Why do research

1
Why do research?

• To test hypotheses
• To answer a particular question or solve a
  problem
• To develop knowledge that can be applied to
  everyday life of individuals or society
• Just for the sake of discovery and knowledge

2
Goals vs. Ethics of Science

• Discovery of facts increase knowledge
• Amoral neutral with regard to values or moral
  interpretation
• Pure science no moral valence attached to
  discovering facts through research
• What provides the ethical guideposts for science
  and scientists?

3
Ethical Practice of Science

• Individual researchers own ethics
• Disciplinary/Professional guidelines
• Government laws and regulations
• Society and culture

4
Ethical Practice of Science

• Fraud
• Fabrication of results
• Selective reporting (of only those data you
  like)
• Misrepresentation
• Protection
• Failure to replicate
• Peer review
• Whistle-blowing

5
Key aspect of ethics of research potential
benefits of the factual knowledge versus the
risks of the knowledge

• In physics or chemistry
• Do we want to understand the basic properties of
  matter and energy?
• Do we want to understand the basic chemical
  functioning of the brain?
• Do we want to discover how to build a better bomb
  or chemical weapon?

• In psychology
• Do we want to understand what determines human
  behavior?
• Do we want to discover ways to control
  undesirable behavior of individuals?
• How much control over peoples behavior should we
  have?

6
1st Priority How are participants treated?
Regulated by guidelines from American
Psychological Association, and from federal
law The exact use and treatment of participants
must be reviewed and approved by review boards
before the research can be done

• Humans
• Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• APA guidelines (Ethical Principles of
  Psychologists and Code of Conduct, 1992)
• External Peer Review (for projects funded by the
  government)

• Non-human Animals
• Institutional Animal Care Use committee (IACUC)
• Animal Welfare Act
• APA SFN guidelines
• External Peer Review (for projects funded by the
  government)

7
What is the potential risk?

• Individual participant
• Will the participant suffer any physical or
  psychological harm, distress, or discomfort, by
  his/her participation in the experiment?
• Role of the IRB is to minimize risk to the
  participant, and decide whether benefits of the
  research outweigh the risks

8
Informed ConsentSubject
agrees to participate after having been fully
informed about the nature and purpose of the
studyException when deception is deemed
necessary to test an important hypothesis

• Must exercise free will to participate
• Subjects must receive a full explanation of
  procedures to be used
• Potential risks must be made clear
• Must be allowed to discontinue at any time during
  experiment, without penalty or pressure
• Must be agreed to in writing

9
Use of deception

• What if informed consent gives away the
  hypothesis being tested?
• What if informed consent biases the participants
  responses?
• Must decide risk (to subject) of deception
  against benefit (i.e., importance of the study)
• Study may be useless if deception not used
• Decide if subject would likely refuse to
  participate if he/she had been fully informed (no
  deception)
• Decide if subject is placed in any physical or
  psychological jeopardy by the deception
• Must provide full debriefing and full disclosure
  at the end of the experiment

10
Other important considerations

• Must maintain anonymity and confidentiality
• Must consider risk of placebo (no-treatment
  control)
• Must consider potential long-term changes in the
  participant resulting from being in the
  experiment
• What is meant by full disclosure?

11
Research using Animals

• Issues in behavioral research
• Historical importance of animal behavioral
  research
• Comparative value of animal research (including
  animal models of human conditions)
• Importance to brain science and understanding
  brain function
• Understanding of ecology and evolutionary
  adaptation

12
Research using Animals

• Protections and Review of Use
• Animal Welfare vs. Animal Rights
• Health and well-being is essential to science
• No unnecessary pain or distress
• Current View 3 Rs
• Reduce
• Refine
• Replace