Ethical Issues in Research

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Ethical Issues in Research

· What ethical and safety issues might arise when conducting such a study?

The study of alcohol and its effects on mice is closely associated with that of human anatomy and physiology. The characteristics of drug and alcohol tolerance and dependency relates closely between the two species.

Some ethical issues are to be considered when using rodents as test studies.

Researchers should prepare and care for the animals during an after testing. They must be in compliance with laws and follow professional standards. The researchers using the specimens are test subjects should be highly trained and certified in animal care as well as research studies for subject(s) being tested. Also, the animals should have minimum pain or discomfort during the experiment.

Ethically, many studies use animals to test products all over the world. PETS on the other hand and not be used as test subjects. Different species of rodents are bred in order as such. Pets, Test subjects, Food. I previously use to own a snakes and I would NEVER feed my snakes a LIVE rat that had been used for medical testing as it would harm my snake. This is possibly why he euthanasation of test subjects is so important. The mutations if the rat(s) got out into the public and started breeding or were used in the wild could have a negative outcome on the eco system as a whole. The life of the test animal should be terminated only if required as it should be painless to the animal if need be. Euthanization could be chosen during the experiment to alleviate any pain or discomfort to the animal during testing.

What do you think the institutional review board at Dr. Carlos’ university will be most concerned about? Explain at least three areas of concern and why the reviewers might be concerned about the stated issues.

I think a major concern would be finding volunteers to use pets for the research. Pet owners are just that. Mice reproduce at a very high rate in which no one should be asked to offer their PET as a test subject. Breeding labs are made for this purpose and can be useful in situations where animal testing is necessary for medical and product usage. NOT PETS. Also, informing the volunteers that the mice will be killed at the end of the experiment so they are fully aware that they will not receive their pet back in leu of compensation.

· It is common for participants to be compensated for their participation in research. Do you think this influences their behaviors or responses? Use the South University Online Library to investigate whether there is evidence regarding the influence of compensation on participants’ participation. Find two articles and submit summaries of each of them.

· Participants should be told they have a right to stop their participation in a study at any point in the study. Do you agree or disagree on whether this should be done or not? Why? Do you think they should still be able to receive the promised monetary compensation if they leave early?

Participants who will be willing to give their pets for testing in return for monetary benefits will be making a more morally void decision. But, the participants have to be informed of their right to withdraw, that is, any subject can withdraw at any point they see fitting and being the participants are mice and their decision would be taken by the pet owners. Monetary compensation can be provided as per the contract and the consent form that is signed at the beginning of each session. Incomplete participation can give the investigator the right decide whether to compensate or not as per the original contract.  Compensation for any testing done I think should be given at the END of the experiment. Any compensation given to volunteers for the contribution should e based on a scaling system and at a 25% increment, in my opinion. 25% at the beginning and then increments of the experiment until completion. At any given point the volunteer decides to withdrawal from the experiment, the level at which they withdrew should be compensated.

· Using the South University Online Library, research two examples of historical situations in which participants were not told that they had the right to stop their participation at any point. Use at least three references for each.

I could not find any real situations on Library so I use the internet for examples:

Burgemeester, Alexander. The Little Albert Experiment. https://www.psychologized.org/the-little-albert-experiment/

At John Hopkins in 1919, experiments were not allowed because of ethical violations. Basically since then, the oath “do no harm” was set into place for those of medical profession. Due to the way specimens were test subjects were treated. Classical conditioning is a type of behaviorism that demands a series of experiments to learn behavior from simple commands even sounds. Illogical fears such as snakes and spiders were presented to subjects until their fear ceased. Still today this method is mildly used but those subjects have the right to stop under certain conditions. Even though phobias are very real and many people suffer from them, today the condition is more mild where the subjects used visuals to retrain there sense to not be scared and even virtual reality is used for the same purpose. Children and adults alike some afraid of clowns or even outside trashcans are conditioned even today to understand the harm versus the reality of where the phobia lies and the underlining issues that caused the phobia to begin with.  All studies are performed under circumstances that are controlled by professionals. The American Psychological Association, APA, has well developed codes of ethics in which all participants adhere. The right to stop during any procedure or experiment is a given to all subjects being tested.

Today participants are given the right to withdraw at any given stage. The only incidence in which I can think of that participant cannot withdrawal are those of the possessed. Exorcisms may not and cannot stop at any point until the ritual is complete or the participants are no longer capable of continuing. A simple case, Exorcism of Emily Rose comes to mind. Informed consent is given from participants in a controlled setting. In an uncontrolled setting where the participants is forced into the ritual such as an exorcism, there is no consent. Recordings and other data that was gathered during an exorcism may have been consented from another close family member or member of the church setting or even the preacher/priest himself. The “do no harm” rule still applies and for decades the church versus state argument is still in play as far as someone against their own will being possessed and help accountable for actions without their knowledge.