Ethics in Research

History: Nazi Research Freezing experiments – many died Given malaria – to test treatments (half died) Given wounds for testing treatments (eg mustard gas, incendiary bombs) Twin studies – injecting substances into eye to try to change their color, sewing twins together to create conjoined twins Nazi hypothermia experiment

Nazi Research Seawater experiments – prisoners given no food or fresh water Artificial insemination – forcible Bone, muscle and joint transplantation Poison gas, bullets Altitude studies – vivisection – all died! Victims of transplantation experiments

Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Started as a study to test whether questionable painful ‘cures’ for syphilis were more effective than no treatment Subjects were poor and black in U.S. Patients were told of ‘free medical treatment’ in order to get them to undergo spinal taps By 1947 – penicillin was available and recognized as cure Participants were prevented from receiving treatment By the end of the study in 1972, only 74 of the test subjects were alive. Twenty-eight of the original 399 men had died of syphilis, 100 were dead of related complications, 40 of their wives had been infected, and 19 of their children were born with congenital syphilis. Participant receiving painful spinal tap diagnosis

John Watson: “Little Albert” Is fear innate or conditioned (learned) in young children? Albert was 8 months old, and mother did not give informed consent Exposed to white rat, a rabbit, a dog, a monkey, masks with and without hair, cotton wool, burning newspapers – no apparent fear response Then, when playing with white rat, exposed to loud noise Learned that white rat = noise, began to show fear response Little Albert Experiment Deconditioning – did not occur as Albert moved away!

Milgram Experiment Done to determine if ‘regular’ people will inflict pain on others if ordered by an authority Setup: subject thought that they were administering painful electric shocks to other participants 65% delivered a shock they knew to be extremely painful if not lethal! Milgard Experiment - Re-enactment What factors do you think contributed to these high percentages? theory – no dissenters (further exps showed that dissenters in group worked to stop subjects), authority of experimenter, university (Yale)

Stanford Prison Experiment Students selected randomly to be ‘guards’ or ‘prisoners’ Put into a mock prison situation for six days One-third of ‘guards’ exhibited “genuine” sadistic tendencies Treatments included: forced nudity and embarrassing acts, not allowing prisoners to urinate/defecate or empty buckets with waste, removing mattresses (sleep on concrete) Stanford Prison Experiment What caused this behavior? ‘arrest’ process was realistic, guards had weapons (batons), prisoners dressed in ‘prisoner’ clothing, guards angry about rumors of ‘breakout’

Human Research Ethics In response to these and other experiments, research ethics review boards were set up at all research institutions Human research ethics involves a number of considerations: voluntary participation: people not be coerced into participating in research informed consent: participants must be fully informed about the procedures and risks involved in research No risk of harm confidentiality: identifying information will not be made available to anyone who is not directly involved in the study Anonymity: participant will remain anonymous throughout the study - even to the researchers themselves (if possible) right to service: if treatment is beneficial, cannot be denied if health is in jeopardy

General Research Ethics Ethics – norms for conduct – acceptable behavior Act may be legal but unethical, and vice versa

General Research Ethics Honesty Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, granting agencies, or the public. Objectivity Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception. Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect research. Integrity Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of thought and action.

General Research Ethics Carefulness Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as data collection, research design, and correspondence with agencies or journals. Openness Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas. Respect for Intellectual Property Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give credit where credit is due. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to research. Never plagiarize.

General Research Ethics Confidentiality Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records. Social Responsibility Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research, public education, and advocacy. Non-Discrimination Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their scientific competence and integrity.

Animal Research Pull between respect/sympathy for animals and good that may come from discoveries involving research on them Issues: pain/discomfort of animals Research necessary? Care and housing of animals during and after research Acquisition of animals Field research – disturbing ecosystems, populations Return to wild? supervision