APA Ethical Guidelines

Responsible Conduct of Research Quick Reference Guide

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Responsible Conduct of Research Quick Reference Guide For Psychologists

As an antecedent of collaboration, a plan should be compiled which includes goals and direction of the research, a detailed list of the responsibilities of all contributors, credit and ownership details, and the medium of publication. This is to avoid any issues that may arise during the course of the study and ensure the research’s optimal success.

The Good: Proper Procedure

Similar Fields: A team of psychologists team up with a sociologist to investigate benefits of classical conditioning techniques on underprivileged youth. While the psychologist is an expert in conditioning, both operant and classical, the sociologist has submitted many well noted articles regarding the effect of class on the learning processes of children. This is an example of collaboration at its best!

The Bad: Violations

Loosely Structured Plan: When a loosely structured plan for collaboration is made, responsibilities and boundaries are unclear, ownership of values are misconstrued, and the goal of the study may be lost.

Mismatched Efforts: In a collaborative project, efforts must be equal and responsibilities must be evenly divided. If they are not, research may become lopsided and not show the results in their entirety. For example, in a research project on Wilson’s Syndrome there are two lead researchers. One has agreed to do all of the measurements, calculations, and handling of the empirical data. The other has been given the responsibility of supervising assistants and composing data presentation materials. Unbeknownst to the researcher composing the presentation of data, the other has not collected any data. Approaching the deadline of the research, the researcher is now faced with performing all tasks and with the challenge of sharing the ownership of the material published.

The Ugly: Ambiguous Unclearly Defined Goals: When goals are not clearly defined, research begins to take on a mind of its own. Research has the ability to quickly evolve and with unbound goals, evolution becomes more than

1 Collaborative ScienceCollaborations take place in a variety of forms, including the borrowing and lending of supplies, resources and equipment between researchers; seeking input from an expert in a different discipline; and partnering with colleagues who have a similar background or field of knowledge for fresh ideas and abilities.

a theory. If research goals are too broad this may also be the case. Ending up with a different subject for research than you started with can affect funding, accuracy, and your credibility as a researcher.


Membership: Conscientious researchers will rectify any conflicts of interest before proceeding with studies. In a case where a person membership in a group would prevent the scientist from performing adequate research, the researcher relinquishes membership in Advance Smokers USA before entering into active research regarding lung cancer.

The Bad: Violations

Winthrop Kellogg: Mr. Kellogg was given a grant to test the theory of nature vs. nurture. Since his wife had recently given birth to a baby, he decided to use his baby for a controlled variable in his research. To his surprise, it was not the monkey but his child who suffered from the experiment. After nearly a year, the human baby had failed to thrive in areas of human intelligence, even though the primate had long before advanced in areas of the human cognition. Not only was this an instance of a conflict of interest, it is a prime example of a research question that extends beyond the scope of the experiment (Kellogg, 1967).

The Ugly: Ambiguous

Overbooked: Researchers should be careful not to over extend themselves. Candice is a doctoral candidate working on a study that is concerned with H1N1. She has also taken on some research on the East coast examining species of ticks for Lyme’s Disease; inadvertently, Candice has overloaded herself. It is more likely than not, she runs the risk of not being able to handle all of the obligations of both projects. The ethical way to respond in such an instance is to choose one project to focus on at a time.

2 Conflicts of Interest & Commitments

Conflicts of interests or commitments are not inherently negative; rather, the way in which the conflict is managed is important.

Each body of scientific work has their own sources of reliability; for Psychologist, this continues to be the APA. The APA site serves as a central location for the accessing data archives relevant to our field (American Psychological Association,2013).


The Bad: Violations

The Ugly: Ambiguous

Posting: Important finds should be submitted to the APA. Gabriel is a Graduate student who has found a gene that can be manipulated to increase cognitive learning. This find may contribute enormously to the body of work within our field, and should be accessible for the continued advancement of it. It is submitted to the APA, which allows further research and development of the topic.

