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Ethical considerations in research

1. Ethical Considerations in
Research
Dr. SsekawuCharles (MPS)

2. Introduction
•Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide
research designs and practices.
•Involves the application of fundamental ethical principles toplanning,
conducting & publishing of research
•Ensures scientific integrity, protects participants, and maintains public
trust.
•Focus mainly on human research, but also relevant to animal research

3. Why Do Research Ethics Matter
•Human Rights and Dignity: Protects participants' rights.
•Scientific Integrity: Ensures valid and credible results.
•Societal Trust: Maintains collaboration between science and society
•Example: Ethical issues can lower the credibility of research, making it
hard to trust the data.

5. Guiding principles
•Autonomy and respect
•Beneficence
•Non-maleficence
•Justice ( free from exploitation)
•Scientificvalidity
•Honesty

6. Getting Ethical Approval for Your Study
•Institutional Review Board (IRB): A committee that reviews research
proposals to ensure ethical standards.
•Obtain letter of introduction
•Obtaining permission from the administration of the target
institution/village
•Informed consent from study participants

7. Types of Ethical Issues
•Voluntary Participation: Freedom to opt in or out.
•Informed Consent: Participants understand the purpose, benefits, and risks.
•Anonymity: Participants' identities are unknown.
•Confidentiality: Participants' information is kept hidden.
•Potential for Harm: Minimizing physical, social, psychological, and legal harm.
•Results Communication: Avoiding plagiarism and research misconduct.

8. Voluntary Participation
•Definition: Participants can choose to join or leave the study without
pressure.
•Importance: Ensures no negative consequences for opting out.
•Example: Informing participants about their freedom to withdraw at
any time.

9. Informed Consent
•Definition: Providing all relevant information so participants can make
an informed decision.
•Components: Purpose, benefits, risks, duration, confidentiality.
•Example: Providing information and obtaining consent at a train
station survey

10. Anonymity
•Definition: Researchers don’t know participants' identities.
•Method: Avoid collecting personally identifiable information.
•Example: Data pseudonymizationin college student surveys

11. Confidentiality
•Definition: Researchers know participants' identities but keep them
hidden
•Method: Anonymize data and protect participant privacy.
•Example: Securing consent forms and survey data in a locked drawer.

12. Potential for Harm
•Types of Harm: Psychological, social, physical, and legal.
•Mitigation: Assessing and minimizing risks.
•Example: Providing counseling information in a study on stress and
alcohol use.

13. Results Communication
•Honest Communication: Transparency in presenting results.
•Plagiarism: Avoiding submitting others' work as your own.
•Research Misconduct: Falsifying data or misrepresenting results.
•Example: Wakefield's MMR vaccine misinformation and its
consequences

15. Examples of Ethical Failures
•Nazi Experiments: Inhumane experiments without consent.
•Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Deception and withholding treatment from
participants.
•Importance: Highlighting the need for strict ethical guidelines to
prevent such failures.

16. MMR vaccine misinformationIn1998
•Andrew Wakefield and others published a now-debunked paper claiming that the measles,
mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism in children
•Later investigationsrevealed that they fabricated and manipulated their data to show a
nonexistent link between vaccines and autism. Wakefield also neglected to disclose important
conflicts of interest, and his medical license was taken away
•This fraudulent work sparked vaccine hesitancy among parents and caregivers. The rate of
MMR vaccinations in children fell sharply, and measles outbreaks became more common due
to a lack of herd immunity In reality, there is no risk of children developing autism from the
MMR or other vaccines, as shown by many large studies. Although the paper was retracted, it
has actually received thousands of citations

17. Nazi Experiments
•Nazi doctors and researchers performed painful and horrific
experimentson thousands of imprisoned people in concentration
camps from 1942 to 1945.
•These experiments were inhumane and resulted in trauma, permanent
disabilities, or death in many cases.
•The participation of prisoners was always forced, as consent was never
sought. Participants often belonged to marginalized communities,
including Jewish people, disabled people, and Roma people
•After some Nazi doctors were put on trial for their crimes, the
Nuremberg Codeof research ethics for human experimentation was
developed in 1947 to establish a new standard for human
experimentation in medical research

18. Tuskegee syphilis study
•TheTuskegeesyphilis studywas an American public health study that violated
research ethics throughout its 40-year run from 1932 to 1972. In this study, 600
young black men were deceivedinto participating with a promise of free healthcare
that was never fulfilled.
•In reality, the actual goal was to study the effects of the disease when left untreated,
and the researchers never informedparticipants about their diagnoses or the
research aims.
•Although participants experienced severe health problems, including blindness and
other complications, the researchers only pretended to provide medical care.
•When treatment became possible in 1943, 11 years after the study began, none of
the participants were offered it, despite their health conditions and high risk of
death.
•By the end of the study, 128 participants had died of syphilis or related complications.
The study ended only once its existence was made public and it was judged to be
“medically unjustified.”
•Ethical failures like these resulted in severe harm to participants, wasted resources,
and lower trust in science and scientists. This is why all research institutions have
strict ethical guidelines for performing research.

