Abstract

Scientific research with human participants raises ethical problems. It is the purpose of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to set rules for such research. The Institutional Review Boards have the responsibility of protecting human subjects and setting an admirable standard for monitoring the ethics of science. But, when considering ethical behavior in research on human subjects, one often sees a pendulum action between the extremes of protection of humans at all costs and the attainment of scientific knowledge at all costs. Researchers must not only convince the public of the scholarship value of the research but also demonstrate that it measures up to good ethical standards. My objective is to provide an analytical framework that will assist the resolution of ethical problems arising from research involving human subjects by analyzing ethics codes and principles of Institutional Review Boards, problems for human research studies, and issues involving scientific quality. All researchers, undergraduate, graduate, and professional, must follow ethical principles in order to satisfy Institutional Review Boards' requirements. Researchers and administrators must become educated in remaining sensitive to two competing forces in research: the need to know versus the respect for the individual's rights to privacy, safety, dignity, and autonomy. Going through the IRB process will enlighten and sensitize researchers to the ethical issues involved in conducting research with humans. Overall, research approved by an IRB will better protect the welfare of subjects than research not approved by an IRB. Even though the process may be a battle, the educational experience of the undergraduate researcher is enhanced. Because of the importance of this information to human research studies, I address this research toward future researchers and administrators. .