An Introduction to Research Ethics

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An Introduction to Research Ethics
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But what has ethics got to do with research?
Is pure research above ethics and morality?
Is ethics and morality to do with technology and
politics (the appliance of research) not research
itself?
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Science as a black box
SOCIETY

• One view of research might be that it is isolated
  from society although it influences society it
  is isolated from it with its own
• Sociology
• Norms
• Ethics

TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH
POLITICS
MANAGEMENT
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Research is defined by its special methods

• Experimentation, observation, analysis,
• Objective
• Theorizing
• As if it transcends ethical and political
  considerations

Scientific research
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Research is a system of organized knowledge
above mundane considerations

• Archival aspect
• Information about natural phenomena
• Acquired by research
• Organized in coherent theoretical schemes
• Published in books and journals
• Historical process

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Objective facts

• "Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and
  girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted
  in life. Plant nothing else, and root out
  everything else. You can only form the minds of
  reasoning animals upon Facts nothing else will
  ever be of any service to them. This is the
  principle on which I bring up my own children,
  and this is the principle on which I bring up
  these children. Stick to Facts, sir!"
• Thomas Gradgrind in Hard Times by Charles Dickens
  1854

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But facts are not completely objective they are
not isolated from the society that gave rise to
them

• Facts can only be recorded in the framework of a
  theory.
• The history, the environment, the culture, the
  politics, the religion, the personality of the
  scientist all influence the theory and therefore
  the facts recorded.
• Research cannot be isolated from society and an
  ethical system

Which is brighter, a snowball seen indoors or a
lump of coal outside? A bright, sunlit day is
about one hundred times brighter than a room lit
by electric light. If we use a light meter to
measure the absolute number of photons being
reflected, the outdoor coal registers a higher
value than the indoor snowball. The coal is
brighter, and more photons are hitting your
retina, sending a stronger signal to your brain.
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Get your facts first, and then you can distort
them as much as you please. Mark Twain (1835 -
1910)
If the facts don't fit the theory, change the
fact. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
There are no facts, only interpretations. Friedr
ich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)
Science is facts just as houses are made of
stones, so is science made of facts but a pile
of stones is not a house and a collection of
facts is not necessarily science. Henri
Poincare (1854 - 1912)
The important thing in science is not so much to
obtain new facts as to discover new ways of
thinking about them. Sir William Bragg (1862 -
1942)
We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions. Jassamyn West
(19071984)
It is a capital mistake to theorize before one
has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to
suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930)
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The separation of academic and industry/technology
/society is illusory

• Research transforms society
• AND
• The inner workings of science are changed by the
  social forces acting on it even down to the
  philosophical and psychological level
• Ethical decisions have to be made at all levels
  in the scientific chain of discovery

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The chain of discovery
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The chain of discovery
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The chain of discovery
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SOCIETY
Because research has a profound influence on
society scientists cannot ignore the consequences
of their discoveries
TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH
Discovery
Invention
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Research is often a means of solving problems

• It is intimately connected with politics,
  technology and society
• Research should be used wisely but this is not
  for researchers to decide alone

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The Impact of Research on Values and Values on
Research
Im damned if they are going to make me redundant

• Ethical considerations are to the fore with the
  development of new technologies and new social
  systems
• Society is inherently conservative and seeks to
  set the limits of research activity

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This online course is designed to give you some
information and guidance about research ethics.
You should also refer to the documentation/guidanc
e provided by your school/ and or
institutuion The course is in three sections each
divided into a number of sub-sections and there
is a final section that provides an outline
history of research ethics.