The responsibility of ethical research is ultimately the researchers.
Institutional Review Board (IRB) is required by federal regulations. Any research involving human subjects requires the research proposal to be approved by the IRB.
The rights of the subject (right to not be harmed or changed in a negative way) are ethically balanced against the rights of the researcher (right to ask questions and seek knowledge) in a well formed research proposal.
APA's six general ethical principles
- Competence: researcher must be competent in techniques and take precautions to protect subjects.
- Integrity: Fair and honest...no misleading or deceptive statements
- Professional and scientific responsibility: Conduct should not reduce public trust or colleagues' reputations
- Respect for peoples' rights and dignity: Privacy, autonomy, etc.
- Concern for the welfare of others: Minimize harm to participants
- Social responsibility: concern for society
Participants should be made aware of all possible risks. (Informed consent)
Participation in research should be voluntary and participants should be free to withdraw at any time with penalty.
No informed consent is necessary if the participants remain anonymous and behaviors observed are naturally occurring even if the research was not being conducted and said behavior is not embarrassing like observing which playground equipment is most popular.
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