ETHICS IN RESEARCH

SUBMITTED BY:
WAJIHA IFTIKHAR (SS13-10)
RABIA RASHEED (SS13-16)
NIDA FAROOQ (SS13-30)
CONTENTS
Definition
Brief History
Objectives
Ethical factors
Importance or norms
Principles
Ethical theories
IRB
Research Ethics: Areas of Focus
Ethical Misconduct
Ethical concerns in different research methods
Conclusion
 WHAT IS ETHICS?

Moral principles that governs a persons behavior or the

conducting of an activity

One may also define ethics as a method, procedure, or

perspective for deciding how to act and for analyzing complex
problems and issues.
What one person considers to be good or right may be
considered bad or wrong by another person.
 ETHICS IN RESEARCH

Research Ethics is defined as the ethics of the

planning, conduct, and reporting of research.
Research ethics should include protections of
human and animal subjects.
BRIEF HISTORY

The birth of modern research ethics started with a

wish to protect human subjects involved in research
projections of human and animal subject's first effort to
craft rules began during the Doctors Trial in 1946-1947
 CODES OF ETHICS

Nazis

The need for regulation and codes of behavior

emerged from revelations of the research atrocities
committed by the Nazis.
Medical experiments involved exposing to high
altitudes, freezing temperature, malaria, poisons,
typhus fever, untested drugs and surgery without
anesthesia
Subjects had no opportunity to refuse the
participation
 CODES OF ETHICS

Nuremberg Code

This 1947 code for biomedical research was the first to focus on the importance
of informed consent (Participants have adequate knowledge regarding research,
have the power of choice, enabling to decline participation voluntarily)
Mistreatment of human subjects in Nazi experiments led to the development of
Nuremberg Code.
Protection of subjects from physical and mental suffering, injury, disability, and
death
NUREMBERG PALACE OF JUSTICE
CODES OF ETHICS

Helsinki Declaration

This 1964 declaration provided guidance in

such areas as the use of animals for research
purposes.
Strong, independent justification for exposing
a healthy volunteer to substantial risk of harm
 OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH ETHICS

To protect human participants

To ensure that research is conducted in a way

that serves interests of individuals, group or
society

To examine specific research activities and

projects for their ethical soundness, protection
of confidentiality and the process of informed
consent
ETHICAL FACTOR

Communicate

Credit Safety

No pressure
Ethical ILL Usage of
factor Research
 ETHICAL NORMS IN RESEARCH

Promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth,

and avoidance of error.

Promote the values that are essential to collaborative

work.
CONTINUED...

Many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable
to the public.

Ethical norms in research also help to build public support for research.

Many of the norms of research promote a variety of other important moral and
social values, such as social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, compliance
with the law, and public health and safety.
 PRINCIPLE OF ETHICS

o Honesty
Strive for honesty in all scientific communications.
Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and
publication status.
o Objectivity
Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis,
data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant
writing, expert testimony, and other aspects of research
where objectivity is expected or required.
 CONTINUED.

o Carefulness
Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically
examine your own work and the work of your peers. Keep
good records of research activities.
o Openness
Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to
criticism and new ideas.
CONTINUED.
o Social Responsibility
Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through
research, public education, and advocacy.
o Non-Discrimination
Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race,
ethnicity, or other factors not related to scientific competence and integrity.
o Competence
Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise through
lifelong education and learning; take steps to promote competence in science as a
whole.
CONTINUED.

o Legality
Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.
o Animal Care
Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not
conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.
o Respect for colleagues
Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.
CONTINUED.

o Integrity
Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of
thought and action.
o Human Subjects Protection
When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms and risks and
maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy.
Ethical theories

Deontology- duty is the basis of all action.

