Jen MaguireSW 582

Fall 2013

Institutional Review Boards

Weighing Benefits and Costs

Bias and Insensitivity Regarding Culture and Gender

The Politics of Social Work Research

Studies involving human subjects need to obtain approval from an independent panel of professionals called an Institutional Review Board (IRB)

IRBs became widespread during the 1970s as result of federal legislation and public concern with the ethics of biomedical and behavioral research

Voluntary Participation & Informed Consent

A major tenet of research ethics is that no one should be forced to participate.

All participants must be aware that they are participating in a study, be informed of all the consequences, and consent to participate

This norm, however, can conflict with the scientific need for generalizability

No Harm to Participants

IRB will insist that risk of harm is minimized

Includes embarrassment and other forms of psychological harm

Most research runs some risk of harm; IRB must be persuaded that study benefits outweigh minimal risks of harm

The protection of participants’ identities is the clearest concern in the protection of their interests and well-being in research

Anonymity and Confidentiality are two techniques to safeguard the identity of your participants

Never use the term anonymous to mean confidential

Deceiving Participants

Deception is unethical, and if it is necessary it must be justified to IRB by compelling scientific or administrative concerns

Analysis and Reporting

Negative findings should be reported

Do not imply that unexpected findings were hypothesized or expected

Syphilis Experiment in Tuskegee, Alabama http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=xYMdaEdbcg

In some instances, the long term benefits of a study are thought to outweigh the violations of certain ethical norms

But, determining whether a study’s ends justify its means is a difficult and often highly subjective process

IRBs make such determinations in approving studies

In addition to conducting ethical research, approved by an IRB, social workers are also guided by the profession’s code of ethics See code section “Evaluation and Research”

Our code of ethics reminds us that we can violate our ethical responsibilities not only when we conduct research, but also when we refrain from using it to guide our practice

Social workers should critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work

Social workers should routinely review the professional literature

Social workers should base practice on recognized knowledge, including empirically based knowledge, relevant social work and social work ethics

NASW, 1999, Section 4.01

DefinitionsCultural Humility – continual self-evaluation regarding the interaction and impact one’s own culture has on a Native American – is defined in the next exercise as any member of Indigenous Peoples in the Americas.Non-Native – Any individual who is not Native AmericanTribal Sovereignty – Authority of a state or nation to govern itself.

ACTIVITY

Ethics and politics are often closely intertwined

The ethics of social work research deals more with the methods employed

Political issues are more concerned with the practical costs and use of research

Ideological priorities can restrict inquiry out of a fear that certain truths can be misperceived or misused in a manner that will harm certain vulnerable groups

These restrictions can lead to incomplete or distorted knowledge building that risks harming the people the research seeks to protect

Even though the norms of science cannot force individual scientists to give up their personal values, the use of accepted scientific practices provides a safeguard against “scientific” findings being the product of bias alone