A Few Notes on the Ethical Aspects of Research Even science and research in the modern world, like all other areas of social life, are not protected from negative phenomena; they are not self-contained worlds where, unlike ordinary life, professional and ethical requirements are absolutely observed.
When we speak about ethical aspects of research, we can look at this problem from two basic perspectives: the first is the ethics of research work itself, the second the ethics of approach to research participants (Reichel, 2009, p. 175). This aspect comes especially to the fore in research in the social sciences, when sensitive areas are involved, as is also the case in research in social work.
Among the core ethical questions in research is the motivation of the researcher themselves. In its pure form, it is the relentless curiosity about the causes of phenomena, about understanding their regularities, the drive to discover new knowledge and relationships, or are there other motivations that force the researcher to investigate? Once, research was the domain of universities; today there are specialized research institutions, such as the Slovenská akadémia vied (and its corresponding institutions in other countries), whose main activity is research. However, some Western universities have created such conditions for faculty that top-level research is possible there. At home, university teachers are still expected to do research. In fact, the ministry of education and the accreditation commission set certain quantitative criteria for the “volume” of research that a higher-education teacher should fulfill alongside their teaching work. Is it ethical, then, to simultaneously require from them endless paperwork and a growing amount of administrative activity that continues to take up most of their time?
A university instructor may rightfully be expected to be a good teacher, whose pedagogical craft is based not only on others' knowledge but also on their own research. Throughout the history of universities, this has always been the case. In current practice here, it often looks as if a higher-education teacher is either an outstanding teacher and their research activity falters, or an excellent scientist whose teaching is interrupted by their research and who lectures frequently at conferences and is difficult to substitute in teaching. There are only very few outstanding scientist-teachers who can combine these two activities. (And there are also some who are not good at either one.) Is the motivation of university researchers therefore to report enough grants, enough publications per year, or a thirst for new knowledge?
In research itself, the researcher should never lose an objective overview (Miovský, 2006, p. 75). It can happen that in their research they uncover information that contradicts their original assumptions. They must not yield to temptation to adjust such data. This is one of the most serious failures of a researcher both as a scientist and as a person (Reichel, 2009, p. 175).
The researcher should not use their role and position for other purposes, such as building their position in the studied institution or organization where they work, and especially not to build their power position in a university in this way; they should also not use their position to influence examined persons (Reichel, 2009, p. 177).
The researcher should be independent of the research sponsor; their task is not to promote the interests of sponsors, but to address the research problem regardless of their intentions and wishes. If they are unable to withstand this pressure, they should not accept the researcher role in that case. They must never take part in misuse of research results. They are obliged to report results without distortion and, in case of their deformation by the sponsor, to set them right. (To speak of sponsors of research in social work today is only wishful thinking.)
Ethical Questions in Relation to Research Participants
A social work researcher works with sensitive and confidential information. The question is how capable they are of gaining the trust of the persons being studied, and therefore whether those persons are truly willing to open up and answer truthfully. It follows that if the researcher is not sufficiently trustworthy for the person under study, then the validity of such research is not guaranteed.
The researcher must secure sensitive information against misuse. They must ensure safe storage of all primary data and use research data exclusively for research purposes. Here arises the need for informed consent of the research participant, which should be addressed before the research itself. But there are types of research where this cannot be fully observed, for example in participant yet covert observations, where the researcher enters a community (e.g., homeless people or other clients) and gains their trust as one of them. Here the question is how to handle informed consent. At the very least, examined persons should be informed as soon as possible after the research ends and should consent to the use of the results.
If possible, the researcher should enter the field in a legal manner, based on required permissions, e.g., in a hospital or a social-service institution.
The examined person must not be forced to cooperate in research; their anonymity and dignity must be respected, and in the interest of preserving the greatest possible good, they should not be exposed to unnecessary stress, to questions that unnecessarily injure and exacerbate their suffering, and should not be exposed to situations that would force them into undignified behavior or treatment (Marlow, 2001, p. 17, Reichel, 2009, p. 178). This is one reason why experiments are so rarely used in social work research. If an examined person shows interest in research results, they have the right to be informed.
Compensating examined persons is a very sensitive issue; it can be a motivation to participate in the study (and answer or behave according to anticipated expectations), and sometimes such compensation can directly harm the participant, for example by giving an alcoholic patient access to alcohol in a certain phase.