Utilitarianism

Teleology- actions can only judge on the

basis of consequences they produce
Teleology

Utilitarianism-central concern is the Deontology

general welfare rather than individuals

interest
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD

The role of the IRB is to protect the rights and welfare of individual research subjects.
This is accomplished by having the IRB assure that the following requirements:
risk to subjects are minimized
risk to subjects are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits,
selection of subjects is equitable, i.e. fair
informed consent is sought form each subject or his/her legally authorized
representative,
when appropriate, the research plan makes provisions for monitoring data collection,
privacy and confidentiality of research subjects are appropriately protected.
RESEARCH ETHICS: AREAS OF FOCUS

Harm
Informed Consent
Confidentiality
Deception
Reporting Results
 AREAS OF FOCUS

Harm
Researchers should take every precaution to ensure that
participants are not subjected to undue harm or stress.
Informed Consent
Voluntary Informed Consent is essential for research involving
human subjects.
CONTINUED.

Confidentiality
It includes:
All information collected in a research project should
remain confidential.
Participants should be assigned a HIPAA compliant code
Data should be locked away in a secure setting
Electronic Databases should also be protected
 CONTINUED.

Deception
At times, researchers may choose to hide from
participants the true nature of the study
Deception by Omission
Withholding important facts from the participants
Deception by Commission
Lie to or purposely mislead research participants
CONTINUED.

Reporting Research Results

Results of research studies should be reported in a honest,
accurate manner.
Researchers cannot massage data to fit their hypotheses.
Researchers cannot make up or report false results.
Researcher must report what they find, even if the data
does not support their initial hypotheses.
Researchers should ensure that data is being collected
consistently (do checks of research assistants).
ETHICAL MISCONDUCT

Research misconduct is the process of identifying and reporting unethical or unsound

research. Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in
proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.
FABRICATION

Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.

FALSIFICATION:

The falsification is manipulating research

processes, or changing data or results such that the
research is not accurately represented in the
research record.
PLAGIARISM:

Plagiarism is the appropriation of another

persons ideas, processes, results, or words
without giving appropriate credit.
ETHICAL CONCERNS IN DIFFERENT RESEARCH
METHODS

It is primarily exploratory research. It

is used to gain an understanding of
Qualitative underlying reasons, opinions, and
motivations

This methods emphasize objective

Quantitative measurements and the statistical,
mathematical, or numerical analysis of
data

Mixed It is more specific in that it includes

the mixing of qualitative and
quantitative data, methods,
methodologies,
 ETHICAL CONCERNS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Distress
Inconvenience
Misinterpretation
Identification
ETHICAL CONCERNS IN QUATITATIVE RESEARCH

Related to the stage of research

Formulating the research questions
Designing the study
Collecting data
Analysis
Reporting
 ETHICAL CONCERNS IN MIXED METHOD
RESEARCH

Identify and describe issues related to the

protection of human subjects
Understand the ethical issues associated with
quantitative and qualitative research
Be prepared to educate IRB reviewers about mixed
method research
WHY STUDY RESEARCH ETHICS?

Research ethics are important to study for the researchers so that they know what
constitutes ethical research.
All researchers should know the basic ethical principles and have up-to-date
knowledge about plans and procedures designed to guarantee the safety of research
subjects and to avoid sloppy research.
Ignorance of policies designed to protect research subjects is not considered a viable
excuse for ethically questionable projects.
WHERE DO STUDENTS LEARN ETHICAL DECISION
MAKING?

Mentor
Fellow graduate students
Family
Other faculty
Discussions in courses, labs, seminars
Professional organizations
Courses dealing with ethical issues
CONCLUSION:

It is the researchers responsibility to seek out and fully understand the policies and
theories designed to guarantee upstanding research practices.
The research project is considered ethical only when all of its parts are upstanding.
When even one of its parts is objectionable or conducted unethical, the integrity of
the whole project becomes questionable.
If research is based on a robust design and in a safe and ethical manner, it can be of
benefit to all.
Professional codes, laws, regulations, and ethics committees can provide guidance but
ultimate determinant rests with researchers value system and moral code.
REFERENCES:
http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/26104/Research_Ethics.pdf
https://researchethics.ca/what-is-research-ethics/
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/
http://www.slideshare.net/uqudent/introduction-to-research-ethics
http://www.slideshare.net/grant.heller/ethics-in-research
http://www.slideshare.net/mirakdesai/ethics-in-research-45880423
http://www.slideshare.net/uqudent/introduction-to-research-ethics?next_slideshow=1
http://irb.ufl.edu/
http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/6-ethical-considerations/what-are-ethical-considerations