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Researchers in the social and behavioral sciences must follow recognized ethical standards and federal research regulations when they conduct their research. However, it is often challenging to determine appropriate actions in a given research study. In part, this is because standards, regulations, and other forms of guidance were initially developed with medical research as the model. Interpreting what this guidance means for an ethnographic study, a longitudinal behavioral survey, or a study of a behavioral intervention, for example, is not always straightforward. Guidance is general, and each study is unique in its combination of research question, approach, methods, study population, and research team. Additionally, many graduate programs do not have the resources to offer more than a few lectures related to research ethics, which means that students do not have opportunities to learn the reasoning needed to guide ethical decision making in real-world situations. Often, questions remain among researchers on how to apply ethical standards when developing and implementing social and behavioral research.

100 Questions (and Answers) About Research Ethics identifies and answers essential questions on the ethical guidelines and regulations that govern human subjects research, while focusing specifically on how these standards are applied to research in the social and behavioral sciences. 100 Questions (and Answers) About Research Ethics can serve as an ancillary text for a variety of undergraduate and graduate research methods courses. It is also a useful resource for students developing their thesis and dissertation proposals, for faculty designing research, and for members of institutional review boards (IRBs) that review social and behavioral sciences research.

The questions are divided into 10 parts:

 Part 1: Understanding Ethics in Research With Human Participants

 Part 2: Assessing Research Risks and Benefits

 Part 3: Protecting Privacy and Confidentiality

 Part 4: Protecting Vulnerable Populations

 Part 5: Obtaining Informed Consent

 Part 6: Designing Ethical Research

 Part 7: Addressing Ethical Issues in Online Research

 Part 8: Negotiating the IRB Review Process

 Part 9: Understanding Ethical Responsibilities of Data Use

 Part 10: Handling Ethical Issues That Arise During Research Implementation

This book can be read cover to cover, or specific questions can be consulted as issues arise. Although each question is intended to stand alone, there are many areas of overlap, as research is not a linear process. Our intention is for this book to be a handy resource, but we cannot cover everything in this short volume. Therefore, we have provided both a list of related questions at the end of each individual question and a section of References and Resources at the end of the book.

A few notes on what is not covered in this short book. We do not have sufficient space to delve into the rich expanse of philosophical and ethical theory that underpins the guiding principles for human research. Nor do we cover topics related to research integrity and misconduct, such as plagiarism, data falsification, or authorship. We focus specifically on the ethics of conducting research with human beings.

A revision to the federal research regulations (Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, Text of the Final Common Rule, Part 46, Subpart A, Protection of Human Subjects) was published in the Federal Register (Vol. 82, No. 12) on Thursday, January 19, 2017 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/19/2017-01058/federal-policy-for-the-protection-of-human-subjects). The final version will be codified at 45 C.F.R. §. 46, Subpart A, on January 19, 2018, soon after this book is published. We reference the new research regulations throughout the book; however, because we wrote the book before the final regulations were published, we used information from the Federal Register when referencing Subpart A of the federal research regulations. Because the Common Rule was revised in January 2017, with changes to go into effect in January 2018, specific guidance from the Office for Human Research Protections (https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/) will continue to emerge to assist researchers and IRBs in interpreting and applying these revisions.

While we frequently refer to the federal regulations for research (45 C.F.R. § 46, the Common Rule), we want to emphasize that different institutions may have additional policies, and different disciplines have additional standards of practices. We also want to emphasize that following the regulations—compliance—is the minimum for ethical research. We hope the guidance we provide in this volume encourages researchers to be thoughtful in their approaches and strive not only to protect research participants from harm but to treat them with optimal respect and care.