Citi Courses, Essay Example

The following paper elaborates the ethical concerns that individuals must consider in their intended research topics. In my case, the research topic would be human resource and the associated employee behaviors. The ethical concerns based on the review by the Institutional Review Board of NorthCentral University. It also contains a brief written description of any ethical concerns. The essay also demonstrates thoughtful consideration of ideas and concepts presented in the course and give new feelings and insights concerning directly to this topic. The research, on the paper, reflects scholarly articles.

Research is described as investigations into new knowledge or existing knowledge, which are systematic. The purpose of carrying out research is to confirm facts, establish facts, solve existing or new problems, develop or support new theories, reaffirm previous works results or expand knowledge of previous work. Ethics is a very significant aspect in research. It is the moral principle of conducting a group or an activity (Historical Cases of Unethical Research). The rules and principles are usually laid down by a body of professionals to provide protection to all participants in the research. Researchers are supposed to follow these rules regarding the ethical norm of research.

There are various reasons why ethical research should be done. First, aim of the research is provided by truth, knowledge and the avoidance of error. Secondly, the research will involve a high level of collaboration and harmonization among the diverse parties involved as the ethical standards provide and promote values that facilitate collaboration. The values include accountability, trust, mutual respect, and fairness. Intellectual property interest and guidelines for authorship, confidentiality rules in peer review and data sharing policies (Steinbock., Arras & London, 2009, p. 12). Thirdly, the norms ensure that the researcher may be held accountable by the public. For example, federal policies on any research misconduct, the human subjects’ protections and conflicts of interest are necessary in ensuring that researchers who are mainly funded by public money are accountable to the public. Fourthly, the public support of a research is built through the ethical norms as people or organizations are more likely to contribute to the research if the integrity and quality of the research can be trusted. Finally, varieties of other relevant social and moral values are promoted by the norms of research. They include promotion of human rights, social responsibility and compliance with the law. Lack of carrying out an ethical research will lead to the emergence of harm that is significant to the subject either individual, students or organizations.

In the recent past, there have been studied, which have been carried out that were unethical. One such case was a research abuse was done by Nazi doctors during World War II. Unethical medical experiments on gypsies, Jews and political prisoners were done by sixteen physicians who were all Germans (Guidelines for ethical research). High altitude experiments that were carried out on inmates, involved activities such as locking up the inmates, in an airtight chamber and regulating pressure. The effects of such an experiment were severely harmful to the subjects. The freezing experiment forced inmates to stay naked in a freezing weather for a period of 9 to 14 hours. Other inmates were infected with induced mosquitoes and later treated with a variety of drugs. The mustard gas experiments saw the inmates being deliberately inflicted with wounds, which caused them to experience swellings and excruciating pains (Steinbock., Arras & London, 2009, p. 50). All these among other experiments done by the Nazi doctors were unethical as most of their subjects died during the study.

Another such case was the Stanley Milgram’s experiment. Where a man by the name Stanley Milgram who was a psychologist from Yale University. He conducted a test so as to study the conflict that comes between obedience towards ones authority, and one’s own personal conscious. The demonstration of the experiment was how people would react to an authority figure while giving shock to another person. In the experiment, the ‘teachers’ who were recruited by Milgram were unknown subjects of the study (Steinbock., Arras & London, 2009, p. 25). They were told to administer shock to the ‘learner’ for every mistake he done in answering the questions. The participants who were the ‘teachers’ did not know that the ‘learner’ was an actor in the experiment. The experiment was unethical as it exposed subjects to stress and activities that were carried out in the experiment were not appropriate in marketing research.

The requirements needed for research to be conducted at Northcentral is that the researcher who uses human participants should complete an electronic IRB Application which contains details about the researchers, the other participating parties such as individuals or organizations and the period in which the research would be done (Guidelines for ethical research). The application also requires detailed information of the research carried out, its purpose, the measures to be pursued and risks and benefits that are associated with the research. The researcher should also attach copies of documents such as of protocols, informed consent forms, and other relevant instruments, which will be used for research. Informed permission form for the parent/guardian for minors under the age of 18 should also be provided by the researcher.

In my research topic about human resource and the associated employee behaviors, there are various ethical concerns that need to be considered. Since, human subjects are involved in the research. In designing the research that uses human beings as subjects, the main aim for a researcher is to provide safety of the research participant who will be made up of drug users (Historical Cases of Unethical Research). This will be accomplished by effectively, and carefully considering the ratio of risks to benefits. I will use all the accessible data in order to make an assessment that will be appropriate and continue in monitoring proceedings of the research.

The other issue would be that of obtaining informed consent from all the participants in my research. I will obtain this through writing as evidence although oral consent can be accepted in some situations. This will be done after the participants have carefully analyzed and considered the risk and benefits that are associated in asking any pertinent questions. The informed consent will be done as an ongoing process and not just a mere formality. Ethical issues are imperative issues that need to be monitored because they give valid and accurate information with supporting evidence. It is essential for researchers to be ethical in their investigations in order to promote education and help determine various predicaments linked with research topic.

I as the researcher will again enumerate how the privacy and the confidentiality of the research and the participants will be approached. I will consider the sensitivity of how the information would be protected from unauthorized observer. In addition to this, I would also notify the participants of any unforeseen findings that come out of the investigation, which they may or may not want to know just for clarity purposes.

Another consideration to be looked at is how adverse events will be handled by the researcher. If for example, the participant in injured in the study, who will be responsible for payments of the injury. Lastly, before the participants who in this case are the drug users, are enrolled in the research, I should be in a condition of equipoise. Where if any intervention that is new is put to test, against the known accepted treatment, I should be uncertain as to, which approach would be superior and therefore, result in a null hypothesis regarding the researches outcomes.

The main ethical principles that govern research concerning human subjects include the researcher respecting each participant and respecting their decision regarding the research. The researcher should also maximize the benefits of the participants and society at large and minimize the risks associated with the study. Therefore, there should be thorough risk benefit analysis. Lastly, there should be justice and equitable selection of participants in the research or study. The researcher should ensure that participants’ population that are unfairly coerced in participation are avoided. Justice principle also includes equal distribution of benefits and the non-benefits among the group of the population that is likely to benefit in the research. The IRB Program gives researchers a guide on how to handle their process of investigation and emphasis on important aspects relating to the topic.

References

Guidelines for ethical research. (n.d.). AIATSIS. Retrieved 15 May 2012 from <http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/research/ethical.html>

Historical Cases of Unethical Research. (n.d.). The University of North Dakota. Retrieved 15 May 2012 from <http://www.und.edu/instruct/wstevens/PROPOSALCLASS/MARSDEN&MELANDER2.htm>

Steinbock, B., Arras, J., & London, A. J. (2009). Ethical issues in modern medicine: contemporary readings in bioethics (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Tri-council policy statement: ethical conduct for research involving humans. (2010). Ottawa: Interagency Secretariat on Research Ethics.