Research Ethics Seminar

2013
Nivedhna Singh
Rm14f
singhn7@ukzn.ac.za

Research Ethics
0 Ethics = rules for distinguishing between right and wrong
0 Research ethics = code of conduct for researchers
0 Research ethics aims to:

0 ensure participants are treated with dignity and

respect
0 protect participants from harm and to promote
their welfare
0 promote good science

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8)

Collaborative partnership
Social Value
Scientific Validity
Fair participant selection
Favorable risk-benefit ratio
Independent review
Informed consent
Ongoing Respect

Collaborative Partnership
Encourages researchers to develop studies in

collaboration with the target community.

Derived from the need to reduce possible exploitation of

research participants and communities.

Requires:

community participation in planning, conducting

and overseeing research, and disseminating
research results
avoidance of supplanting existing knowledge and
services
the sharing rewards of the research with the
community

Collaborative Partnership
Questions to ask re your research proposal:
Has my study been developed in collaboration with the

target community and/or relevant stakeholders?

Does my research arise from an expressed community need?

Is the community involved in all stages of the research from

study planning to implementation and dissemination of

results?

Is my study considerate of the traditions, cultural practices

and values of the community?

Is the community represented in a manner that is well

balanced and fair?

Social Value
Research should address questions that are of

value to society or particular communities in

society

Conducting social research cannot be separated

from researchers ethical obligation to find

solutions to the problems they study

Must consider how the research will improve the

lives of:
Participants in the research
Community in which research is conducted
Society

Social Value
Questions to ask re your research proposal:
0 Who will the beneficiaries be?
0 How will they benefit?
0 How will the results be disseminated?

Scientific Validity
The design, sample, method and analysis of

the study should be rigorous, justifiable,

feasible, and lead to valid answers to the
research question
Unreliable and/or invalid methods are

unethical because they waste resources,

yield invalid and unusable results and
expose participants to risk and
inconvenience for no purpose.

Scientific Validity
Questions to ask re your research proposal:
0 Is my research design, methodology and data

collection and analysis rigorous, valid and

feasible?
0 Is the scientific validity of my study explained

and justified in the methodology section?

Fair participant selection

The population selected for the study should

be those to whom the research question

applies.
Those most likely to benefit from the outcomes

of the research are those who should bear the

largest burden of the research, and vice versa.
Employ clarity and transparency when

explaining to the participants / host community

how participants were selected.

Fair participant selection

Questions to ask re your research proposal:
Is the selection of participants impartial not

based on convenience?
Does the selection process match the purpose of

my research?
Do those who bear the risks and inconveniences

of my research stand to benefit from it?

Risk-Benefit Ratio
A favourable risk/benefit ratio requires the fair

distribution of research burdens and benefits

There are two general issues to be considered in

risk/benefit determinations:
a) the probability of the harm occurring
b) the anticipated severity of the harm

Safeguards and contingencies should be put in

place to deal with foreseeable harms

Risk-Benefit Ratio
Questions to ask re your research proposal:
0 What are the risks?
0 What are the benefits?
0 Do the benefits out weight the risks?

Independent ethics
review
0 An independent and competent REC should subject all

proposals to independent ethics review prior to

commencement of data collection.

0 Competent ethics review should maximise the protection

of the participants and enhance the quality of the

research.

0 The REC will also review scientific elements of the study

but it will do so to determine whether the methods are

appropriate, carry risk of harm or likelihood of benefit,
and will consider alternate, less risky methods of
addressing the research question

Informed consent
Researchers must provide potential participants with

clear, detailed and factual information about the

study its methods, its risks and benefits,

along with assurances of the voluntary nature of
participation and freedom to refuse or withdraw
without penalties.
Research with minors is ethically and legally complex

and should, as a rule, be done only with the consent of

legal guardians and the assent of the minor if risks are
acceptable.

Informed consent
Questions to ask re your research proposal:
Have I provided my participants with adequate

information about my study?

Do my participants have the capacity to provide consent?

Do my participants understanding the information I have

given them?

Do my participants understand that their participation is

voluntary and that they are free to withdraw?

How am I going to formalize the consent process?

Ongoing Respect
Requires that participants be treated with respect

during and after a study

This can be achieved by:

allowing participants to withdraw from the

research at any stage,

providing participants with any new
information obtained during the research,
monitoring participants wellbeing throughout
the research and
respecting participants privacy by maintaining
confidentiality and anonymity

Ongoing Respect
Questions to ask re your research proposal:
0 Will participants be allowed to withdraw from the

research at any stage?

0 Will participants be provided with any new information

obtained during the research?

0 Will participants wellbeing throughout the research be

monitored?

0 Will participants privacy be respected by maintaining

confidentiality and anonymity?

Conclusion
Research Ethics provides broad principles and

requirements to guide researchers.

Ethics does not provide easy right or wrong

answers.
Researchers are required to demonstrate that they

have considered the ethical issues

in a disciplined and rigorous manner,

using a framework of principles and rules to

promote the welfare and dignity of participants

throughout the research

Suggested Reading
0 Wassenaar, D. R. & Mamotte, N. (2012). Ethical Issues and

ethics review in social science research. In M. M. Leach, M. J.

Stevens, G. Lindsay, A. Ferrero & Y. Korkut (Eds.), The Oxford
handbook of international psychological ethics (pp.268-282).
New York: Oxford University press.
0 Emanuel, J., Wendler, D., & Grady, C. (2000). What makes
clinical research ethical? JAMA, 283 (20) 2701 2711.
0 Wassenaar, D. R. (2006). Ethical issues in social science
research. In M., Terre Blanch, K. Durrheim, & M. Painter
(Eds). Research in practice (2nd ed.). (pp. 60-79). Cape Town:
Jutas.