What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?

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. On the other hand,
if morality were nothing more than commonsense, then why are there so many ethical disputes and issues
in our society?

One plausible explanation of these disagreements is that all people recognize some common
ethical norms but interpret, apply, and balance them in different ways in light of their own values and life
experiences. For example, two people could agree that murder is wrong but disagree about the morality of
abortion because they have different understandings of what it means to be a human being.

Codes and Policies for Research Ethics

Given the importance of ethics for the conduct of research, it should come as no surprise that
many different professional associations, government agencies, and universities have adopted specific
codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics.

Honesty

Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures,
and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, research
sponsors, or the public.

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. Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception. Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect
research.
Integrity

Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of thought and action.

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, such as data collection, research design, and
correspondence with agencies or journals.

Openness

Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.

Respect for Intellectual Property

Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data,
methods, or results without permission. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to
research. Never plagiarize.

Confidentiality

Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication, personnel
records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.

Responsible Publication

Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful
and duplicative publication.

Responsible Mentoring

Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their welfare and allow them to make their own
decisions.

Respect for colleagues

Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.

Social Responsibility

Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research, public education,
and advocacy.
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.

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.

Legality

Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.

Animal Care

Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not conduct unnecessary or
poorly designed animal experiments.

Human Subjects Protection

When conducting research on human subjects minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect
human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to
distribute the benefits and burdens of research fairly.

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with morality—what it means to behave
morally and how people can achieve that goal. It can also refer to a set of principles and practices that
provide moral guidance in a particular field. There is an ethics of business, medicine, teaching, and of
course, scientific research

Ethics is rooted in the ancient Greek philosophical inquiry of moral life. It refers to a system of principles
which can critically change previous considerations about choices and actions. [1] It is said that ethics is the
branch of philosophy which deals with the dynamics of decision making concerning what is right and
wrong. Scientific research work, as all human activities, is governed by individual, community and social
values. Research ethics involve requirements on daily work, the protection of dignity of subjects and the
publication of the information in the research.

Know and Accept Your Ethical Responsibilities

 As the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Code notes in its introduction, “Lack of
awareness or misunderstanding of an ethical standard is not itself a defense to a charge of unethical
conduct.” This is why the very first thing that you must do as a new researcher is know and accept your
ethical responsibilities If you are conducting research as a course requirement, there may be specific
course standards, policies, and procedures. If any standard, policy, or procedure is unclear—or you are
unsure what to do about an ethical issue that arises—you must seek clarification. You can do this by
reviewing the relevant ethics codes, reading about how similar issues have been resolved by others, or
consulting with more experienced researchers, you’re IRB, or your course instructor. Ultimately, you as the
researcher must take responsibility for the ethics of the research you conduct.

Identify and Minimize Risks

As you design your study, you must identify and minimize risks to participants. Start by listing all
the risks, including risks of physical and psychological harm and violations of confidentiality. Remember
that it is easy for researchers to see risks as less serious than participants do or even to overlook them
completely. For example, one student researcher wanted to test people’s sensitivity to violent images by
showing them gruesome photographs of crime and accident scenes. Because she was an emergency
medical technician, however, she greatly underestimated how disturbing these images were to most
people. Remember too that some risks might apply only to some participants. For example, while most
people would have no problem completing a survey about their fear of various crimes, those who have
been a victim of one of those crimes might become upset. This is why you should seek input from a variety
of people, including your research collaborators, more experienced researchers, and even from no
researchers who might be better able to take the perspective of a participant. Once you have identified the
risks, you can often reduce or eliminate many of them. One way is to modify the research design. For
example, you might be able to shorten or simplify the procedure to prevent boredom and frustration. You
might be able to replace upsetting or offensive stimulus materials (e.g., graphic accident scene photos)
with less upsetting or offensive ones (e.g., milder photos of the sort people are likely to see in the
newspaper).

Identify and Minimize Deception

Remember that deception can take a variety of forms, not all of which involve actively misleading

participants. It is also deceptive to allow participants to make incorrect assumptions (e.g., about what will

be on a “memory test”) or simply withhold information about the full design or purpose of the study. It is

best to identify and minimize all forms of deception.

Weigh the Risks against the Benefits

Once the risks of the research have been identified and minimized, you need to weigh them against the

benefits. This requires identifying all the benefits. Remember to consider benefits to the research

participants, to science, and to society. If you are a student researcher, remember that one of the benefits

is the knowledge you will gain about how to conduct scientific research in psychology—knowledge you

can then use to complete your studies and succeed in graduate school or in your career.

Create Informed Consent and Debriefing Procedures

Once you have settled on a research design, you need to create your informed consent and debriefing
procedures. Start by deciding whether informed consent is necessary according to APA Standard 8.05. If
informed consent is necessary, there are several things you should do. First, when you recruit
participants—whether it is through word of mouth, posted advertisements or a participant pool—provide
them with as much information about the study as you can. This will allow those who might find the study
objectionable to avoid it. Second, prepare a script or set of “talking points” to help you explain the study to
your participants in simple everyday language.

Get Approval
The next step is to get institutional approval for your research based on the specific policies and
procedures at your institution or for your course. This will generally require writing a protocol that
describes the purpose of the study, the research design and procedure, the risks and benefits, the steps
taken to minimize risks, and the informed consent and debriefing procedures.

Follow Through
Your concern with ethics should not end when your study receives institutional approval. It now becomes
important to stick to the protocol you submitted or to seek additional approval for anything other than a
minor change. During the research, you should monitor your participants for unanticipated reactions and
seek feedback from them during debriefing.

Ethical issues in research

Introduction
Ethics when applied to social research is concerned with the creation of a trusting relationship between
those who are researched and the researcher. To ensure that trust is established it is essential that
communication is carefully planned and managed, that risks are minimized and benefits are maximized.
In developing a trusting relationship, researchers adhere to a number of ethical principles which they apply
to their work - namely beneficence; autonomy; non-malfeasance; justice; veracity; and privacy.
Beneficence (doing well)
Research should only be carried out if some sort of benefit or good can be derived from it, (i.e.
contribution to knowledge or improved service/treatment). Therefore the question of whether or not a
research project is worth undertaking should always be uppermost in the mind of the researcher. If no
benefit can be derived then the project is unethical.
Autonomy (self-rule)
Researchers have an obligation to disclose information at a level that participants can understand so that
they can either refuse or agree to participate. In essence, autonomy is concerned with the concept of
informed consent whereby people who agree to take part in a study know what they are agreeing to and
authorizes the researcher to collect information without any form of coercion.
Non-malfeasance (do no harm)
The principle of non-malfeasance places an obligation on researchers not to harm others or expose people
to unnecessary risks. Harm can come in many forms, from blows to self-esteem to ‘looking bad’ to others,
to loss of funding or earnings, to boredom, frustration, or time wasting. It is good practice to assume that
every research project will involve some form of harm and to consider in advance how best to deal with it.
Justice (Fairness)
This principle implies that everyone should be treated fairly and equally.
Veracity (truth telling)
This principle concerns truth telling whereby the researcher is required to provide comprehensive and
accurate information in a manner that enhances understanding. For example, if the researcher says that a
questionnaire will take 10 minutes to complete then the questionnaire should take 10 minutes and not 15
minutes. Researchers should always be honest with participants and keep any promises made.
Privacy
Privacy concerns the respect for limited access to another person, be it physically, emotionally or
cognitively. For example, although participants grant access to their thoughts and feelings when they agree
to participate, they do not agree to unlimited access. Therefore they have always got the right to decline to
talk about certain issues or to answer specific questions.