent to be uninformed Debriefing

Inform participants about study (methods, purpose, results) including deception used


What is active deception? Misrepresenting the purpose False statements about the identity of the

researcher False promises to the participant Violations of promise of anonymity Misleading statements about equipment and

procedures Use of pseudosubjects


What is active deception?

False diagnoses and other reports

False interaction

Using placebos or secret administration of

drugs

Misleading settings and behavior of the

experimenter


Passive Deception

Doing unrecognized conditioning

Provoking and secretly recording negative

behavior of participants

Making concealed observations

Doing unrecognized participant observation

Using projective techniques and other

personality tests.


Debriefing

Make a full disclosure of purposes of the research Give a complete description of and justification for the

deception Discuss the problem of perseverance Provide a convincing argument for the need for

deception Demonstrate bogus experiment or show participants

that actual responses were never seen by the experimenter

Have participants observe a subsequent session showing deception

Make the individual an active participant in the research


Ethical issues in conducting research

Intentional deception

Use of confederates

Physical and psychological harm

Upholding anonymity and confidentiality

Videotaping and audiotaping participants

Debriefing participants


Ethical Issues in reporting research

Ensuring accuracy Researcher is always responsible for

accuracy regardless of who helps Avoiding plagiarism by

Using direct quote Using summaries or paraphrases Acknowledge ideas or contributions

Protecting identities of participants

ethics & research communication research week 2 myra gurney

Documents

research ethics

communication research

research studies

unethical research

animal research

research project slide

ethical research participants

word ethics