THE ETHICAL CONDUCT OF
RESEARCH
Chapter 4
HISTORY OF ETHICAL
PROTECTIONS
• The Nuremberg Code
• The Office for Human Research
Protections (OHRP), United States
– http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/
– Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)
• Do we all Abide by IRBs?
Do We All Abide by IRBs?
• Variations in the social work profession
• Routine evaluation research and
evaluation activities in social work
agencies.
HEART’S IN THE RIGHT PLACE
BUT HEAD ISN’T
• The case of Margaret (p. 31-32)
• Ethical social work practice “versus”
ethical social work research
– What’s the difference?
ETHICAL PRACTICE AND
ETHICAL RESEARCH
• Ethical Practice
– National Association of Social Workers
(NASW), Code of Ethics
• Ethical Research
– Policy and Legislation
– The Belmont Report
Ethical Practice
• NASW Code of Ethics – Core Values
– Service
– Social Justice
– Dignity and Self Worth of the Person
– Importance of Human Relationships
– Integrity
– Competence
Ethical Research
• The Belmont Report
– Part A: Boundaries Between Research &
Practice
– Part B: Basic Ethical Principles
• Respect for Persons, Beneficence, Justice
– Part C: Applications
• Informed consent, information, comprehension,
voluntariness, assessment of risks and benefits,
nature and scope of risks and benefits, systematic
assessment of risks and benefits, selection of
subjects.
EXAMPLES OF ETHICAL ISSUES
• Informed Consent, Privacy and
Confidentiality Issues
• Informed Consent Issues
• Deception Issues
Informed Consent, Privacy, and
Confidentiality Issues
• Example: The case of Isa (p. 41)
• Do no harm
Informed Consent Issues
• Example: U.S. Public Health Service
syphilis study carried out in Tuskegee,
Alabama.
Deception Issues
• Example: The Milgram Study (1974).
ETHICAL DECISIONS ACROSS
THE RESEARCH PROCESS
• The Research Question
• The Research Design
– Equipoise, or the Uncertainty Principle
– Deception
• Debriefing
• Sample Selection and Recruitment
• Data Collection
– How data are collected, who is going to collect the
data, frequency and timing of data collection
The Research Question
• Is the research effort likely to benefit
individuals (or groups) in need?
• Is the research effort likely to add to the
professional social work knowledge base?
• Is the research effort likely to benefit social
work students who are training to become
researchers?
The Research Design
• Randomly assigning research participants
to experimental and control groups
– Equipoise, or the Uncertainty Principle:
research studies that randomize their
research participants to different treatment
groups should be conducted only if there is a
true uncertainty about which of the treatment
alternatives is most likely to benefit them
– Deception: Is its use necessary? If so, include
debriefing procedures at the end of the study.
Sample Selection and Recruitment
• Is your sample representative of the target
population?
• Is your sample diverse enough to be
representative?
• Be certain that all procedures for recruiting
participants are ethically sound.
Data Collection
• Ethical issues are relevant for:
– How data are collected
– Who is going to collect the data
– The frequency and timing of data collection
THE INFORMED CONSENT
PROCESS
• Determining Competency to Provide
Consent
• Providing Adequate Information
• Anonymity and Confidentiality
Determining Competency to
Provide Consent
• Capacity or competency to give consent
• Special populations (e.g., children,
prisoners, adults with mental or cognitive
delays)
Providing Adequate Information
• Researchers hold an ethical responsibility
to provide information in such a way that
potential research participants fully
understand the study and their
involvement in it.
• Voluntary consent.
Anonymity and Confidentiality
• Anonymous data – there is no way for the
researchers to connect any piece of
information in a study to any given study
participant.
• Confidential data – the researchers can
associate responses with names of
respondents, typically through an
identification number.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
• International Research
• Computer- and Internet-based Research
Guidance
• Students as Subjects/Students as
Researchers
International Research
• The researcher must demonstrate that
research methods are culturally sensitive
and locally approved.
• The researcher may need to demonstrate
a sophisticated understanding of the
country, culture, and customs before IRB
approval is granted.
Computer- and Internet-based
Research Guidance
• Internet-based research must provide the
same levels of protection to human
subjects as traditional modes of research
• Authenticate research respondents
Students as Subjects/Students as
Researchers
• Students who participate in agency or
university research are a vulnerable group
• Students who conduct research should
have a faculty member carefully review
their research proposals prior to its
submission to the IRB
SUMMARY
• Ethical social work practice includes
ethical research conduct. Mindful concern
for the safety and informed protection of
our potential research participants is not
enough. In ethical research this concern
must be partnered with knowledge of best
research practices and skill in
methodological implementation.