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The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Worker (NASW) provides a guide for ethical practice. Section 5.02 of that code deals with the ethical use of human subjects in research. This part of the code is presented in Exhibit 3.1.

Exhibit 3.1 Section 5.02 of the NASW Code of Ethics

1 Social workers should monitor and evaluate policies, the implementation of programs, and practice interventions.

2 Social workers should promote and facilitate evaluation and research to contribute to the development of knowledge.

3 Social workers should critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work and fully use evaluation and research evidence in their professional practice.

4 Social workers engaged in evaluation or research should carefully consider possible consequences and should follow the guidelines developed for the protection of evaluation and research participants. Appropriate institutional review boards should be consulted.

5 Social workers engaged in evaluation or research should obtain voluntary and written informed consent from participants, when appropriate, without any implied or actual deprivation or penalty for refusal to participate, without undue inducement to participate, and with due regard for participants’ well-being, privacy, and dignity. Informed consent should include information about the nature, extent, and duration of the participation requested and disclosure of the risks and benefits of participation in the research.

6 When evaluation or research participants are incapable of giving informed consent, social workers should provide an appropriate explanation to the participants, obtain the participants’ assent to the extent they are able, and obtain written consent from an appropriate proxy.

7 Social workers should never design or conduct evaluation or research that does not use consent procedures, such as certain forms of naturalistic observation and archival research, unless rigorous and responsible review of the research has found it to be justified because of its prospective scientific, educational, or applied value and unless equally effective alternative procedures that do not involve waiver of consent are not feasible.

8 Social workers should inform participants of their right to withdraw from evaluation and research at any time without penalty.

9 Social workers should take appropriate steps to ensure that participants in evaluation and research have access to appropriate supportive services.

10 Social workers engaged in evaluation or research should protect participants from unwarranted physical or mental distress, harm, danger, or deprivation.

11 Social workers engaged in the evaluation of services should discuss collected information only for professional purposes and only with people professionally concerned with this information.

12 Social workers engaged in evaluation or research should ensure the anonymity or confidentiality of participants and of the data obtained from them. Social workers should inform participants of any limits of confidentiality, the measures that will be taken to ensure confidentiality, and when any records containing research data will be destroyed.

13 Social workers who report evaluation and research results should protect participants’ confidentiality by omitting identifying information unless proper consent has been obtained authorizing disclosure.

14 Social workers should report evaluation and research findings accurately. They should not fabricate or falsify results and should take steps to correct any errors later found in published data using standard publication methods.

15 Social workers engaged in evaluation or research should be alert to and avoid conflicts of interest and dual relationships with participants, should inform participants when a real or potential conflict of interest arises, and should take steps to resolve the issue in a manner that makes participants’ interests primary.

16 Social workers should educate themselves, their students, and their colleagues about responsible research practices. (NASW, 2016)

Source: Copyrighted material reprinted from the National Association of Social Workers, Inc.

The first theme noted in the above list is the expectation that social workers will engage in research that contributes to the knowledge base of the profession and the enhancement of practice. Thus, you do not have the option of avoiding all efforts at research to make sure you avoid ethical problems. You are expected to contribute. You are also expected to understand the principles and policies that guide the assurance of ethical research practice.

The most profound requirement enumerated in Exhibit 3.1 is that research participants must be protected from any harm that might come from the research experience. This is seldom an issue in human service research because the participants are typically asked only to supply information. Medical experiments that put people into hypnosis or administer drugs or give electric shocks are in an entirely different arena on this issue.

In evaluation research, confidentiality is one of the issues. Persons who are asked to participate in research are normally informed that their responses will be treated confidentially. Often this is guaranteed by asking for an anonymous response. This procedure assures the protection of privacy.

Another issue is voluntary participation in research. In social work research, you will almost always find that participation is voluntary. This means that you should not ask people to provide data for your study in a way that might be perceived as coercive. This also means that an agency does not conduct studies where the clients are made to feel that their eligibility for continued service depends on their participation in your study. You have reviewed the concept of vulnerable population. This concept helps us understand the importance of voluntary participation and the fact that some people are vulnerable to not understanding this right.

Honesty is another ethical theme. You should not be deceitful with clients in either your practice actions or your use of human subjects in research. This includes the accurate reporting of research findings. Social work research is not a process of justification; it is a process of discovery. You will encounter this theme many times in this book.

The Code of Ethics warns against the dangers of engaging in actions that constitute a conflict of interest. You should not ask the clients to participate in a study simply because you will make money from it. There must be a better reason.

Finally, the Code of Ethics enumerates the ethical responsibility of using knowledge to guide practice. A major part of that knowledge comes from research. For you to ignore evidence about your intended social work practices would be a violation of the Code of Ethics.