Modules (4-5)

Question 1

Terminology:
Morals, Integrity and Ethics.
Psychology focuses on…

Answer 1

1. Morals
   - Personal values or principles that define right and
   wrong that we live by (individual)
2. Integrity
   - The quality of being honest and fair (subset of
   morals which is specific to honesty and fairness)
3. Ethics
   - An agreed code of conduct or set of regulations that
   seeks to achieve moral principles (social norms or
   agreed upon code of conduct in a group with a
   shared goal or purpose; group based)

*we will focus on scientific integrity and their ethical code
of conduct for scientific researchers

Question 2

Scientific Integrity
is a set of __, __, __, and ___ which …
its important in maintaining __ and upholding ___

(8) Principles…

Answer 2

*a set of values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours which
inform how researchers should treat participants, data,
‘researchers and the public.’
*its important in maintaining trust in science that every
researcher must uphold

1. intellectual honesty in proposing, performing, and
   reporting research (no exaggeration or no cheating)
2. accuracy in representing contributions to research
   proposals and reports (authors are listed in order of
   contribution; acknowledgements section; citations;
   funding; sharing credit)
3. fairness in peer review (not be influenced by conflict
   of interest; don’t steal ideas; keep it confidential;
   review on the merit of the study not its author)
4. Collegiality (respect each other) in scientific
   interactions, including communications and sharing
   of resources (disagree respectfully; challenging of
   ideas is expected; focus on work not the individual;
   share data, stimuli with other researchers that ask for
   it)
5. transparency in conflicts of interest or potential
   conflicts of interest (funding, relationship with the
   author, anything that makes you biased for finding
   certain results)
6. protection of human subjects in the conduct of
   research
7. humane care of animals in the conduct of research;
   and
8. adherence to the mutual responsibilities between
   investigators and their research teams (senior
   researchers have a responsibility to mentor and
   guide research assistants)

Question 3

The Education Act (1989)
…requires New Zealand universities (added to the previous list) to act as the critic and conscience of society (unique to NZ; other countries have to fight for academic freedom to research what you want without government intervention)

(5) Principles…

Answer 3

Including:
(a) the freedom of academic staff and students, within
the law, to question and test received wisdom, to put
forward new ideas and to state controversial or
unpopular opinions (without free of reprimand or
censorship)
(b) the freedom of academic staff and students to
engage in research (we are the teachers of
knowledge and the creators of knowledge)
(c) the freedom of the institution and its staff to regulate
the subject matter of courses taught at the institution
(we can decide what we want to study as an
independent researcher)
(d) the freedom of the institution and its staff to teach
and assess students in the manner they consider
best promotes learning
(e) the freedom of the institution through its chief
executive to appoint its own staff.

Question 4

(4) Te tiriti o Waitangi in Research Ethics when pakeha are working with Maori-

Answer 4

Partnership:
where research involves or includes Maori, researchers should work with hapu, iwi, and other Maori communities, including Maori academic bodies when designing research.

Protection:
researchers should ensure that their research actively protects individual and collective Maori rights in relation to their cultural and intellectual property.

Participation:
research that involves Maori participants should include Maori representatives who inform the design, management, analysis, and outcomes of the research = consultation.

Practice:
research involving Maori should provide space for Maori research practices, the use of te reo Maori, Maori methodologies, Maori ways of knowing and being.

Question 5

Protection of Human Research Participants
The Belmont Report
(formed in response to participants being caused unnecessary harm so guiding principles for all research was formed)

(3)

Answer 5

1. Respect for persons
   • Autonomy in decision-making (informed consent;
   they understand what they are agreeing to; written
   and verbal)
   • Protection of those with diminished autonomy
   (special protections for vulnerable populations who
   have impaired autonomy; extra protection for them)
2. Beneficence
   • Do no harm? (psychological or physical; above
   normal levels in everyday life)
   • Minimise risks and maximise benefits (weigh risk
   with benefit; risk includes probability of risk and the
   severity of the risk)
3. Justice
   • Fair distribution of burdens and benefits (of
   research; not all on minorities; who is included and
   excluded from studies; does one group get all the
   benefit and another all the risks)

Question 6

Ethics Committees 
(not one person; group for consensus and to account for the difference in how risk is interpreted; need a diverse group of people with different experiences or expertise)

The ethical decision often involves judgments about relative risks and benefits. This may require diverse perspectives. Committees check for (4)

Answer 6

1. Respect for persons
   • Informed consent (written and verbal; if using
   deception is it needed, minimise harm, debrief as
   soon as possible)
   • Voluntary participation (do they feel free to consent
   to study without coercion and feel free to withdrawal
   it at any time)
   • Protection of vulnerable individuals (extra consent
   measures)
2. Benificence
   • Likelihood and severity of risks; likelihood and value
   of benefits (considered all risk and benefits;
   value=quality of research).
   • Minimisation of risk
   • Quality of research
3. Justice
   • Social/cultural sensitivity (when crosscultural sample;
   not imposing western views in interpretation and
   conduct of study)
   • Upholding te Tiriti o Waitangi (uphold treaty; who is
   included/excluded; who benefits/risks)

Question 7

Protection of Animal Research Subjects
Animals are involved in many research contexts

(5)

Answer 7

A. Conservation/observational research (dominant
reason; animals in natural habitat; conservation
based)
B. Behavioural research (pavlovian conditioning; operant
conditioning; memory; imitation; comparative
cogntion)
C. Surgical interventions + pain relief (interventions;
require aesthetic and pain relief; record eeg under
skin and has recovered after the fact)
D. Inducing cancer/tumour/infections (cancer
treatment/causes)
E. Other medical interventions

*90% of animal research in NZ will fall in A or B. Regardless
of the use of animals in research it goes through the same
ethics approval process.

Question 8

Animal Ethics Committee includes….

Answer 8

Diverse group of people (researchers VUW, vet, ember of SPCA, community and student)

Question 9

The three R’s of animal ethics?

Answer 9

• Reduce
• (take all efforts to reduce the number of animals
involved in research; small sample sizes are okay
because animals are a more homogeneous group)

• Refine
• (refine procedure to minimise pain, suffering and risk
to animals; take better care of them)

• Replace
• (replace animals with humans as much as possible or
animal cells or neural/mathematical/simulation models;
alternative technologies)
• Informed by the Animal Welfare Act (1999)