Ethics in research: post response
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Ethics in research: post response
Ethics is a philosophical principle that guides decision-making and helps individuals determine what is right or wrong. Individual, community as well as well as societal values, guide decision-making in research. Scientific research must always protect the human dignity of participants. However, the Milgram study explained in this post did not consider the dignity of the subjects.
In scientific research, there are five critical ethical issues or principles; informed consent, beneficence, confidentiality, and respect of privacy. Informed consent is a document prepared by the researcher requesting permission from the study participants explaining what the research is about, the objectives, risks, and benefits. In the informed consent, the researchers must be honest as much as possible and educate the study subjects. The participants should not be coerced, and they have the right to decline. In this Milgram study, there was deception, and it seems they were coerced because, as service members, they were compelled to do what the leadership demanded without asking questions. Thus, the study did not protect the autonomy of the subjects.
Besides, there is the principle of beneficence that stipulates that the study should be of benefit to the participant and should do no harm. The Milgram study caused harm by exposing the subjects to an extremely stressful situation that caused them psychological harm. In this case, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) failed by approving the study. Almost every research and learning institution in the United States has such a committee that looks at the risks and benefits of scientific researches that involve humans. Human beings should not be used as guinea pigs; that is why University Review Board committees meet to review research proposals before giving the researchers the go-ahead. This is a great post because it uses a case example to explain the effects of failing to adhere to ethical standards in scientific research.
Reference
Erwin, E., Gendin, S., & Kleiman, L. (2015). Ethical issues in scientific research: An anthology. Routledge.
Griggs, R. A. (2017). Milgram’s obedience study: A contentious classic reinterpreted. Teaching of Psychology, 44(1), 32-37.