This document discusses ethics in social science and health research. It defines key terms like research, social science research, and health research. It outlines the symbiotic relationship between health and social science research, noting that social factors must be considered in health research and vice versa. The document also examines debates around ethical issues in social science research, such as power dynamics and risks to participants. It provides an overview of different types of ethics review for research protocols and discusses navigating ethics through principles like those in the Belmont Report.

1. ETHICS
IN SOCIAL
SCIENCES AND
HEALTH
RESEARCH
RYAN MICHAEL F. ODUCADO, MAN, MAED, RN, RM, LPT
Research Coordinator, West Visayas State University College of Nursing
Member, PNA Ethics Review Committee

4. OUTLINE
 Preliminaries, Definitions, Scope
 Relationship Between Health and Social
Science Research
 Debates and Ethical Issues in Social
Science Research
 Navigating Ethical Issues in Social
Science Research

5. Preliminaries,
Definitions,
Scope
Research: is an activity that aims to
develop or contribute to knowledge that
can be generalized or any accumulation
of information using scientific methods,
observation, inference, and analysis
(NEGHHR, 2017)
Social Science Research: seeks to
understand and investigate complex
issues – cultural, legal, economic and
political phenomenon (Freed-Taylor,
1994)

6. Preliminaries,
Definitions,
Scope
Research Involving Human
Participants:
include any social science, biomedical,
behavioral, or epidemiological activity that entails
systematic collection or analysis of data with the
intent to generate new knowledge in which
human beings:
(1) are exposed to manipulation, intervention,
observation, or other interaction with investigators,
either directly or through alteration of their
environment; or
(2) become individually identifiable through
investigators’ collection, preparation, or use of
biological material or medical or other records.
(Preamble 1, Declaration of Helsinki 2013)

7. Preliminaries,
Definitions,
Scope
Health research: encompasses all research that
seeks to understand the impact of processes,
policies, actions, or events originating in any sector
on the well-being of individuals and communities;
and to assist in developing interventions that will
help prevent or mitigate their negative impact, and
in so doing, contribute to the achievement of health
equity and better health for all.
Health-related research: outside of the
aforementioned description for health research, but
where the research procedures and outcomes can
affect the well-being of the participants and the
community.
The Philippine National Health Research System Act (RA 10532) Joint IRR

8. Relationship
between health and
social science
research

9.  All health research involving human participants are conducted within
a social context
 Differences in conflicting theoretical and methodological
approaches may lead to divergences in ethical considerations and
requirements
 All social research involving human participants have possible health
and health-related implications
(NEGHHR, 2017)
The SYMBIOTIC and COMPLEX relationship
between health and social research

11.  Social science researches are firmly embedded in the field of health
policy and systems research
 It shapes our methods of enquiry and provides key critical theory
through which we can understand the people and the processes that
shape health systems
 These researches take into account the perspectives of the public
and those at the forefront of health service implementation
 Social science researches help to ‘understand’ human behavior
(Sheikh, 2011; Daniels, 2017)
Importance of social science in health
research

12. Researching the social: a complex
process
Ethics
Social and
personal
change
Cultural
factors and
assumption
s
Human
ambiguity
and
irrationality
Hawthorne
effect
Social
awareness
(Walter, 2010)

13. Debates and
Ethical Issues in
Social Science
Research

14.  How research plays in addressing social inequities
 Power relations between the researcher and the
participants
 The nature of the risks to participants and the strategies to
mitigate them may not be as easily apparent
Debate of ethical issues in social research
NEGHHR, 2017

15.  Conducting cover research
 Role of the researcher as a participant-observer
 Research among “vulnerable” groups
 Changes taking place in research governance and
regulation for social researchers to research projects
assessed by Ethics Committees.
Debate of ethical issues in social research
Madushani, 2010

16. Joint DOST, DOH, CHED,
and UPM Memorandum
Order 001 Series of 2012:
Requirement for Ethical
Review of Health Research
Involving Human
Participants
Orders and
Memorandums

17. Kinds of Ethics
Review
1. Exempted From Review:
required for protocols that do not
involve more than minimal risk
2. Expedited Review: done by the
REC for proposals that do not
need a full review; refers to the
number of REC members doing
the initial review
3. Full Review: required for
protocols that entail more than
minimal risk to participants or
those that involve vulnerability
issues.
(NEGHHR, 2017)

18. Ethical issues confronting different types
of social research
(Kelman, 1982)

19. Ethical issues confronting different types
of social research
(Kelman, 1982)

20. Ethical issues confronting different types
of social research
(Kelman, 1982)

21. Navigating Ethical
Issues in Social
Science Research
The Belmont Report
 Created by the National Commission
for the Protection of Human Subjects
of Biomedical and Behavioral
Research in 1979
 Identified basic ethical principles
that should underlie the conduct of
biomedical and behavioral research
involving human subjects

22. Basic ethical principles

24. Whether in social or health sciences, there are
fundamental ethical principles that are recognized
by all in the ethical conduct of research. Of prime
importance are the concern for the rights and well-
being of the research participants.
Ryan Michael F. Oducado