APA: Using articles and links found on the APA website has its advantages. In the case of two budding psychologist completing research papers during their Bachelor’s degree, Alex decides to rely on articles found on the APA website in developing her topic. John uses outside resources. Although both have the same amount of references and citations, some of John’s have been noted by the professor to be non-scholarly.

Dry Ideas: Some of the articles listed on the APA website can be redundant. There may be several hundred article with very similar topics. Mike Tyson notices this and decides against using any sources from the APA website or submitting any of his work to their journals. Instead, he finds a colorful site with exciting pictures at Pee Wee Herman Psychological Association and decides to apply for membership.

3 Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership

The APA site is designed as a central location for viewing and retrieving shared data archives relevant to psychological science.

“Three basic principles, among those generally accepted in our cultural tradition, are particularly relevant to the ethics of research involving human subjects: the principles of respect of persons, beneficence and justice.”

The Belmont Report

(The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 1979)


Project to Learn About ADHD in Youth (PLAY): PLAY is the CDC’s attempt to explain the etiology, treatment options, and comorbidity that exists in children with ADHD, a disorder that affects nearly 20% of school-aged children. This a population based study and has the potential to explain risk factors and develop resources from those suffering from this disorder (Centers for Disease Control, 2013).

Autism A similar project to uncover the effects of a Lactose and or Gluten-free diet on the behavior of children with Autism could produce similar results. If dietary logs are kept by the parents of children with Autism, in combination with behavioral outcome charts, we may be able to uncover the cause, and subsequently additional treatments for Autism. 1

The Bad: Violations

TGN1412: In 2006, Parexel International offered young men in London the opportunity to contribute to scientific advancement and make £2,000 in cash. This seemingly easy way to kill two birds with one stone, turned out to be a disaster for its participants. To participate in this study, healthy men were asked to take an experiment immuno-stimulant, TGN1412, which had never been used by humans. Less than a month after ingesting the test drug, 6 out of the 6 human subjects were nearly dead from multi-organ failure (Rosenthal, 2006).

No Consent: In 1996, FDA policies on informed consent was revised. Soon after, Baxter International Inc. initiated a study on a substitute for blood that was hoped to provide treatment with little imposition of harm. They did not inform participants that they were being subjected to an experiment. This had deleterious consequences for the near 50% of participants who died from the being administered the HemAssist (Japsen, 1998).

The Ugly: Ambiguous Medication Trials: Participation in any research which is meant to penalize a group or purposefully inflict harm to a group should be avoided by an ethical researcher. In the above mentioned example, students and immigrants were targeted by advertising featuring pool tables, video games, and checks. Indeed these issues should have raised some questions about the project itself. However, there is no way the general public could know that CD28 receptor, needed for binding of the drug, is less sensitive in primates than in humans (Rosenthal, 2006).

1 I myself have been using this approach to deal with my 2 year old son who shows early signs of Autism for the past 3 months with substantial success.

4 Human Research Protections

Research with human participants plays a central role in advancing knowledge in the biomedical, behavioral and social sciences.

Responsible Conduct of Research Quick Reference Guide For Psychologists

Health Research Extension Act of 1985 outlines the ethically acceptable treatment of animals used in research. Within the act, specific guidelines seek to prevent inhumane treatment, abuse, and limit species usage. In addition the terms of usage is defined.

Proper care must be given to animal subjects – Methods of care should correspond with the Animal Welfare Act.

Techniques to minimize pain and reduce discomfort - Any techniques that are known to cause pain in humans, are suggested to be avoided.

Note: Questions may be forwarded to:

Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), National Institutes of Health, Rockledge I, Suite 360, MSC 7982, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7982.

The Good: Proper Procedure For years, scientist have successfully used animal subjects in research. In many instances, using animals allows for many theories to be examine without experimenting on human subjects. There are many positive examples of animal welfare being ethically observed.

