Ethics refers to the values against which we judge the conduct of individual researchers and the morality of the research strategies they employ. When humans are used as study participants in research, we must ensure that the rights of those humans are protected. Researchers have a responsibility to protect the research subject from harm or discomfort.

The researcher often faces ethical dilemmas and must decide how he or she will respond. Codes of ethics and the advice of other researchers provide guidance, but ethical conduct ultimately depends on the individual researcher. The researcher has a moral and professional obligation to act ethically, even when research subjects are unaware of or unconcerned about ethics.

This module discusses the need for ethical guidelines in research, describes some of the major ethical principles that should be considered when reviewing and designing research studies, and identifies specific populations that may need to be protected through additional procedures and increased sensitivity on the part of the researchers. At the end of the module are some practice questions to test your understanding of the material. After you complete the practice questions, verify your answers with the correct responses provided.

Task 1: Summary

What are some of your important findings from Module 2, and how will you be able to use these findings?

Task 2: Ethics Review

Your group is an ethics review panel discussing whether or not to approve the research proposals below. Choose one of the proposals below and add your comments and recommendation. Use what you have learned from your Module 2 readings and the resources provided

References

Antle, B. J., & Regehr, C. (2003). Beyond individual rights and freedoms: Metaethics in social work research. Social Work, 48(1), 135-144. Proposal One: To study the effects of a school lunch program, the researchers will provide lunch for several classrooms of children and use pre- and posttests to compare their achievements with the achievements of children in a matched (control) group that is not provided with lunch.

Proposal Two: A group of researchers wants to use in-depth interviews with young prostitutes to find out what led them into prostitution. Proposal Three: To learn about the experiences of immigrants to Canada, the researcher, who is also a well-known author, wants to conduct in-depth interviews with five families that have immigrated to Canada. Her intention is to publish her findings as a book. Proposal Four: The researchers want to study the effects of a particular behavioural intervention on adults with developmental disabilities by observing the research subjects and recording incidences of inappropriate behaviour before and after the intervention. Proposal Five: A worker in the Supports to Independence program wants to study the spending habits of clients on his caseload. Use the heading "Ethics Review" for your journal entry andindicate in the heading which proposal number you are commenting on.