How do you ensure ethical considerations in research?

11 November 2017 53 4K Report

Ethical issues in research. What are the importance? How do you handle them in your research?

Thanks in advance for your valuable views.

Seyed Mehdi Mohammadizadeh Popular answer

" It is imperative that ethical issues are considered during the formulation of the evaluation plan. Ethical considerations during evaluation include:

Informed consent

Informed consent means that the person participating in the evaluation is fully informed about the evaluation being conducted. Participants need to be made aware of the purpose of the project, who or what group is funding it, how the findings will be used, if there are any potential adverse impacts of their participation and who will have access to the findings. The main purpose of informed consent is that the participant is able to make an informed decision as to whether they will participate in the evaluation or not. Additional information should also be provided in the event that the participant becomes distressed in any way during their participation.1,2

Voluntary participation

Voluntary participation means that people participate in the evaluation free from coercion. Participants are free to withdraw their participation at any time without negatively impacting on their involvement in future services or the current program2 and relationships with any of the researchers or research bodies involved. It can be challenging to encourage high risk youth to become engaged in a program and it is therefore difficult when participants choose not to continue in a program. It is the right of participants to leave a program of this nature at any time, therefore no pressure should be placed on those who choose not to continue. Explanations are also not required.

Do no harm

Harm can be both physical and/or psychological and therefore can be in the form of: stress, pain, anxiety, diminishing self-esteem or an invasion of privacy.2 It is imperative that the evaluation process does not in any way harm (unintended or otherwise) participants.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality means that any identifying information is not made available to, or accessed by anyone but the program coordinator.2 Confidentiality also ensures such identifying information is excluded from any reports or published documents. Given that there are often small numbers in peer based programs, it is very important to consider how reports are worded to ensure that there is no opportunity for people to be identified even though names are not used.

Anonymity

Anonymity is a stricter form of privacy than confidentiality, as the identity of the participant remains unknown to the research team.2 This is more difficult to achieve than confidentiality as participants in the context of social research are usually known to the program coordinator.1

Only assess relevant components

Only assess those components that are of relevance to the program/initiative being conducted. High risk populations are sometimes being used as guinea pigs or a captive audience to ask all sorts of questions in evaluations that are of interest to groups conducting the program/initiative but not relevant to the program nor will be to the group who are involved in the program. It is important to keep evaluations as simple as possible and to remain focused on the intention of the evaluation and what the data gathered will be used for."

http://mypeer.org.au/monitoring-evaluation/ethical-considerations/

Seyed Mehdi Mohammadizadeh

"Ethical considerations in research are critical. Ethics are the norms or standards for conduct that distinguish between right and wrong. They help to determine the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Why are ethical considerations so important in research? First, ethical standards prevent against the fabrication or falsifying of data and therefore, promote the pursuit of knowledge and truth which is the primary goal of research. Ethical behavior is also critical for collaborative work because it encourages an environment of trust, accountability, and mutual respect among researchers. This is especially important when considering issues related to data sharing, co-authorship, copyright guidelines, confidentiality, and many other issues. Researchers must also adhere to ethical standards in order for the public to support and believe in the research. The public wants to be assured that researchers followed the appropriate guidelines for issues such as human rights, animal welfare, compliance with the law, conflicts of interest, safety, health standards and so on. The handling of these ethical issues greatly impact the integrity of the research project and can affect whether or not the project receives funding.

Because ethical considerations are so important in research, many professional associations and agencies have adopted codes and policies that outline ethical behavior and guide researchers. These codes address issues such as honesty, objectivity, respect for intellectual property, social responsibility, confidentiality, non-discrimination and many others. These codes and policies provide basic guidelines, but researchers will still be faced with additional issues that are not specifically addressed and this will require decision-making on the part of the researcher in order to avoid misconduct. The resources on this page address many of those issues and the case studies used in these resources provide excellent examples of these types of issues.

One of the most important ethical considerations in research is the use of human subjects. To address these considerations, most institutions and organizations have developed an Institutional Review Board (IRB). An IRB is a panel of people who help to ensure the safety of human subjects in research and who assist in making sure that human rights are not violated. They review the research methodology in grant proposals to assure that ethical practices are being utilized. The use of an IRB also helps to protect the institution and the researchers against potential legal implications from any behavior that may be deemed unethical.

