Application of Ethics in Research Study

The application of ethics in research study helps in the provision standards that are used the researchers to government their research studies (Guraya, London & Guraya 2014, p.122). Therefore, it is important for the researcher to adhere to the research principles in order to promote the protection of the rights, welfare and dignity of the research participants. According to the information from the study conducted by Stiegman & Castleden (2015, p.24), the research works that involve the application of the human beings as samples or participants should be effectively reviewed by the ethics committee for the purpose of ensuring that the required ethical standards are adequately observed. Importantly, the discussions involving the ethical principles if justice, beneficence and autonomy play a central role in the ethical review process.

With reference to the World Health Organization’s definition, the research study involving the human subjects is a form of any social science, epidemiological, behavioral or biomedical activity which encompasses systematic collection or the interpretation of the data with the intention of generating new knowledge (Strickland & Stoops 2015, p.304). In the process, the human beings are exposed to manipulations, intervention, observation or any other type of interaction with the researchers either directly or by altering their environments. Bainbridge et al. (2013, p.21) defined ethics or morals as the ability of an individual to effectively differentiate between right and wrong, as seen in the Golden Rule, the religious creed such as the Ten Commandments or the code of professional conducts such as the Hippocratic Oath.

There are different places in which people can learn the principles of ethics, such as at home, school, in church or in any other form of social settings. Banks et al. (2013, p.268) highlighted that even though the human beings have the ability of acquiring the sense of differentiating between right from wrong during childhood stage of development, ethical or moral establishment is a lifelong process that takes place as people pass through different stages of development up to maturity stage. This paper will discuss the principles that govern the ethical perspectives of research studies.

Principles in Research Ethics

Any type of research process is always governed by different forms of principles. Nind, Wiles, Bengry-Howell & Crow (2013, p.653) noted that such principles are important in making sure that the rights and privacy of the participants are protected. Ethics in research advocate for the promotion of beneficence (do good to everyone) and non-malfeasance (do no harm). In practice, the ethical principles of research imply that the researchers must make sure that they obtain informed consent from the research participants, avoid the activities that might expose the participants to any form of harm, promote the anonymity and confidentiality protection among the participants, desist from using deceptive practices as well as to provide the participants with the right to withdraw from the study if they feel to do so (Cooper & Schindler 2013, p.41). Despite the fact that following these principles might be seen as an easy affair, it is important to note that there some instances where the researchers might have it impossible or undesirable to obtain the informed consent from the participants before officially involving them in the study.

Minimizing The Risk of Harm

Protecting the rights and welfare of participants and samples is one of the main roles of the researchers. For that matter, Gubrium, Hill & Flicker (2014, p.1608) indicated that the researchers must make sure that they do not harm their participants. Nevertheless, in a situation whereby there are high chances of exposing the participants to different types of harms, there is need to justify such situations and the participants should be provided with such information prior to being involved in the study. With reference to the information from the research study conducted by Hollway (2018, p.138), there are different types of harms that the participants can be exposed to during the research process. Some of the most important categories of harms include the physical harm, psychological discomfort and distress, social disadvantages as well as invasion of privacy and anonymity.

Even though there is an assumption that the researchers are not often focused on causing harm on the participants, significant number of strategies should be put in place in order to prevent the occurrence of such incidences. Strickland & Stoops (2015, p.307) identified that obtaining an informed consent from the participants will help in protecting them from different types of harms. This is based on the fact that they will be adequately prepared for the process. According to Williams et al. (2014, p.426), promotion of beneficence might be very difficult achieve more so in the process that involve the development of hypothesis in the qualitative research. On the other hand, Strickland & Stoops (2015, p.305) highlighted that production of research findings which are not beneficial might be subjected to the ethical considerations, more so in a study that involved human beings as the subjects.

As much as the beneficence advocates for the development of benefits from the research study, the non-maleficence is focused on the prevention of potential risks to the participants. For that matter, any research works must make sure that they are beneficial while at the same time becoming non-risky to the participants. with reference to the points put across by Craft (2013, p.224), the application of non-maleficence advocates for the development of high level of sensitivity from the researcher regarding the main points that make up harm. Discomforts as a form of harm on the participants can be in form of physiological, social, emotional and economic perspectives. Another important focus of the non-maleficence is to command the development of mechanisms that are involved in the prevention of the occurrence of intentional harm as well as the minimization of the potential harm.

Obtaining Informed Consent

Informed consent is another important principle of research ethics. Williams et al. (2014, p.426) defined an informed consent as the document whose main focus is to provide the participants with adequate information regarding the nature of the research, the role that they will play in the research as well as the importance of conducting the study. Furthermore, Hollway (2018, p.140) indicated that other important information that are contained in the informed consent form include the purpose of the research study, the methods that will be used in conducting the research, possible outcomes and their importance on human nature or environment in general as well as the possible demands, inconveniences, discomforts and the risks that the participants might face.