The Nobel Prize winning discovery of Insulin: In 1921 Dr. Frederick Banting and his protégé Charles Best took medical inquisitiveness to new heights. Through their experiments on canine subjects, these two pioneers of medicine were able to isolate insulin from the pancreas. This discovery was groundbreaking. Around the world, the quest was on to improve on their discovery. For diabetics, this discovery offered them a restored a quality of life and increased longevity. Although studies initially began on dogs, those used, were positive for diabetic traits and were therefore offered treatment as well (Nobel Media AB, 2009).

Human Understanding and Learning: It is known that chimpanzees and other primates are genetically similar to humans. For years, scientists have substituted human subjects for primate ones in an attempt to cure diseases and rationalize the treatment of disease. Studies conducted on primate subjects offers the promising hope for a vaccine for the HIV virus, as well as other infectious diseases like Malaria, and Dengue fever. Animal experimentation continues to find new ways to treat and manage chronic diseases including a plethora of cancers. Isolating genes that are noted initiators of cancers can be solely attributed to this practice. The downside of animal experimentation is the inherent suffering of the subjects. Nevertheless, if experimentation is in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act, it can be

5 Lab Animal Welfare

APA has and continues to support efforts to improve laboratory animal welfare through the implementation of policies and regulations that both maintain the integrity of scientific research and sustain the welfare of such animals.

beneficial to all, explicitly in the case of behavioral studies where physical suffering in subjects is minimized. Observing primates may prove to be one of the only ways to investigate new ways to implement behavioral augmentation techniques before they are used on humans. In this respect the concepts of cognition, rehabilitation, and development may continue to show areas for hope, particularly for parents with children who are affected in these areas (University of Washington, 2011).

The Bad: Violations

Primate Testing: It is estimated that 52,279 primates are experimented on in the United States. An additional 43,676 are estimated to be kept in laboratories for the purposes of breeding and conditioning. With the total number of primates reaching nearly 100,000, it is impossible to say that all subjects are treated humanely or ethically euthanized in a timely fashion. According to all-creatures.org, there are discrepancies in reporting births, disease, and deaths of primates from research facilities. At the University of California Davis facility alone, at least 100 deaths were overlooked in their report of necropsies (Budkie, 2002).

The Ugly: A mbiguous

Animal Models for Assessing Countermeasures to Bioterrorism Agents: Since September 11, 2001 terroristic attacks have been in the forefront of American politics, media, and housed fear in the hearts of people around the world. This has raised the issue of possible future attacks, especially those intended to affect large populations without discrimination: bioterrorism. Animals are used to test the response of many agents used in bioterrorism. In order to obtain as many possible manifestations of the chemical, large quantities of chemicals are administered to thousands of animals. Although the human-pathogen interaction of animals has shown inconsistency when compared to their effects on human subjects, it is the only way for countermeasures to be discovered that have the potential to save human lives (National Research Council, 2011).

Ivan Pavlov’s Dogs: Pavlov’s research not only advanced the field of Psychology, but also allowed for unprecedented finds in Medicine and Reflexology. Through his research, many conditioning techniques were created for behavioral modifications. His discoveries across the fields of science eventually earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1904. Although it is speculated that to observe long term behavioral pattern Pavlov kept his dogs healthy, little can be said of the dogs who may have been missing salivary glands, their quality of life, or lack thereof.

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6 Mentoring

Mentoring a less-experienced researcher is a professional responsibility of all scientists. The ultimate goal of the mentor is to establish the trainee as an independent researcher.

There is a 5 step process to the mentoring process: Purpose is at center of the process and is where mentoring should begin. This is followed by Engagement or securing a Mentor, Planning, Emergence, and ends with Completion or achieving the intended purpose (Donna Wheeler, 2013).


The ethnically balanced technique of mentoring can be exhibited during the initial phases of doctorial research. This is the time when the fellow gains confidence in their work and gets the opportunity to explore their unique interest. At this point in a career, the relationship with the Mentor has the potential to do much more than shape the future scientist, but model the actual function of this relationship itself. 2 In the science field, mentoring is the responsibility of all experienced practitioners. This practice is meant to provide a reciprocal relationship between each party and combine new outlooks with older ones (American Psychological Association, 2013).

