Ch4: ethics in research

Question 1

The ___ ___ was the earliest expression of medical ethics

Answer 1

Hippocratic Oath (275 AD)

Question 2

Thomas PErival’s “___ ____” (1803) stated what?

Answer 2

“Medical Ethics”

stated that patients have the right to the truth, but if a doctor thought lying or withholding information was more effective, they should do so.

Question 3

What is the Nuremberg Code?

Answer 3

• following inhumane and awful WWII experiments carried out on reluctant participants, the Nuremberg trials took place.
• Following these trials, a set of 10 guidelines were established
  eg. , must ask for consent. Must be for greater good (benefit humanity). Do no harm.

Question 4

Describe the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Answer 4

• conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service from 1932-1972
• 600 poor, rural African men were selected as participants. Over half of these men had contracted syphilis prior to beginning the study
• these men were given free medical care, meals, and burial insurance.
• men were never told that they had the disease
• even after treatment was made available, they were not given the treatment
• SUPER UNETHICAL

Question 5

In concern for welfare, it’s important to maximize ___ and minimize possible ____

Answer 5

In concern for welfare, it’s important to maximize BENEFITS and minimize possible HARM

Question 6

What is the principle of clinical equipoise and how does this affect research?

Answer 6

• Clinicians have an ethical responsibility to provide the best possible treatment for their patients.
• If a clinician knows or believes that one treatment is inferior to the others, then some patients are being denied the best possible treatment and the principle of NO HARM is being violated.
• solution: conduct studies that only compare equally preferred treatments.

Question 7

Questions to answer when providing informed consent

Answer 7

-why are you doing the experiment? (purpose of research)
-What are you going to do to me? (procedures that will be used)
-What are the consequences of participating? (risks and benefits, compensation/costs)
-When can I leave? (participation is voluntary)
-who do I talk to if I have concerns? (contact info)
-Where do I sign? (agree to participation)
MUST BE FREE FROM COERCION

Question 8

Researchers need to obtain ___ rather than consent from vulnerable populations.

Answer 8

assent

Question 9

Consent can be waived if all of the following apply:

Answer 9

• no more than minimal risk
• lack of consent is unlikely to adversely affect welfare
• impossible or impractical to carry out research when consent is sought (eg., naturalistic observation of many people coming and going like in a mall)
• when possible, participants will be debriefed and given the chance to withdraw their data
• the research doesn’t involve any clinical interventions

Question 10

Dr. Young is conducting a study on whether children can remember
social information better than non-social information. She asks her
participant (Ben, 3 years old) if he consents to participating. She
offers a “thank you” in the form of $100.
What are the issues related to consent in this scenario?

Answer 10

• $100 is alot, could be considered coercion

- child cannot give consent, only assent. Consent must be sought from parent.

Question 11

By not releasing data/private info to others without permission, you are respecting the individual’s _____

Answer 11

confidentiality

Question 12

Is confidentiality the same as anonymity?

Answer 12

No. If the researcher cannot tie data to the participant, that is anonymity. However, the researcher often can tie data sets to participant, therefore they must assure confidentiality but not anonymity

Question 13

Why is confidentiality important when it comes to responses/internal validity?

Answer 13

If you knew your data would be available to others, how might you respond differently?

Question 14

Concealing and/or misleading participants about the experiment is known as _____. What are the two types?

Answer 14

Concealing and/or misleading participants about the experiment is known as DECEPTION.
Two types of deception:
-passive: omitting info about purpose of the experiment
-active: intentionally misleading participants about the experiment

Question 15

What must you do after the study if deception was used?

Answer 15

DEBRIEF:

explain the purpose of the study. This often includes hypothesis and predictions.

Question 16

Facebook and “Emotional Contagion” study and its ethical issues

Answer 16

• there was no debriefing
• no informed consent
• no formal signature
• participants weren’t informed of risks
• vulnerable populations participated unknowingly. No assent

Question 17

Taking credit for other people’s ideas is known as _____

Answer 17

Plagiarism

Question 18

Data fabrication

Answer 18

changing or manipulating data

Question 19

Safeguards against plagiarism and data fabrication

Answer 19

• replication
• peer review
• open data (submitting raw data with stat results)
• justify number of participants (didn’t just select a larger number until the intended pattern arose)

Question 20

What are the two most common positions on research involving animals?

Answer 20

1. in support of non-human animal experiments: they will produce such great benefits to humanity that they are morally acceptable.
2. Opposed to non-human animal experiments: the level of suffering and number of animals involved are both so high that the benefits to humanity don’t provide moral justification

Question 21

Role of the Canadian Council of Animal Care (CCAC)

Answer 21

• made up of scientists, veterinarians, community representatives, etc.
• inspects all animal facitlities
• can revoke funding immediately

Question 22

Methods to minimize animal suffering in research:

Answer 22

• REPLACEMENT: use a non-animal model (eg., computer)
• REFINEMENT: Refine the experiments or the way the animals are cared for so as to reduce their suffering
• REDUCTION: reduce the number of animals used in experiments. Power calculations, data sharing.