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Ethics in Research

Ethics in Research

Today, scientists agree that good research is ethical in nature and is guided by a basic respect for human dignity and safety. However, this has not always been the case. Modern researchers must demonstrate that the research they perform is ethically sound.

Bystander Effect

Bystander Effect

The discussion of bullying highlights the problem of witnesses not intervening to help a victim. This is a common occurrence, as the following well-publicized event demonstrates. In 1964, in Queens, New York, a 19-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked by a person with a knife near the back entrance to her apartment building and again in the hallway inside her apartment building. When the attack occurred, she screamed for help numerous times and eventually died from her stab wounds.

Blinding

Blinding

Blinding is a commonly used method of not telling participants which treatment a subject is receiving. Blinding is a critical part of a randomized control trial or RCT. It reduces the bias that affects the results. In an RCT, blinding is used in the form of a placebo. A placebo effect occurs when untreated subjects falsely believe they have received the treatment and report improved symptoms. A placebo or a dummy treatment is administered to subjects to negate the bias caused by such an effect.

Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches

Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches

Biopharmaceutical studies constitute a vital field aiming to enhance drug delivery methods and refine therapeutic approaches, drawing upon diverse interdisciplinary knowledge. In research methodologies, the choice between controlled and non-controlled studies significantly influences the study's reliability and accuracy.
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...

Obedience

Obedience

According to obedience research, we may harm others under the forceful pressures of an authority figure (Milgram, 1974). How about if the inappropriate orders were delivered with less force? The increasing interdependence between nurses and physicians compelled Hofling and his colleagues to explore nurses’ reactions to a potentially harmful medical request made by the perceived authority figure, the doctor (Hofling, Brotzman, Dalrymple, Graves, & Pierce, 1966). In this situation,...

Naturalistic Observations

Naturalistic Observations

If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...

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Risky research and bystander consent.

Matthew Hanser¹

¹Department of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Barbara, California.

|September 29, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Research involving bystander risk raises ethical questions about rights. Informed consent may be required depending on the specific dangers posed to individuals not participating in the study.

Keywords:

bystanders informed consent research ethics research risk rights risk

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Area of Science:

Bioethics
Research Ethics
Human Subject Protection

Background:

Ethical considerations in research often focus on direct participants.
The rights and ethical obligations concerning research bystanders are less defined.
Existing ethical frameworks may not adequately address risks to non-consenting bystanders.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the ethical implications of research activities that pose risks to bystanders.
To examine whether research activities endangering bystanders without consent violate their rights.
To determine the conditions under which bystander informed consent might be ethically required.

Main Methods:

Philosophical inquiry and ethical analysis.
Examination of hypothetical research scenarios involving bystander risk.
Review of existing ethical principles and rights frameworks.

Main Results:

There is no simple answer to whether endangering bystanders without consent violates their rights.
Bystanders may possess significant rights against researchers, irrespective of their non-participant status.
The necessity of bystander consent is contingent upon the specific nature and degree of risk involved in the research activity.

Conclusions:

Research ethics must consider the potential harm to non-consenting bystanders.
Informed consent from bystanders may be an ethical requirement in certain high-risk research scenarios.
Further ethical deliberation is needed to establish clear guidelines for protecting bystanders in research.