This document discusses research ethics in behavioral sciences. It begins by questioning how much research ethics is discussed in classrooms and syllabi. It then discusses what constitutes research ethics, including informed consent, privacy/confidentiality, and conflicts of interest. The document reviews some historical examples that shaped modern ethics like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and Milgram's obedience experiments. It also discusses global guidelines like the Declaration of Helsinki and roles of institutional review boards. The document emphasizes the need for more awareness and discussion of research ethics among students and researchers. It provides an overview of several guidelines relevant to psychology research including from the APA and COPE. Finally, it discusses ways forward like preregistration and the need for independent

1. Research Ethics in
Behavioural Sciences
05.01.2022
Dr. Chinchu C.

2. Why discuss this topic?
• How much Research Ethics content do we have in our syllabus?
• How much do we discuss this topic in classrooms?
• How much is the topic being discussed outside our classrooms?

3. The ‘Why’ and ‘What’

4. Source: Google Ngram Viewer

5. Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-knowledge/201601/the-is-psychology-science-debate

6. Source: PLOS ONE- https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114255

7. Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/349/6251/aac4716

9. What constitutes Research Ethics?
Many factors including, but not limited to,
• Copyright, Credits, and Intellectual Property
• Social Responsibility
• Researcher’s Integrity and Conduct
• Institutional Responsibilities
• Rights, Well-being, Privacy and Confidentiality of Participants/Respondents
• Confidentiality and Security of Data and Information
• Transparency in Analysis and Reporting
• Conflicts of Interest, and more

10. A bit of history
• Tuskegee Syphilis Study
• In 1932, 400 African American males from Tuskegee, Alabama, who had syphilis,
were recruited.
• No informed consent was taken from the participants
• Standard treatment with Heavy Metals was administered to them
• Though antibiotics were available from 1940s, they were withheld deliberately
• The study was stopped in 1972 following huge media coverage
• By then, at least 28, and probably more than 100 participants had died from Syphilis
• The participants were never informed of their diagnosis
• They were led to believe that they were being given free medical services
• They were never informed about the medications either

11. A bit of history
• Conduct by ‘scientists’ in Nazi Germany
• Led to the Nuremberg Code (1949) which stipulated informed consent, absence of
coercion, beneficence etc.
• Declaration of Helsinki (1964)
• Mandates that all biomedical research involving human subjects carefully assess the
risks of participation against benefits, respect the subject’s privacy, and minimize the
costs of participation to the subject.
• Obedience to Authority research by Stanley Milgram (1963)
• Volunteers were deceived into participation
• No informed consent was taken
• Participants who wanted to quit were forced to continue
• Some experienced acute psychological distress
• Replications of the study have used better ethical procedures

12. A bit of history
• Institutional Review Boards (IRB) were started in the USA as a result of
National Research Act 1974
• Deception, Dual roles etc. continue to be discussed widely
• Research Ethics continues to evolve as a subject itself

13. The Global Status
• Many countries have nationally applicable guidelines and rules for
research ethics
• In USA, even Opinion Surveys need clearance from an Institutional
Review Board (IRB)
• Professional associations including the American Educational
Research Association (AERA), the American Sociological Association
(ASA), and American Psychological Association (APA) have developed
ethical research guidelines and codes for ethical conduct of research
• Informed Consent letters, Confidentiality provisions etc. are
considered as global best practices

14. In Publication
• Most highly rated journals in Psychiatry/related fields explicitly ask that
the manuscripts submitted to them contain information regarding IRB
approval if the underlying study is related to human participants
• In exceptional cases where such approval is not available, they
mandate that the authors clarify as to how ethical conduct was ensured
• Getting approval from an IRB is a hurdle for most researchers situated
outside formal research institutions
• Independent ethical review bodies are being discussed in many corners

15. Ethical Review of Human Research in
Psychology in India
• Psychiatry research in India conforms to most International standards
on ethical approval for human research
• Most medical colleges and hospitals have IRBs which review even PG
level research proposals
• The system may not be perfect though
• However not all Psychology departments mandate ethical approval
for research involving human subjects
• Students are not informed of such practices either

16. The Ethical Review Process
• The Review Committee (IEC/IRB…) may consist of members from within
and outside the institution
• The Research Protocol is submitted to the Committee for review

17. The Ethical Review Process
• The Protocol may include
• Summary/Abstract
• Title, Investigator credentials, funding source, etc.
• Rationale and Background
• Aim(s) and Objective(s)/Research Question
• Design
• Methodology
• Follow-up/debriefing plan
• Data Management, Confidentiality, Analysis plan
• Expected Outcomes
• Dissemination and Publication plan
• Expected Duration
• Ethical considerations and Informed Consent Form
• Relevant References
• Budget, if applicable

18. The Ethical Review Process
• The Committee may, after due review
• Approve the protocol as submitted
• Conditionally approve, with suggested modifications/clarification
• Ask for Revise and Resubmit
• Reject

