Summary
Can scientific studies that expose subjects to potentially harmful situations be justified if the subjects are volunteers?
Should students be required to participate as subjects in research projects developed to benefit their professors?
Can a single set of ethical rules apply to all research situations?
These and other questions come under scrutiny in Ethical Decision Making in Physical Activity Research. Written by a lawyer and physical educator, this book explores the important relationship between ethics and the research process.
The book begins with a discussion of the scientific method and basic parameters of ethical behavior, then focuses on ethical concerns that can arise in the following situations:
-The selection and formation of the research question
-The work of institutional review boards
-Methodology, including the use of human and animal subjects, data collection, and statistical analysis
-The presentation of results, including publication
-Measures used to prevent fraud and misconduct
Fifteen case studies highlight the text and help readers develop sensitivity toward ethical issues in research and how to think ethically. Researchers can use the case studies to help them learn to
-identify the ethical dilemma in question,
-determine the choices available for resolving the dilemma,
-evaluate the ethics of the actual choice made to resolve the dilemma, and
-decide on the most appropriate course of action.
The author encourages readers to consider potential ethical issues from the moment the research problem is contemplated until it has been studied and published. The book also describes how to discipline fraudulent researchers and proposes how to improve ethical conduct.
