Research Ethics: Understanding the Importance

Research ethics encompasses more than just bad intentions and actions. It also involves socially acceptable practices that are later deemed wrong, accidents, justifying misdemeanor-level wrongs, overlooking new methods or technology, becoming involved in violations through the wrongs of others, unclear ethical choices, and psychological tendencies like self-deception.

Ethical guidelines can stem from the pursuit of truth in research by emphasizing the importance of honesty, transparency, and the full disclosure of information, as encapsulated by the phrase 'The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.'

Professional pressures such as the need to publish or perish, secure tenure or retain a job, keep up with peers, secure grants, and be the first to make a discovery can encourage shortcuts and ethical misdemeanors in research.

The moral foundations of research ethics include doing good for humans, animals, and the planet through the pursuit of truth and knowledge, respecting individuals, considering duties to animals and society, and recognizing the tensions that arise from these various obligations.

Imperfect actions that can lead to research ethics violations include socially acceptable practices that are later deemed wrong, accidents, justifying misdemeanor-level wrongs, overlooking new methods or technology, becoming involved in violations through the wrongs of others, unclear ethical choices, and psychological tendencies like self-deception.

Socially acceptable practices later deemed wrong, accidents, 'misdemeanor'-level wrongs that are justified, missing something with new methods or technology, becoming involved through the wrongs of others, unclear right course of action, self-deception and other psychological tendencies.

Publish or perish, tenure/retaining a job, 'keeping up' with peers, securing grants, being first to a discovery.

Doing good for humans, animals, the planet, future generations, etc. via pursuit of truth and knowledge, duty to respect individuals, possible duties to animals, obligations to society, various obligations deriving from tension with one another.

Ethical guidelines can stem from the pursuit of truth by emphasizing 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth' as a guiding principle.

Self-deception, socially acceptable practices that are later deemed wrong, accidents, 'misdemeanor'-level wrongs that are justified, missing something with new methods or technology.