1.1 Research Ethics

1.1 Research Ethics

Scientific Research and Social Processes

All aspects of scientific research relate, in some manner, to social processes and are subject to the constraints of law and civil behavior that we expect from any public or private undertaking. Scientific research comprises more than just studies within a lab, as it can also describe advances in engineering, technical and computational developments, applying science to meet public needs, using technical information to guide policy, and other similar areas where a scientific approach is being used to address needs for new knowledge and insight into problems and curiosities.

Figure 1.3: Laboratory Test Tubes

Credit: Chokniti Khongchum licensed under CC0

The production of scientific research is tied to politics, social needs, public funding, venture capital, human health, environmental security, and economic development, as well as many other concerns of human society. As such, scientific research itself is subject to many forces and constraints working it, constraints which shape research questions, methods, and outcomes. Understanding and determining appropriate responses to many of these constraints requires a broad understanding of research ethics.

All scientific research is subject to social forces, therefore all research necessitates the consideration of ethics.

Research Ethics

Research ethics, thus: are a matter of responsible professional conduct fitting to the norms of a research community (procedural ethics); require a consideration of the broader social, political, and economic impacts (extrinsic ethics); and, point to where (social, personal, institutional) values and preferences become embedded in the analytical inputs and outputs of research itself (intrinsic ethics). A comprehensive consideration of research ethics requires a critical analysis of the procedural, extrinsic, and intrinsic aspects of the research or outputs under consideration. Goals for learning ethics include the identification and application of ethical tools for prescribing optimal solutions, the development of moral literacy, awareness of stakeholders, and the minimization of risk.