Ethical Questions in Relation to Researchers
All members of the research team should be trained in ethical principles. Research in social work can carry risks and threats for the researcher and their team. Field research should be prepared so that the researcher is least endangered, and movement in the field organized—for example, in streetwork so that safety is ensured by the presence of another person, etc. It is very useful in such cases to collaborate with experienced and personally mature individuals who can identify and potentially eliminate possible dangers, and, conversely, to avoid inexperienced “adventurous types,” whose participation increases risk.
Publication Ethics
It is also an ethical duty of every researcher to adhere to the principle research—evaluation—publication. Of course, in the first two activities the deepest possible knowledge of research procedures and evaluation of results is required, so that no distortions occur due to insufficient knowledge of research procedures. The validity and reliability of the research must be guaranteed, as well as correctness in assessing results, e.g., knowledge of suitable statistical methods and result interpretation (Punch, 2008b).
It may happen that no results are fabricated in the course of research, but it is later discovered that the methodology was wrong. Another mistake is that the scientist may not invent their results, but hides something that does not fit their work. A third mistake is when results are interpreted incorrectly. The final mistake of the scientist is failing to acknowledge that someone else has already come up with the solution to the problem and presenting it as their own (Illnerová, in: Pigula, 2006).
A specific problem is publication ethics (Meško, 2009). In the current race to meet set criteria, so-called “collaborating teams” have emerged, where authors who never worked on the research are credited in publications under the principle “you for me, me for you,” or “citation teams,” where authors cite each other by agreement. Even—this is also seen abroad—conference papers are accepted where authors pay for their conference participation, and published are articles that authors also pay for. Apart from these practices it is a generally known fact that “connections make science,” and therefore those scientists are invited to major conferences who have become known in the field not only thanks to their work but also through contacts, while those without them, despite comparable results, often remain in the background.
Conclusion
Many ethical aspects of research could be discussed in much greater detail. Our goal was not to solve ethical issues in research, but to ask ourselves and the audience even unpopular questions that would prompt all of us to reflection, awareness of certain realities, and perhaps inner confrontation and solutions.
Authors: prof. Ing. Libuša Radková, PhD. PhDr. Anna Pavlovičová, PhD. List of Bibliographic References
[1] MARLOW, Christine. 2001. Research Methods for Generalist Social Work. Stamford : Thomson Learning, 2001. 365 s. ISBN 0-534-52571-7. [2] MIOVSKÝ Michal. 2006. Kvalitativní přístup a metody v psychologickém výzkumu. Praha : Grada, 2006. 332 s. ISBN 80-247-1362-4. [3] PIGULA, Topi. 2006. Odvrhněte nepodstatné, radí prof. RNDr Helena Illnerová. [online]. Koktejl, č.9 [2006] [cit. 2010-10-12]. Dostupný z WWW: http://www.czech-press.cz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2828:odvrhnte-nepodstatne-radi-profesorka-rndr-helena-illnerova&catid=1:lide&Itemid=4&zoom=INF&showall=0&panx=1&pany=0 [4] PUNCH, Keith F. 2008a. Úspěšný návrh výzkumu. Praha: Portál, 2008. 230 s. ISBN 978-80-7367-468-7. [5] PUNCH, Keith F. 2008b. Základy kvantitativního šetření. Praha: Portál, 2008. 147 s. ISBN 978-80-7367-381-9. [6] REICHEL, Jiří. 2009. Kapitoly metodologie sociálních výzkumů. Praha: Grada, 2009. 184 s. ISBN 978-80-247-3006-6. [7] MEŠKO, Dušan. 2009. Publikácia a prezentácia výsledkov. In: ŽIAKOVÁ, Katarína et al. Ošetrovateľstvo teória a vedecký výskum. Martin : Osveta, 2009. s. 271- 297. ISBN 978-80-8063-304-2.
The lecture was delivered at the international scientific conference Applied ethics in social work and other helping professions, which took place on 20. – 21. October 2010, in Piešťany, and was published in the proceedings of this conference: MÁTEL, A. – SCHAVEL, M. – MÜHLPACHR, P. – ROMAN, T. 2010. Aplikovaná etika v sociálne práci a ďalších pomáhajúcich profesiách. Zborník z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie. Bratislava : VŠZaSP sv. Alžbety. 413 s. ISBN 978-80-89271-89-4.