Examples of some of these issues include voluntary participation and informed consent. These principles are followed to guarantee that all human subjects are choosing to participate of their own free will and that they have been fully informed regarding the procedures of the research project and any potential risks. Ethical standards also protect the confidentiality and anonymity of the subjects.

Review the following slideshow to begin understanding the key ethical considerations for researchers and the history of ethical issues in research. This slideshow is a comprehensive discussion of ethical issues that researchers may face and provides definitions of key terminology for new researchers. This slideshow includes the use of case studies to illustrate many of these considerations."

https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/tutorials/ethics

Seyed Mehdi Mohammadizadeh

What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?

by David B. Resnik, J.D.

"When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think of rules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath ("First of all, do no harm"), a religious creed like the Ten Commandments ("Thou Shalt not kill..."), or a wise aphorisms like the sayings of Confucius. This is the most common way of defining "ethics": norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings. Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of growth as they mature. Ethical norms are so ubiquitous that one might be tempted to regard them as simple commonsense..."

Please follow this link to read more: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm

Seyed Mehdi Mohammadizadeh

" It is imperative that ethical issues are considered during the formulation of the evaluation plan. Ethical considerations during evaluation include:

Informed consent

Voluntary participation

Do no harm

Confidentiality

Anonymity

Only assess relevant components

http://mypeer.org.au/monitoring-evaluation/ethical-considerations/

Surender Singh

Ethical considerations forms a major element in a research. The researcher needs to adhere to promote the aims of the research imparting authentic knowledge, truth and prevention of error. It requires values alike accountability, trust, mutual respect and fairness among all the parties involved in a study.

Kirk MacGregor

I use Kant's categorical imperative as it is cashed out in terms of the twin principles of universalizability and humanity. I ask myself, "If my techniques for doing this research were adopted and used by everyone, would I still be able to carry out this research?" If yes, then I ask myself, "Does my research treat people as ends-in-themselves (intrinsically valuable) rather than merely as means to an end (instrumentally valuable)?" If yes, then I pursue the research.

Ibtisam Sahib Al-Zuwaini

The ethic of the scientific researcher is the ethics and human values and the human virtues that he must have:

• Honesty

• honesty

• Justice

• Chastity

• Giving \

• Truthfulness

• Professionalism (Professionalism)

• Safety

• Trust

• Consent

• Accuracy

• Responsibility

• Integrity Secretariat

• Collaboration

• Anonymity

• Objectivity

Ali Bahadoran-Baghbaderani

Dear Prof. Adom,

Stoynoff (1993) identified three main areas within which ethical dilemmas are likely to occur for scholars: (1) access to information and right to privacy; (2) personal and professional integrity; and (3) professional standards and practices. Under (1), the dilemmas are likely to come from conflicts between legal and ethical considerations. Under (2), the problems may come from conflicting priorities concerning fiscal versus academic responsibilities. Under (3), there are tensions between the highest professional standards and what a researcher can do to maximize the benefits of a study.

Mohamed Gadallah

Dickson Adom

Thanks for your great views on the topic Professors：

Ali

Mohamed

Mushtaq

Seyed

My dear friend from Babylon

Mutasem

Kirk

Surender

Thanks and best regards

Dickson Adom

Reza Biria

Hello,

The issue of ethics is an important part of axiology, a meta theory inspiring scientists' attention to the moral values underlying their works. Ethics in research addresses three different but complementary factors defining the course of action for all researchers :

1) A commitment to respect and value the trust that other researchers place in them,

2) A commitment to themselves. Any deviation from the norms and codes of conduct would befuddle the researcher's accountability questioning the credibility of the targeted claims, and

3) A commitment to address the needs and general interests of the public.

Since the main objective of research is the sharing of knowledge, the concerned researchers should also do their best to avoid any misconducts violating the normative standards of research including the authenticity of data, the confidentiality of participants' bio- data, avoidance of plagiarism, etc. Full compliance with the said ethical issues would certainly enhance the contributory role of research in enhancing the quality of the shared knowledge.

Best regards,

R. Biria

Dickson Adom

Dear Prof. Reza,

Thanks for explainibg the different facets of ethics in the field of research. I am grateful. Best regards

Dickson Adom

Aparna Sathya Murthy

There are ethical committees in a University that follow guidelines provided by government and partnering organization . It needs to be followed , no second thoughts about it ...