Research Ethics Seminar 2013Nivedhna SinghRm14fsinghn7@ukzn.ac.za

Research EthicsEthics = rules for distinguishing between right and wrong

Research ethics = code of conduct for researchers

Research ethics aims to: ensure participants are treated with dignity and respectprotect participants from harm and to promote their welfare promote good science

1) Collaborative partnership2) Social Value3) Scientific Validity4) Fair participant selection5) Favorable risk-benefit ratio6) Independent review7) Informed consent8) Ongoing Respect

Collaborative PartnershipEncourages researchers to develop studies in collaboration with the target community.

Derived from the need to reduce possible exploitation of research participants and communities.

Requires: community participation in planning, conducting and overseeing research, and disseminating research results avoidance of supplanting existing knowledge and servicesthe sharing rewards of the research with the community

Collaborative PartnershipQuestions to ask re your research proposal:

Has my study been developed in collaboration with the target community and/or relevant stakeholders?

Does my research arise from an expressed community need?

Is the community involved in all stages of the research from study planning to implementation and dissemination of results?

Is my study considerate of the traditions, cultural practices and values of the community?

Is the community represented in a manner that is well balanced and fair?

Social ValueResearch should address questions that are of value to society or particular communities in society

Conducting social research cannot be separated from researchers ethical obligation to find solutions to the problems they study

Must consider how the research will improve the lives of: Participants in the research Community in which research is conducted Society

Social ValueQuestions to ask re your research proposal:

Who will the beneficiaries be?

How will they benefit?

How will the results be disseminated?

Scientific ValidityThe design, sample, method and analysis of the study should be rigorous, justifiable, feasible, and lead to valid answers to the research question

Unreliable and/or invalid methods are unethical because they waste resources, yield invalid and unusable results and expose participants to risk and inconvenience for no purpose.

Scientific ValidityQuestions to ask re your research proposal:

Is my research design, methodology and data collection and analysis rigorous, valid and feasible?

Is the scientific validity of my study explained and justified in the methodology section?

Fair participant selectionThe population selected for the study should be those to whom the research question applies.

Those most likely to benefit from the outcomes of the research are those who should bear the largest burden of the research, and vice versa.

Employ clarity and transparency when explaining to the participants / host community how participants were selected.

Fair participant selectionQuestions to ask re your research proposal:

Is the selection of participants impartial not based on convenience?

Does the selection process match the purpose of my research?

Do those who bear the risks and inconveniences of my research stand to benefit from it?

Risk-Benefit RatioA favourable risk/benefit ratio requires the fair distribution of research burdens and benefits

There are two general issues to be considered in risk/benefit determinations: a) the probability of the harm occurring b) the anticipated severity of the harm

Safeguards and contingencies should be put in place to deal with foreseeable harms

Risk-Benefit RatioQuestions to ask re your research proposal:

What are the risks?

What are the benefits?

Do the benefits out weight the risks?

Independent ethics review

An independent and competent REC should subject all proposals to independent ethics review prior to commencement of data collection.

Competent ethics review should maximise the protection of the participants and enhance the quality of the research.

The REC will also review scientific elements of the study but it will do so to determine whether the methods are appropriate, carry risk of harm or likelihood of benefit, and will consider alternate, less risky methods of addressing the research question

Informed consentResearchers must provide potential participants with clear, detailed and factual information about the study its methods, its risks and benefits, along with assurances of the voluntary nature of participation and freedom to refuse or withdraw without penalties.

Research with minors is ethically and legally complex and should, as a rule, be done only with the consent of legal guardians and the assent of the minor if risks are acceptable.

Informed consentQuestions to ask re your research proposal:

Have I provided my participants with adequate information about my study?

Do my participants have the capacity to provide consent?

Do my participants understanding the information I have given them?

Do my participants understand that their participation is voluntary and that they are free to withdraw?

How am I going to formalize the consent process?

Ongoing RespectRequires that participants be treated with respect during and after a study

This can be achieved by: allowing participants to withdraw from the research at any stage, providing participants with any new information obtained during the research, monitoring participants wellbeing throughout the research and respecting participants privacy by maintaining confidentiality and anonymity

Ongoing RespectQuestions to ask re your research proposal:

Will participants be allowed to withdraw from the research at any stage?

Will participants be provided with any new information obtained during the research?

Will participants wellbeing throughout the research be monitored?

Will participants privacy be respected by maintaining confidentiality and anonymity?

ConclusionResearch Ethics provides broad principles and requirements to guide researchers.

Ethics does not provide easy right or wrong answers.

Researchers are required to demonstrate that they have considered the ethical issuesin a disciplined and rigorous manner, using a framework of principles and rules to promote the welfare and dignity of participants throughout the research

Suggested Reading Wassenaar, D. R. & Mamotte, N. (2012). Ethical Issues and ethics review in social science research. In M. M. Leach, M. J. Stevens, G. Lindsay, A. Ferrero & Y. Korkut (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of international psychological ethics (pp.268-282). New York: Oxford University press. Emanuel, J., Wendler, D., & Grady, C. (2000). What makes clinical research ethical? JAMA, 283 (20) 2701 2711.Wassenaar, D. R. (2006). Ethical issues in social science research. In M., Terre Blanch, K. Durrheim, & M. Painter (Eds). Research in practice (2nd ed.). (pp. 60-79). Cape Town: Jutas.

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