According to the information from the research study conducted by Crossan, Mazutis & Seijts (2013, p.569), the participants should not be forced to take part in the work but the researchers should obtain the participants through volunteer-based approach. The participants should also be protected from coercions and deceptions.  Pitesa & Thau (2013, p.636) further highlighted that in a situation whereby the researchers are not able to obtain an informed consent, it is their duty to explain the reason behind such developments. Nevertheless, Hollway (2018, p.143) stated that there are some types of research studies that do not necessarily need the inclusion of the informed consents. These include specific types of educational, naturalistic and organizational research settings. According to Craft (2013, p.242), informed consent is a mechanism that provides the participants with the right to autonomy. In an effort to define autonomy, Williams et al. (2014, p.427) indicated that it is ability of an individual to develop self-determination in actions according to their plans.

With reference to this definition, the researchers must make sure that they do not interfere with the normal personal plans of the participants. Therefore, it is important for the researchers to inform the potential participants about their plans of including them in their study as early as possible. This is because the participants should be provided with enough time for developing their personal plans in order to include the participation in the proposed study as one of their goals.  Pitesa & Thau (2013, p.640) further stated that the informed consent is focused on seeking to incorporate the participants’ rights of autonomy with the self-determination. Furthermore, it also helps in protecting the integrity of the participants as well their personal liberty and veracity. People can make healthy decision regarding being involved in the research study mostly in a situation whereby they are adequately informed about the purpose of the study.

Protection of The Anonymity and Confidentiality

Ethics in research advocate for the protection of the anonymity and confidentiality of the participants. Based on the fact that there are some research studies that require the participants to provide personal and private information, Guraya, London & Guraya (2014, p.125) stated that assuring them that their identity will be protected will provide them with the courage of providing such information. This principle is important in the development of positive trust between the participant and the researcher. The failure of the researcher to treat the collected data with confidentiality can lead to the distortion of the vital information in such data. Nevertheless, Crossan, Mazutis & Seijts (2013, p.573) highlighted that it is not a must that every data collected should be treated with confidentiality.

There are some situations where by the identity of the participants and subjects can be disclosed but permission for disclosing confidential information must be obtained from the participants or the involved bodies. There is a significantly close connection between confidentiality and anonymity and the rights of beneficence, respect for identity and fidelity. Pitesa & Thau (2013, p.644) stated that in a situation that the researchers are not in the position of promising anonymity, they should be willing to address the issues related to confidentiality, which implies to the proper management of the private information by the researcher for the purpose of promoting the protection of the subjects’ identities. One of the most important provisions of the principle of confidentiality is that the participants are provided with the right to give or withhold as much information as they wish. It is unethical to intimidate or force the participants to provide information that will be used in the completion of the research study.

Nevertheless, Gubrium, Hill & Flicker (2014, p.1611) recognized that there are some situations whereby the researcher is forced to skip the need to promote confidentiality, more so when the researcher has a moral duty of protecting the society. Such developments are in agreement with the provisions of utilitarian theory which states that much focus should be put on the well-being of the society because the happiness of the society is of the greatest importance. Nevertheless, Guraya, London & Guraya (2014, p.124) refuted such claims by inferring to the deontological theory which is solely focused on the promotion of moral duty regardless of the situation at hand. For that matter, it is justifiable to note that enhancing confidentiality and protection of anonymity can be faced with significant number of moral dilemmas. It is the duty of researchers to make sure that they do what is right and that their activities should not cause harm to any person. 

Avoiding Deceptive Practices

Deception implies to the situation whereby the researcher intentionally provides the participants with misleading or wrong information about the research study. According to the information from the research study conducted by Guraya, London & Guraya (2014, p.124), it was determined that there are different types of deceptions that can take place in a research work. These include deliberate misleading such as the application of confederates, deceptive instructions or stage-managed manipulations. The other form is the deception by omission such as the failure to provide the participants with full information about the study or through the creation of ambiguity. Stiegman & Castleden (2015, p.27) determined that deception is an important component of covert research which is a study in which the identity of the researcher as well as the purpose of the study is not known to the participants. it is unethical for the researchers to deceive the participants in order to obtain information that will help them in realizing their research goals.

Nevertheless, Crossan, Mazutis & Seijts (2013, p.575) indicated that there are some research studies which cannot be successfully performed without the inclusion of some elements of deceptions. A good example of such research studies is Milgram’s study of obedience where the participants thought that they were providing electric shocks to the learners when they answered the questions wrongly. In reality, there were no shocks that were provided and that the learners were coconspirators of Milgram. Even if the deception is to be included in the research, such incidences must be as little as possible. Furthermore, Pitesa & Thau (2013, p.649) indicated that there is no type of deception that should lead to the development of distress among the participants. Different ethics scholars have determined that deception can never be justified and can lead to the violation of an individual’s right to choose to take part in the study.