Mercury in Fish, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles: In securing samples of fish to test for the presence of heavy metals, a celebrated international Marine Biologist insist that researchers be mindful of collecting exact numbers of samples as not to disrupt any ecosystems. He explained the intricate balance of the ocean life and how it could affect human populations. During the testing phase of the research, he clearly demonstrates the extraction of muscle tissue from the spinal cord of samples and models how tests must be administered to retain validity of data.

Science Fair: One way public schools incorporate the application and use of the scientific method early on is through encouraging students to participate in local and national science fair competitions. This is one of the earliest relationships through which the concept mentoring is introduced. Examining this example, the basic nature of the mentor as a willing advisor is ascertained.

The Bad: Violations

Any situation in which boundaries are not maintained between the mentor and the trainee would be an ethical violation of the relationship. In addition, certain relationships may taint the validity of research.

Dating: To date a trainee is a direct violation of most codes of ethics. Many institution have policies strictly prohibiting such acts and participation in such may result in termination of research or a discontinuation in employment.

Intentional Misinformation: A mentor who provides intentional misinformation, especially where it is beneficial to themselves, is a direct ethical violation. The field of science is built on accuracy. The concept of accuracy becomes increasingly important in the areas where research is concerned. In some cases, the life of a program is dependent on the accuracy in reporting from scientific research. Tax dollars are used to fund many aspects of research. Therefore, a violation could be punishable by law.

The Ugly: Ambiguous Family: Working on with research with family members may present ongoing issues during research.

Personal issues may arise that prevent completion of work, interfere with the researcher’s ability to perform, and as a consequence, effect the validity of the research.

2 Dr. Bruce Davidson, a Marine Biologist, was my mentor during my doctorial research. He later became a close colleague and my friend. He supervised my crew while we collecting samples of fish and explained proper techniques. He was an excellent model of the proper way this relationship should be.

The importance of Peer Review in research is immeasurable; it serves as a vehicle of quality control. Peer Review does however, have its limitations; mainly the peers! Smaller agencies may be forced to have submissions reviewed by less than qualified experts. Other boards of reviewers may exist outside of nationally accredited boards, as in the case of doctors of alternative medicine.


The Bad: Violations

The Ugly: Ambiguous

Highly Competent Peers Of course when administered properly the Peer Review tool can be highly effective in checking references, examining empirical evidence, and pointing out mistakes to the researcher. This can usually be obtained through little efforts having materials reviewed by competent peers.

Disregarded References If peers disregard references or fail to investigate them, this can alter the benefits of the review.

Unqualified Peers Peers who are unexperienced or disqualified in their fields should not be part of a Peer Review panel. Even though some people feel as if they are experts in a certain area, there are a set criteria that have been established to determine that.

Unrelated Field Although some reviewers may be qualified to review materials in their respective field, it does not make them an acceptable choice to review all materials. Obtaining a PhD in Microbiology, does not make one knowledgeable in the areas of Genetics. Therefore, in order to concrete the validity of the Peer Review, it must be handled by the appropriate institutions.

7 Peer Review

Positive peer reviews contribute to increased funding opportunities, academic advancement and a good reputation.


Responsible Authorship: Steve Young completes his research on the mental disorder that develop in out of shape football players. He gives credit to all of his assistants and techs, sites all of his sources, and publishes the study in an APA publication. He excited about this subject getting the publicity it deserves and hopes to help some of his friends like Jerry Rice and Brett Farve.

The Bad: Violations

Less Publishable Units: To rule out the possibility of rejection of his work, Thomas decides to publish his findings in the Michael Jackson Journal of Psychology.

Failing to Give Credit: Venus completes her research at the same time as Serena. They are sisters and they enjoy competing and trying to outdo each other. Venus decides that she will take all the credit from her research and not attribute any of it to other sources.

