Ethical Considerations in Research

PED 451 Research in Health and Exercise Science

Ethical Question: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Plato: For the greater good. Shakespeare: To cross or not to cross, that is the question. Einstein: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends on your frame of reference. Darwin: It was the logical next step after coming down from the trees. Graduate student: Was that regular or extra-crispy?

Definition of Scientific Misconduct

Scientific misconduct is fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

Federal Resistor October 14, 1999

The Basics of Ethics in Research

Dishonest, fraudulent, or unethical researchers can circumvent the scientific method Notable examples:
1. -

Nazi Germany Experimentation Charges brought against 23 German physicians in the Nuremberg War Crime Trials for their medical experiments included:
1. 2. 3.

Freezing Experiments Malaria Experiments High-Altitude Experiments

Led to the development of Nuremberg Code

Ethics in Research
2.

The Basics of

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study Was investigation of long-term effects of untreated syphilis on AA males in Macon County,AL Decision was made to do long-term prospective study and follow long-term effects until death Participants were never told real nature of study were not afforded informed consent Treatment for syphilis was withheld (even after discovery of penicillin to treat syphilis) study continued for 40 yrs.

Regulation of Research and Protection of Research Participants:

Proponents of situational ethics argue that no general rules can be applied to all situations each action is unique Belmont report serves as a fundamental document for current federal regulations for protection of human subjects 3 principle:
1. 2. 3.

Code requires that protocols involving human subjects be reviewed by an IRB. Complete Belmont report:
http://www.ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/humansubjects/guidance/belmont.htm

Respect for Persons Beneficence Justice

Informed Consent
Inherent to this principle are 4 elements: 1. Subjects are made fully aware of the nature and purpose of the research project 2. Consent is voluntarily given 3. The person involved has the legal capacity to give consent 4. The responsibility for obtaining consent rests with the researcher * Sometimes, because of the Hawthorne Effect, it may be necessary to use some deception in telling subjects about the study.

Privacy refers to capacity of individuals to control when and what conditions others have access to their behaviors, beliefs, and values. Confidentiality refers to linking information to a persons identity Informed consent should indicate how researcher will protect confidentiality of participants Some procedures that can ensure confidentiality:
Obtaining anonymous information Code data so that identifying info is eliminated Substitute other names Do not release or report individual data Limit access that could reveal individual identity Report data only in group form Used computerized methods for encrypting data

Privacy and Confidentiality

CAN YOU THINK OF EXAMPLES WHERE CONFIDENTIALITY WOULD BE IMPOTANT?

Seven Areas of Scientific Dishonesty

1. Plagiarismusing the ideas, writings, and drawings of others as your own

2. Fabrication and falsificationmaking up or altering data

3. Nonpublication of data , also called cooking data

4. Faulty data-gathering procedures

5. Poor data storage and retention
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Seven Areas of Scientific Dishonesty

6. Misleading authorshipwho should be an author? - Technicians do not necessarily become joint authors. - Authorship should involve only those who contribute directly. - Discuss authorship before the project!

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1. Plagiarism
Means using ideas, writings, or drawings of others as your own. Happens with student work as well with advent of Internet, the availability of research is greater is often more tempting
Can occur unintentionally with students and researchers if they are careless or nonsystematic about their pre-writing and revision to a paper/manuscript

Many schools are accessing plagiarism software

Anti-Plagiarism V.1.2

Common practice is to circulate drafts of papers among scholars who are know to be working in a specific area give credit where credit is due.

2. Fabrication and Falsification

Occasionally, scientists will be caught making up research
Technical term is called Cooking the data

I only need a few more subjects, but I am running out of time. Falsification can also occur with cited literature Be careful how you are interpreting what an author says If it aint there, dont make it up out of thin air. Is another reason you should rely primarily on primary, original sources.

3. Nonpublication of Data
This refers to not including data because they dont support the hypothesis
Sometimes in the data, there are extreme scores or outliers - and these outliers are trimmed from the data set They can result in nonsiginificant findings but should automatically be cut. Nonsiginificant results often give just as much important information as do significant results.

4. Faulty Data Gathering

Aspects that students should be aware of:
1.

Continuing with data collection from participants who are not meeting the requirement of the research EXAMPLES? Subject comes in with a hangover and you use that data anyway

2.
3. 4.

Malfunctioning equipment
Inappropriate treatment of subjects Recording data incorrectly

Poor data storage Misleading authorship

4.

Poor Data Storage

Rule of thumb is to keep data for 3 years All original data should be kept if there is a question

5.

Misleading Authorship
Order of authorship is based on authors contributions 1st author usually developed the idea for the research This needs to be decided BEFORE the research is started.

Two rules help to define authorship:

1. 2.

Technicians are not necessarily authors

Data collectors are not necessarily included in the authorship

Authorship SHOULD include only those who directly contribute

Ethical Issues Regarding Copyright

What is fair use of materials? - Purpose: Commercial or educational? - Nature: Is copying expected? - Amount: How much is copied? - Effect: What is the influence on the market? For teaching: Articles, chapters, overheads, slides, PowerPoint presentations For research: Figures and tables, standardized tests, questionnaires, previously published scholarly work If you are unsure, ask permission!

Model for Considering Scientific Misconduct

Scientific misconduct Sanctions

Scientific mistakes Remedial activities

Causes of scientific misconduct Pressure to publish Need to complete graduate work Desire to continue funding Desire for academic rewards

Working With Faculty

Faculty advisors or mentors should treat graduate students as colleagues. Selecting an advisor or mentor: - Read what she or he has written. - Talk to other students. Changing your advisor or mentor

Elements of Informed Consent:

In considering these elements, reflect back to:
Nazi Experiments Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

A fair explanation of the procedures to be followed, including identification of those that are experimental A description of discomforts and risks A description of possible benefits A disclosure of appropriate alternative procedures that would be advantageous to the subject An instruction that the subject is free to withdraw or leave at any time

Example: Plagiarism
In preparing her thesis introduction, Graduate Assistant Christina periodically takes multiple sentences verbatim from some of her sources (her attitude is, I couldnt have written it better myself).

Is she wrong to do this? If she provides a reference to her sources at the end of the paragraph, is she still wrong?

Fabrication or Falsification of Data

Professor Wade has strength-training data on 20 elderly participants. As he was madly processing his data to meet the ACSM abstract deadline, he realized that the sample did not show a significant increase in strength. Examining his data more closely revealed that 15 participants did improve, but 5 did not. He decided that they must not have adhered to the training, so he dropped them and now has a significant increase in strength.
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Fabrication or Falsification of Data

Has Professor Wade acted ethically?

How long should you keep your data for others to see? Are you obligated to provide your data on request?

Authorship
Professor Conan Barbarian is an icon in the field of gerontology. He is the director of the Institute of Gerontological Research at Jellystone University, a highly funded research lab with lots of graduate students. Professor Barbarian requires that he be listed as an author on all manuscripts based on research completed in his lab. Is Professor Barbarian justified in his demand, or is this an example of ego gone wild?

Changing Your Major Professor

Graduate Assistant (GA) Lee is interested in the mechanical behavior of muscle and was accepted at CU to study with Professor Silverman, an expert in this area. After a year in the program, the chemistry between GA Lee and Professor Silverman is not so great. Lee also notes that a GA friend is working with Professor Moran, an expert on muscle energetics, and getting some travel money. Lee wants to switch to Professor Moran but keep working on muscle mechanics.
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Changing Your Major Professor

Should GA Lee propose a mentor change? If so, how should he go about this?

What are GA Lees obligations to Professor Silverman?