Every researcher is entitled to the professional responsibility of considering the ethical norms and codes of conduct pertaining hi/her field. Most agencies, which fund research insists for research proposals reviewing ethics, especially in the topics which involve human. All researches conducted on human topics are supposed to be up to the standard that is acceptable to agencies and regulating bodies. Within the ever-evolving societal context, ethics involving human topics have been developing day by day. The research paper will be deeply focusing on the two major components of ethics in human subjects researches (Buchanan, 2004). They include: selecting and achieving the required and acceptable final solution and use of the acceptable ways to reach those final solutions.
It’s a fundamental principle of any researcher to maximize all the possible benefits from the research done and try to minimize all the harms and risks which may be associated with it. Both benefits and risks associated with the research should be fairly distributed, to ensure that not some individuals or groups benefit while others are left to bear the risks (Donnelly & William, 2006). There are ethical requirements that the researcher should consider so as to utilize the knowledge, skills, and experience of the participants. The researcher should ensure that there is the safety of the participant is achieved by taking into account both risks and benefits. The researcher is entitled to obtain informed ideas from all the participants which can either be done in writing or oral. On the other hand, the participant has the right to ask any relevant question to ensure his benefits and freedom from any risk.
It’s the responsibility of the researcher to determine how privacy and confidentiality should be maintained as he/she is correcting the right information from the participant. The researcher should act sensitively as he protects the information collected from unauthorized observation (Eckstein, 2003). He should also decide whether the participants should be informed about any unforeseen findings which may be realized in the course of the research. Some participants may be willing to know while others may not be concerned but the final decision is in the hands of the researcher. While conducting research, there are several adverse events which the investigator should have a prior arrangement of who will be responsible for handling them. For instance, if a participant happens to be injured during research the investigator should be aware of the person who is supposed to take care of that and give the needed support.
In the case of a study that requires a human experimental trial, the researcher should have a true null hypothesis should be prepared in advance concerning the results of the trial. There are ethical principles to which the researcher should adhere; the investigator should apply autonomy, whereby he should be obliged to respect each participant as someone who has the right to make an informed decision as they participate in the study. The participant has the right to receive a complete disclosure from the investigator concerning the nature of the study, dangers involved in it, gains associated with it, and freedom to ask questions (Mark et al., 2009). Before the onset of the research, the participant has the right to enquire about anything that is not clear to him concerning the study from the researcher. In case the participant refuses to participate in the study; the researcher has no right to force him to participate. The participant’s will to participate in the study must be voluntary, no coercion should be applied or promise of some gains from the study which may result in the participant unlikely to participate.
Moreover, justice should be applied to human subjects whereby equitable selection of the individuals to participate is done. Any group of participants who may be unfairly pressurized to participate like prisoners should be avoided. This principle as well applies in the distribution of benefits and burdens among the whole population after the research (Karlsson, 2008). The statement describing the procedure to be followed to ensure confidentiality of the participant should be provided to the participant. A document stating clearly the compensation and medical attention in case of need is provided to the participant. That document should state clearly the person to be contacted in case of emergency. Any document to be provided to the participant should be written in a simple language to make him/her understand the whole concept.
Any researcher should look for participants who are competent enough to provide them with the right information (William, 2003). In case the participant turns to be incompetent as a result of a disease or an emergency; he has the right to designate someone who can provide the researcher with the best information if nobody can be designated by the participant, the researcher should look for another person who is competent. In circumstances where the participant may be having a companion during the study, the researcher should find a way to make the other party excuse them. This is essential because some participants may find it hard to reveal some of their confidential information in presence of their friends. In some cases, the participant may be forced to cheat due to a lack of privacy.
References
Buchanan E. (2004). Readings in virtual research ethics: issues and controversies, ISBN1591401526, 9781591401520, Idea Group Inc (IGI).
Donnelly P. & William M. (2006). The research methods knowledge base, (3rd ed), ISBN1592602916, 9781592602919, Thomson Custom Pub.
Eckstein S. (2003).Manual for research ethics committees, (6th ed), ISBN0521810043, 9780521810043, Cambridge University Press.
Karlsson C. (2008). Researching Operations Management, ISBN020388681X, 9780203886816, Taylor & Francis.
Mark et al. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students, (5th ed), ISBN0273716867, 9780273716860, Prentice Hall.
William G. (2003). Business Research Methods, (7th ed), ISBN: 8131500292. Cengage Learning.