The Ugly: Ambiguous

Duplication: Ashley is reaching the end of her Master’s Degree program. She is considering continuing to obtain her PhD. She has no particular interest and has no idea what she will study. She overhears a classmate complaining that “too many people study the effects of drug use in pregnant women”, and quickly decides. She will also research this area. She figures there is no reason to recreate the wheel and she can piggy-back off other researchers.

8 Publications Practices & Responsible Authorship

Although researchers can disseminate their findings through many different avenues, results are most likely to be published as an article in a scholarly journal.

Types of Misconduct Fabrication Falsification Plagiarism Unintentional Error vs. Intentional misconduct Protection of Whistleblowers


Whistleblowers: There are no types of proper misconduct but there are correct procedures for handling such infractions. The Humane Society has been a whistleblower on many activities of the animal research operations in the United States and abroad. Many government institutes have policies to protect whistleblowers. According to whistleblowers.gov, whistleblowers are protected from discrimination and adverse actions. These adverse actions include but are not limited to:

Firing, laying off, or demotions

Blacklisting

Denial of normal benefits, promotions, etc.

General harassment due to the act (OSHA, n.d.).

The Bad: Violations

Falsification: In 1998 the New England Primate Center reported using over 1800 primates to the USDA. For some strange reason, in that same year, Harvard University reported a seemingly lower approximation of only 330 primates in use. This an unfortunate example of an ethics violation. It would seem that someone must have misplaced the paperwork on around 1500 monkeys that were housed by the University. However, it is more likely a case of falsification of documentation concerning the subjects (Budkie, 2002).

Fabrication: A researcher begins a project and realizes that his thesis will be proven wrong. He then “tweaks” results to confirm and agree with his thesis.

Plagiarism: A research assistant is asked to find supporting studies to compare result of an experiment with. Instead of properly citing the information he obtains, he records the results as if it was his own.

The Ugly: Ambiguous

Unintentional Error: The head researcher as at a reputable lab is diligently preparing an article on his experiment on T-Cell receptor binding. He has been working day and night to make sure that everything is just right. He knows that his result will show much promise in the area of AIDS research and hopes to help many people with the information he obtains. Growing tired from exhaustion, he inputs inaccurate data into his calculations.

9 Research MisconductInstitutions should have procedures in place to investigate and when appropriate report findings of misconduct to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). They should also have policies that protect both whistleblowers and the accused until a determination is made.

ReferencesAmerican Psychological Association. (2013). Responsible Conduct of Research. Retrieved from APA Website:

http://www.apa.org.proxy1.ncu.edu/research/responsible/index.aspx

Budkie, M. (2002). The Reporting of Animal Experimentation in the U.S.: Errors, Lies, and Contradictions. Retrieved from Stop Animal Exploitation Website : http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/articles-rep-anexp-elc-conc.html

Centers for Disease Control. (2013, November 21). ADHD. Retrieved from CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/research.html#social

Donna Wheeler. (2013, April). Mentoring. Retrieved from Donna Wheeler Website: http://www.donnerwheeler.com/services/mentoring

Japsen, B. (1998, June 03). Baxter Reviews Blood Substitute. Chicago Tribune.

Kellogg, W. A. (1967). The Ape and the Child. New York: Hafner Publishing Company.

National Institutes of Health. (1985, November 20). Health Research Extension Act of 1985: “Animals in Research”. Retrieved from Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/phspol.htm#USGovPrinciples

National Research Council. (2011, 2011). Animal Models for Assessing Countermeasures to Bioterrorism Agents . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Nobel Media AB. (2009). The Discovery of Insulin. Retrieved from Nobelprize.org: http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/insulin/discovery-insulin.html

OSHA. (n.d.). Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retrieved from Whistleblowers Website: http://www.whistleblowers.gov/

Rosenthal, E. (2006, April 7). When Drug Trials Go Horribly Wrong. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/07/world/europe/07iht-drug.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. (1979). The Belmont Report. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services.

University of Washington. (2011). Primate Resources. Retrieved from Washington National Primate Research Center: http://www.wanprc.org/primate-resources/iprl/

APA Ethical Guidelines

Health & Medicine

Transcript of APA Ethical Guidelines