19. The Menace of Plagiarism

21. The Question to be Asked…

22. Plagiarism
•Plagiarism* is taking someone else's work and trying
to pass it off as your own, without giving credit to
them. This can apply to anything, from assignments to
films to songs, even ideas!
•Plagiarism is a violation of copyright, and a serious
academic misconduct

23. Copyright
Copyright is a bundle of rights given by the law (even if it is not
registered somewhere) to the creators of literary, dramatic,
musical and artistic works and other creative forms of content

24. Copyright Exceptions in India
The Copyright Act, 1957 (as amended by the Copyright Amendment
Act 2012)
• “The following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright,
namely:”
• (a) a fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic
work [not being a computer programme] for the purposes
of-
• (i) private use, including research;
• (ii) criticism or review whether of that work or of any other
work; "

25. UGC on Plagiarism
• Disqualification from Academic Positions if found guilty
(happens rarely)
• Plagiarism Detection Software mandatory for all
Universities.
• All M Phil/Ph D theses to be uploaded to Shodhganga after
checking for Plagiarism
• Most Universities mandate maximum allowed percentage
of Matching Content (NOT Plagiarism) in
theses/dissertations

26. Types of Plagiarism
• Copying
• Patchwork
• Paraphrasing
• Unintentional
• Self-Plagiarism/Salami Slicing

27. Copying
• Copy-pasting something as it is and putting your name on it.
• Can be translations too.

28. Patchwork
•In patchwork plagiarism/patchwriting, the plagiarizer
borrows the "phrases and clauses from the original
source and weaves them into their own writing"
(McConnell Library, Radford University) without
putting the phrases in quotation marks or citing the
original author.

29. Patchwork Plagiarism - Example
• Over the last half-century, the women's health movement has been a
powerful driver in health policy linking gender norms to sex
differences in health and wellbeing. Even though gender norms also
affect males, there has been little emphasis on gender in health
policies for males, especially in relation to the mental health of boys
and young men. Gender norms around masculinity commonly confer
power and status to boys and young men, which might in part explain
why norms around masculinity are difficult to shift. Paradoxically,
these dominant masculinities carry risks for poor mental health.
Globally, the rate of male suicide is two to four times that of females
Rice, S., Oliffe, J., Seidler, Z., Borschmann, R., Pirkis, J., Reavley, N., & Patton, G. (2021). Gender norms and the mental
health of boys and young men. The Lancet Public Health, 6(8), e541–e542.

30. Patchwork Plagiarism - Example
• Over the previous fifty years, the movement for women's health has
played a role in health policy related to gender norms and sex
differences in well-being and health. Though gender norms also
influence men, there has been less stress on gender in health policies
for males, especially in connection to mental health of boys and
young males. Gender norms related to masculinity usually confer
some power and status to both young men and boys, which may
describe why norms of masculinity are difficult to change.
Interestingly, these dominant masculinities bring risks for mental
health. Worldwide, the suicide rates among men is two to four times
compared to that of women

31. Paraphrasing
•Paraphrasing or summarizing another's work without
citing the source.
•When you're in love, you want to tell the world
(Sagan, 1994).
•When people are in love, they want to tell the world.

32. Unintentional
• When we incorrectly quote a source
• Or when we incorrectly cite
Yes, unintentional plagiarism is still plagiarism.

33. Self-Plagiarism/Salami Slicing
• Self-Plagiarism/Auto-plagiarism: duplication of previously published
work by the same author(s) without disclosure or a significant
addition of new knowledge
• Salami Slicing: Cutting up the same dataset to create multiple
publications, without disclosure/justification or a significant addition
of new knowledge
• Exceptions do exist, such as when writing for a different audience,
follow-up studies, etc. with proper disclosure
• Submissions to preprint servers are also exempted normally

34. Avoiding Plagiarism

35. Avoiding Plagiarism
•Use own words as far as possible
•Be aware of style manuals and formats
•Cite properly, use a reference management software

36. APA on avoiding plagiarism
• “Writers who plagiarize disrespect the efforts of original authors by
failing to acknowledge their contributions, stifle further research by
preventing readers from tracing ideas back to their original sources,
and unfairly disregard those who exerted the effort to complete their
own work.”

