Ethics are the moral principles that a person should follow, regardless of place or time. Research ethics focuses on the moral principles that researchers in their fields should follow. Ethics governs not only the treatment provided to research participants but also to researchers. Any researcher who makes a significant contribution to a research project or article should receive a reward. Regardless of discipline, all ethical principles seek to maximize the good and minimize the harmful effects. Therefore, research ethics require that all participants give voluntary informed consent. All research must answer questions that will benefit humanity. Risks should be minimized as much as possible for the individual.
The principle of benefit from research implies that the experiment either does not bring any harm to its participant or the benefit from participation in the study far outweighs any harm from participation in it. The principle of fair selection of participants means that any person who meets the selection criteria (eg gender, age, social status) should have the same chance to participate. The principle of respect for the personality and autonomy of the subject implies that the research participant must be provided with sufficient information about the research and must independently and voluntarily decide whether or not to participate in the research project.
Researchers should explain the objectives of the study and describe the activities that the subject will be required to perform. In addition, the researcher should describe the potential risks and benefits associated with participation in the experiment and emphasize the voluntariness and confidentiality of participation in it. In Western universities and research centers, the ethics of human experiments are formally controlled by special research ethics committees. Research ethics committees usually consist of 5 or more people (Reijers et al., 2018). Committee members cannot be of the same gender, same race, or same sociocultural group. At least one member of the committee must not be affiliated with a research institution and must not be a scientist. Committees review projects submitted by faculty and students and either grant permission for experiments, require changes to research procedures or disapprove of proposed projects.
Reference
Reijers, W., Wright, D., Brey, P., Weber, K., Rodrigues, R., O’Sullivan, D., & Gordijn, B. (2018). Methods for practising ethics in research and innovation: A literature review, critical analysis and recommendations. Science and engineering ethics, 24(5), 1437-1481.