Providing and Protecting the Right to Withdraw

Ethical principles dictate that the researcher should provide the participants with the opportunity of leaving the study at any time they feel uncomfortable. According to the information from the research study conducted by Gubrium, Hill & Flicker (2014, p.1612), the participants should also be allowed to withdraw their statistical contributions that they made on the study. Furthermore, Nind, Wiles, Bengry-Howell & Crow (2013, p.662) stated that if the participants have made their minds to leave the study, the researchers have no moral authority of pressuring or convincing them to remain in the study until its completion. This principle also falls under the right of autonomy. The decisions of the participants are considered to be more important than those for the researchers. On the other hand, it is not ethically right for the participants to withdraw from the study if they were previously paid or received course of credits in order to remain in the study till its completion.

Guraya, London & Guraya (2014, p.123) indicated that such provisions might apply in a situation whereby the participants were provided with the informed consent, which they signed to abide by the provisions provided. In most cases, this is not a principle or a rule but it is something that is influenced by personal instinct and the feeling to do what is right as well as to avoid causing harm on others. According to the information from the study conducted by Nind, Wiles, Bengry-Howell & Crow (2013, p.659), there are three main elements of a research study and they include the competency of the researcher, the type of research design that is employed in the study as well as the worthwhile expectation from the study. For that matter, the ability of the research study to protect the rights participants as well as the ethics of research study is determined by the overall nature of the research study.

Ethical Decision Making in Research

Despite the fact that there are specific codes, principles and policies whose role is to ensure that every activity in a research study is conducted in an ethical manner, Banks et al. (2013, p.269) indicated that such provisions do not always cover everything hence there is need for considerable interpretation. For that matter, it is important for the researchers to apply the most effective approaches for interpreting and assessing research issues as well as to apply different types of research rules in the process of making ethical decisions. According to the information from the research study conducted by Banks et al. (2013, p.271), there are different occasions in which the researchers are left in a dilemma. Therefore, they must have the right skills that they will use in making ethical and healthy decisions that can be used to solve such issues. According to Bainbridge et al. (2013, p.19), the ethical dilemmas are often the products of conflicts which occur between the potential benefits and harm of the competing interests. For that matter, an ethical decision making process provides the researcher with the responsibility of identifying the involved interests, harms as well as the potential benefits.

The researcher must effectively weigh among these variables in order to determine the one with the highest intensity. There is a direct relationship between ethical decision making process and the ethical behaviors. Bainbridge et al. (2013, p.25) explained this relationship by stating that the integrity of the researchers’ behaviors is directly influenced by the decision which they make in a situation that is characterized by ethical implications. The process of making an ethical decision is considered to be very complex based on the fact that it requires taking into consideration the major causes as well as the potential results which cannot be easily determined in the first place. According to the information from the study conducted by Bainbridge et al. (2013, p.25), a researcher who is able to respect all of the ethical principles of research might be faced with difficulties in making an ethical decision. This is with reference to the assumption that there are some principles which must be forgone by the researcher in order to make such decisions.

With reference to the clarifications highlighted by Craft (2013, p.231), ethical decision making process simply refers to the cognitive process within which a person is provided with the opportunity of taking into account the major considerations about the situation, determine the possible solution to the problem as well as to determine the most appropriate course of action that is able to produce results that can benefit large number of people. Therefore, in order for a researcher to make the most appropriate decision during research study, he or she will need to effectively apply all of the principles of ethics in research study. The researchers can be faced with an ethical dilemma such whether to perform research studies involving human beings as the subjects for trials (Cooper & Schindler 2013, p.38). An ethical dilemma comes into play based on the fact that they will need to perform such research studies in order to obtain results that can be used to improve the living conditions of the human beings. On the other hand, such research studies are likely to expose the participants to potential harm hence not recommended. This is where the researcher is expected to weigh between the potential benefits and harms which are linked to the whole process.

Conclusion

With reference to the fact that different research studies involve the application of various forms of activities, there was need to develop ethics which would help in governing such activities. The available principles of research ethics are mostly focused on protecting the participants from different forms of manipulations by the researchers. It is important to provide the participants with the informed consent forms that contain detailed information about the research study. Furthermore, it is unethical for the researchers to forcefully include the participants in their research study or deceive them in order to provide information that can be used for the completion of the study. On the other hand, there are some situations in the research study that will require the researchers to apply their skills in ethical decision making process. Such processes are focused on the production of highly recommendable results while at the same time protecting the rights of the parties involved.

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