WEEK #5 - research methods Flashcards
what are ethics ?
a branch of philosophy that focuses on morality and a set of principles and practices that provide moral guidance for a particular field
what do ethics define ?
what it means to behave morally and helps provide guidance and a framework to achieve that goal
what are the four moral principles that apply to scientific research ?
1) weighing risks against benefits
2) acting responsibly and within integrity
3) seeking justice
4) respecting people’s rights and dignity
what are the three general groups that are affected by scientific research ?
1) participants
2) scientific community
3) society
what do research projects need to evaluate ?
the impact of these four principle on the three general groups in order in order to ensure that the research is being conducted ethically and responsibly
what are some beneficence weighing risks against benefits ?
- maximize possible benefits and minimize possible harm
FILL IN THE BLANK
risks and benefits are ___________
balanced
what are some forms that risks can come in ?
tasted resources, harmful consequences, inaccurate conclusions
what are some forms that benefits can come in ?
treatment, education, exploration, material benefits
discuss acting responsibly and with integrity ?
- research must be carried out in a thorough and competent manner
- research must promote trust and candor
- researchers must ensure they maintain the trust of the scientific community by ensuring that that conduct research in a thorough and competent manor and report their results in a transparent fashion
discuss seeing justice :
- required that we treat all participants (and the pool f potential participants) fairly
- occasionally, one may be tempted to sample from easily obtained samples (e.g. prison inmates)
discuss respect for persons; respecting people’s rights and dignity :
- individuals should be treated as autonomous agents, capable of deliberating about personal goals and acting under such deliberation
- individuals with diminishes autonomy (e.g. children, or individuals suffering from cognitive dysfunction) may need additional protections
discuss unavoidable ethical conflict :
- there will always be unavoidable ethical conflicts in research
- weighting risks vs benefits is a conflict
- sometimes deception is required as being truthful may make it impossible to conduct a scientifically valid study
- whenever ethical conflicts arise the mitigation f those conflicts is vitally important
what is informed consent ?
participants must have the capacity to understand verbal information, make decisions, and consentD
FILL IN THE BLANK
(in regards to informed consent) participants must be __________
free of coercion/influence
what must researchers provide in regards to informed consent ?
researchers must provide sufficient information to facilitate participant decision-making
in regards to informed consent, what are researchers ultimately responsible for ensuring ?
that the participant has consented to participated and consent should be written
what is deception ?
the action of deceiving someone
how many forms of deception are there ?
4
deception is acceptable as long as what ?
as long as the risk is mitigated post-study
what are the four forms of deception ?
1) misinforming participants about the purpose of a study
2) using confederates
3) using phone/sham equipment
4) presenting participants with false feedback about their performances
what is debriefing ?
is a report of a mission or project or the information so obtained. It is a structured process following an exercise or event that reviews the actions taken.
discuss debriefing in regards to participants :
- participants are quired to be informed as soon as possible regarding the actual purpose of the study and any deception or misinformation must be corrected
what does debriefing help minimize ?
helps minimizing any harm that may have occurred
describe a historical overview of moral principles to ethics codes :
- throughout history there have been cases on unethical and inhumane scientific studies
- many of these studies have resulted in the establishment of ethical codes which now form the foundation of modern research ethics
describe the medical experiments on the nazi medical war crimes :
- injecting people with gasoline and live viruses
- immersion in ice water
- forcing participants to ingest poison
what was December 1946 ?
- 23 physicians and administrators indicated for war crimes before the nuremberg tribunal
- 16/23 found guilty, 7 sentenced to death
- verdict formed the basis of the nuremberg code
- nazi medical war crimes
what was the Tuskegee syphilis study ?
initiated in 1930 as a study of the natural history of untreated syphilis