19. Identify ethical issues in the
following scenarios

20. Scenario1
Twograduatestudentshavemadesomemeasurementsonanewmaterial.Thedatapoints
areasshown.Toprovetheirhypothesistheresultsshouldlieonthecurveshown.Thetwo
studentsconsideredomittingthetwodatapointswhichwereoffthetheoreticalcurve.
Unethicalasitwouldamounttofalsificationofdata
Shouldincludeoutliersandgiveprobablereasonsorfindoutstatisticallyacceptableways
oftrimmingoutliers

21. Scenario2
AgroupofIPIstudentsconductedaresearchontheawarenessofdiabeticdietinmedical
clinicparticipants.Theirresearchwasrecognizedasthebestundergraduateresearchand
latertheysubmittedthesameresearchpapertotwodifferentjournalstoseewhichjournal
publishesitfirst.
•Unethical as it would result in "inadvertent double-counting or inappropriate weighting
of the results of a single study, which distorts the available evidence
-it would give a false idea of the number of publications in a given area
-wasting of resources on the review and publication process
•Should submit to one journal and wait for response prior to submitting to another

22. Scenario3
Studentsarerequiredtopreparearesearchproposalduringtheirdiploma
program.Bettydevelopedtheideaforhisprojectanddiscussedwithafriend.
Severalmonthslater,hefoundthathisideahadbeensubmittedasaresearch
proposalbyhisfriendwithouthisknowledge
•Unethicalasfailuretogivecredittothepersonwhoseideaitis(intellectual
property)amountstoplagiarism
•Should discuss and include as co-author

23. Fourfriendsdecidetoworktogetheronaresearchprojectduringthevacation.
Oneofthemwentabroadduringthevacationanddidnotcontributetothe
research.Thefriendsincludeall4namesinapresentationmadeatascientific
congress.
•Unethicalasonlythosewhocontributedintellectuallyshouldbecitedas
authors
•Thosewhocontributeinotherwaysmaybeacknowledged
Scenario3

24. Agroupofundergraduatestudentsplannedaresearchprojectonthe
detectionoffetalabnormalitiesinthesecondtrimester,byultrasound
scanning.Theycollecteddatafromthescanroomwithoutinformingthe
mothers
•Unethical as informed consent was not taken
•Shouldhaveinformedmothersoftheirintenteventhoughthereisno
particularadvantage/disadvantagetothemotherindoingso
Scenario4

25. Agroupofdiplomastudentscollecteddatafromagroupofbankofficers,
withtheirconsent,regardingtheirworkinghoursandsalarywithregardsto
theprevalenceofhighbloodpressure.Subsequentlytheresearchersgavethe
samedatatoanothergroupwhowereinneedofsamedatavariables.
•Unethicalasviolatingprinciplesofconsentandconfidentiality
•Datacanbeusedforasecondarypurposewhichwasnotfirstconsidered
aslongas
-informed consent for sharing has been given
-identitiesanonymised
-dueconsiderationtoaccessrestrictions
Scenario5

26. Informed Consent Violation
•Description: A medical researcher conducted a clinical trial for a new
drug without fully informing participants about the potential side
effects and risks.
•Ethical Breach: Lack of informed consent.
•Impact: Participants experienced severe side effects and felt
deceived, leading to physical harm and a loss of trust in medical
research.

27. Lack of Voluntary Participation
•Description: A psychology professor required students to participate
in his study as a condition for passing the course.
•Ethical Breach: Coercion and lack of voluntary participation.
•Impact: Students felt compelled to participate, which compromised
the integrity of the data and violated their right to opt out without
repercussions

28. Breach of Confidentiality
•Description: A researcher published a paper that included detailed
personal information about the participants, making them
identifiable.
•Ethical Breach: Breach of confidentiality.
•Impact: Participants' privacy was violated, leading to potential social
and professional harm.

29. Data Fabrication
•Description: A scientist fabricated data to make it appear that their
hypothesis was supported, leading to a publication in a high-impact
journal.
•Ethical Breach: Research misconduct (data fabrication).
•Impact: Misinformation spread in the scientific community, wasting
resources and potentially leading to harmful applications of the false
findings.

30. Animal Research Misconduct
•Description: In a study involving animal testing, researchers did not
provide adequate care for the animals, leading to unnecessary
suffering and death.
•Ethical Breach: Failure to minimize harm to animal subjects.
•Impact: Ethical standards for animal care were violated, leading to
loss of credibility and potential sanctions against the researchers and
their institution

31. Conflict of Interest
•Description: A researcher failed to disclose financial ties to a company
that sponsored their study, which showed favorable results for the
company's product.
•Ethical Breach: Conflict of interest and lack of transparency.
•Impact: The integrity of the research was questioned, and trust in the
researcher's objectivity was undermined.

32. Misleading Results Communication
•Description: A researcher selectively reported data that supported
their hypothesis while ignoring data that contradicted it.
•Ethical Breach: Misleading communication of results.
•Impact: The selective reporting led to biased conclusions, affecting
future research and policy decisions based on the skewed data.

33. Conclusion
•Ethical considerations protect participants and ensure valid research.
•Ethical research is crucial for maintaining trust and scientific integrity