LESSON: Ethics in Experiments

About Ethics in Experiments

Research ethics are a consideration anytime there are human or animal test subjects. 

It is important to consider the ethics of research when conducting experiments and other types of statistical studies. Ethics are the standards for conduct that distinguish between right and wrong. They are rules to judge the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors on the part of the researcher.

Why is it so important to consider ethics in statistical studies? If a study is deemed to be unethical, the integrity, validity and reliability of the research findings can be compromised. The public, researchers, participants and other parties want to know that the study followed the appropriate guidelines for issues such as human rights, animal welfare, compliance with the law, conflicts of interest, safety, health standards and so on. If these issues are handled unethically the experiment can be harmful to the participants, the results unacceptable and can have lasting consequences for all involved.

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

Let's take a look at one of the most notable unethical experiments to take place in the United States. The uncovering of this awful experiment began talks by the government to outline ethical requirements for research studies.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment began in 1932 in Macon County, Georgia. Researchers wanted to know the effects of Syphilis in African-American males if it went untreated. Watch the following video to learn more about this experiment.

The public was outraged that researchers would not treat the men's diseases even though it was found in the 1940's that penicillin was an effective treatment and could cure them. By the end of the study 128 participants had died due to exposure of the disease. In addition, 40 of the men's wives contracted syphilis and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis.

The research lasted 40 years before it was uncovered and brought to the attention of the United States government. Five years later, the Belmont Report was published.

The Belmont Report

In response to the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and also to the Nazi War Crimes uncovered in the Nuremberg Trials in 1945, the United States government felt urgency to develop rules for ethical research with human subjects. A committee was made and The Belmont Report was released. 

Learn more about what the report said by watching the following video:

Five Unethical Experiments You Couldn't Do Today

Fortunately the Belmont Report and the establishment of the IRB has eliminated most harmful research. But before they were around, plenty of unethical experiments had taken place in our country.

In the following video you will learn about 5 studies that took place before the Belmont Report was published that couldn't be done today due to the new ethical guidelines. The narrator speaks about these studies in terms of psychology, but they are applicable to the purposes of our discussion on ethics in experiments.