Ethical Considerations

Ethics to consider

• protection from harm

• informed consent

• withdrawal rights

• deception

• confidentiality

• privacy

• voluntary participation

• debriefing

Protection from harm

Keeping participants safe from any mental and physical harm

Informed Consent

Making sure participants are well informed of the procedure and get their full permission in their right states of mind

Withdrawal Rights

Participants are able to withdraw from the experiment at any time

Deception

Tricking or lying to someone (unless they have been informed prior t the experiment)

Confidentiality

Strictly confidential- not allowed to share personal information with others

Privacy

Not using or divulging any other personal data without the participants’ explicit, separate and individual consent

Voluntary Participation

Participants have come forward and offer to participate in the experiment

Debriefing

Provides participants with a full explanation of the hypothesis being test, procedures to deceive participants and the reasons why it was necessary to do so

Examples of unethical experiments

• Little Albert

• The Monkey Drug Trials

• Operation Midnight Climax

Little Albert

The experiment caused a baby to associate cute and fluffy objects tp loud sounds, which mentally traumatized him

The Monkey Drug Trials

Monkeys were taught how to inject themselves drugs. They were then left alone with the injections, in which the monkeys injected themsel;ves and overdosed

Operation Midnight Climax

Experiments were conducted on random, unwilling individuals, where they were slipped random substances. There were no voluntary participation, informed consent, or any ethical rules the experimenters followed

Animal ethic principles

• provides a framework for more humane animal research

• embedded in international law and are the basis of approval for animal research or testing

Types of animal ethic principles

• replacement

• reduction

• refinement

Replacement

• avoiding/replacing the use of animals in areas where they otherwise would have been used

• the use of predictive and robust models and tools to address scientific questions without the use of animals

Example of replacement in animal ethics

• full replacement include the use of human volunteers, tissues, and cells, mathematical computer models, and cell lines

• partial replacement is the use of animals that are considered incapable of experiencing suffering

Reduction

• minimizing a number of animals used consistent with scientific aims

• ensure reducing the number of animals used is balanced against any additional suffering that may be caused by repeated use

Example of reduction in animal ethics

• micro sampling of blood- small volumes enable repeat sampling in the same animal

• sharing data and resources between research groups

Refinement

• minimizing pain, suffering, distress, or lasting harm that subjects may experience

• animal pain and suffering can alter behaviour, physiology, and immunology which leads to variation in results, affecting the reliability and repeatability of studies

Example of refinement in animal ethics

• advancing research animal welfare by exploiting latest technologies

• use of appropriate anaesthesia/analgesia to minimize pain

• train animal to cooperate which minimizes distress