37. APA on avoiding plagiarism
• Provide appropriate credit through citations
• If you model a study on someone else’s work, give credit to
the original author
• While reprinting or adapting tables/figures/images provide
a copyright attribution
• An article based on research described in an abstract
published in a conference programme or proceeding does
not constitute duplicate publication.
• However the author(s) should acknowledge previous
presentation of the research in the article’s author note

38. APA resources on avoiding plagiarism
• APA Style brief guidance on Plagiarism
• https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/plagiarism
• APA Avoiding Plagiarism Guide
• https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/avoiding-plagiarism.pdf

39. What can we do?

40. Ensuring Ethics in Research
• Ethics in research is not something that can be enforced with
strict rules and punishments
• It is to be imbibed as a guiding spirit of scientific enquiry
• Ethical principles are more relevant in Psychology for reasons
already discussed

41. Need for Awareness
• Research Ethics should become a part of all discussions
regarding knowledge production in Psychology
• Students should be encouraged to follow international best
practices and such conduct should be rewarded and
acknowledged

42. Some important Guidelines relevant to
Psychology research

43. Declaration of Helsinki
• The Declaration of Helsinki was first adopted by the 18th Assembly of
the World Medical Association in Helsinki, 1964.
• It outlined ethical principles for medical research involving human
subjects
• Latest version adopted in 2013
• General Guiding Principles
• Protecting Patient Health
• Rights above Knowledge
• Appropriate Training and Qualification for researchers
• Following local regulatory norms

44. Declaration of Helsinki
•Specific Sections on:
• Risks, Burdens, and Benefits
• Vulnerable groups and individuals
• Scientific requirements and research protocols
• Research Ethics Committees
• Privacy and Confidentiality
• Informed Consent
• Use of Placebo
• Post-trial provisions
• Registration, Publication, and Dissemination of Results
• Unproven interventions

45. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• An organization established in 1997 with a mission to define ethical
best practices in scholarly publishing
• Publishes Core Practices, policies and practices journals and
publishers need, to reach the highest standards in publication ethics.
• Most useful for journal editors
• Started as a response to plagiarism, attempted or actual redundant
publication, attempts to pass off fraudulent data, unethical research,
breaches of confidentiality etc.

46. APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS)
• Introduced in 2008
• Part of APA Publication Manual now; available at APA Style website
• Guidelines designed for authors, reviewers, and editors to enhance
scientific rigor in peer-reviewed journal articles
• Useful for educators and students as learning tools
• Three categories:
• Quantitative research (JARS–Quant)
• Qualitative research (JARS–Qual)
• Mixed methods research (JARS–Mixed)

47. APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and
Code of Conduct
• Supposed to be followed by all Psychologists as part of their scientific,
educational, or professional roles as psychologists
• Lack of awareness or misunderstanding of an Ethical Standard is not
itself a defense to a charge of unethical conduct
• Has 10 sections dealing with Competence, Human Relations, Privacy
and Confidentiality, Advertising, Record keeping and Fee, Education
and Training, Research and Publication, Assessment, and Therapy
• Section 8 deals with Research and Publication

48. Section 8 of APA Code
• Major Provisions
• Institutional Approval to be obtained whenever required
• Informed Consent to be taken by informing Purpose of Research,
Expected duration, right to withdraw, foreseeable consequences of
withdrawal/declining, prospective benefits, limits of confidentiality,
incentives for participation, whom to contact for question etc.
• Informed Consent for recording voices and images
• Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinates as participants: Adverse
consequences
• Incentives to participants: No excessive or inappropriate financial/other
inducements
• Concerns with deception

49. Section 8 of APA Code
•Major Provisions
• Debriefing: providing appropriate information about the
nature, results, and conclusions of the research to participants
• Reporting: No fabrication of data,
Correction/Retraction/Erratum etc.
• Plagiarism
• Taking credit only for the work actually performed, and giving
credit wherever due
• No duplicate publication of data as original
• Sharing research data for verification
• Review with respect to confidentiality and rights of others

50. APA’s Five Principles
•Discuss intellectual property frankly
•Be conscious of multiple roles
•Follow informed-consent rules
•Respect confidentiality and privacy
•Tap into ethics resources
Source: APA's Science Directorate 2003

51. The Way Forward: Preregistration and more

52. The Way Forward: Preregistration and more
• Publication bias and issues of replication have plagued Psychology
research for long
• Preregistration has been advocated as one measure to address these
issues
• Preregistration allows researchers to specify and share the details of
their research in a public registry before conducting the study.
• APA endorses preregistration as a desirable practice
• A growing number of APA journals offer badges recognizing
preregistration of studies and/or analysis plans

53. The Way Forward: Preregistration and more
• APA, British Psychological Society, and German Psychological Society
have partnered with the Leibniz Institute for Psychology and Center
for Open Science (COS) to create Preregistration Standards for
Quantitative Research in Psychology.
• The COS provides a free registry service for preregistration of
Confirmatory and Exploratory research plans.
• Open Science Framework (OSF) maintained by COS hosts the preprint
servers such as PsyArxiv and OSF Preprints

54. The Way Forward: Preregistration and more
• Ethical review and mentoring services should be accessible
to all, including student researchers
• Independent Non-Institutional Review Boards or Ethical
Review Committees should be formed, where students and
budding researchers can submit their research plans and
obtain comments and mentoring so as to ensure that their
research follows ethical standards

55. Research Ethics is not about committees, rules, or
enforcement.
It is about how much we accept it as a way of conduct for
Psychologists