ETHICS IN SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH: from foundation and integration to practical application

1. ETHICS IN SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH:from foundation and integration to practical application CANDICE RITA SADIA

2. FACILITATION OUTLINE: ETHICS 101: What/Why/When? INTEGRATING ETHICS: Considerations in Research Design & Constraints in Practice ETHICS IN CONTEXT: UofC and Tri-Council

3. WHAT IS ETHICS? WILL YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE? • NORMS FOR CONDUCT • COMMON SENSE • CODE OF ETHICS • RELIGION • ETHICS AND LAW ARE NOT THE SAME ETHICS 101

4. ETHICS DEFINED “Ethics has no substantive form, has no single method and is not the domain of any one discipline or individual. Rather, ethics is best characterized as a space, a region of turbulence (rather than conflict), where the space is defined by what is at stake – values, relationships, behaviour and human flourishing. This space contains many of the things that people care about, but about which not everyone can agree” (Kerridge, Lowe & McPhee, 1998, p. 6). ETHICS 101

5. SO WHAT WE’RE SAYING IS… Ethics is about: • Discourse; • Communication; • Social relationships; and • Politics. ETHICS 101

6. DISCUSSION TIME! Why is it important to adhere to ethical norms in research that involves human subjects? ETHICS 101

7. LANDMARK EVENTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH CODES OF ETHICS • The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial of 1947; • The Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972); and • The Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital Case of 1963. ETHICS 101

8. BASIC TENETS OF ETHICAL HUMAN RESEARCH • Voluntary participation & the right to withdraw • Informed consent • Confidentiality or anonymity • No harm to subjects • Benefit to the society ETHICS 101

9. Research in the social work code of ethics: comparing the nasw and casw • Surprisingly…. The Canadian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics offers very little about the role of social workers as researchers. • The National Association of Social Workers (US) Code of Ethics: • Promote, facilitate, and support research • Voluntarily participation & the right to withdraw • Participants’ access to supportive services • Benefits of research outweigh any foreseeable risks ETHICS 101

10. Research in the social work code of ethics… continued What do the NASW and CASW Code of Ethics share in common? • Cause no harm to subjects; • Consult institutional review boards (in the US) and research ethics boards (Canada); • Follow guidelines for informed consent; • Participants’ & Research Data confidentiality • Accuracy of Findings; • Ethical responsibilities to the broader society are separated from the research endeavour. ETHICS 101

11. INTEGRATING ETHICS INTO RESEARCH DESIGN WHY? • Integrity of results • Accountability “A study cannot be a good study unless proper ethical standards have been maintained”(Peled and Leichtentritt 2002). INTEGRATING ETHICS

12. INTEGRATING ETHICS INTO RESEARCH DESIGN… Continued HOW? • Risk V. Benefit analysis • Observation V. Intervention • Ethics from start to finish • The importance of peers INTEGRATING ETHICS

13. King, Henderson, and Stein (1999) Ethics as a based on moral principles (principalist paradigm) largely independent of specific circumstances. Ethics based on a view of ethics embedded in contextual relationships (relationship paradigm). VS INTEGRATING ETHICS

14. Types of impact • Physical • Psychological • Social • Economic • Legal INTEGRATING ETHICS

15. Basic Questions • How will you protect the anonymity of the participants? • How will you analzye the data? • How long will you keep the data? Where and how will you keep it? • What responsibility do you have toward your research subjects? • What ethical issues/dilemmas might come into play in deciding what research findings you publish? • Will your research directly benefit those who participated in the study? INTEGRATING ETHICS

16. Ethical conflict Mitigation strategies • Knowledge/reflection • Communication • Setting limits INTEGRATING ETHICS

17. INTEGRATING ETHICS

18. Constraints in practice SELF • Dual role (Landau 2008) • Boundary issues (Landau 2008) EXTERNAL • Funder rights • Political issues INTEGRATING ETHICS

19. Ethics in context:Research at the University of Calgary The University of Calgary has two research ethics boards, three Animal Care Committees and a Biosafety Committee. • Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB); and • Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) ETHICS IN CONTEXT

20. Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB) • Located in RS and RA and is administered under Grants and Administration. • Reviews and approves research with human participants for researchers in non-medical faculties. • Covers researchers in: Communication and Culture Education Engineering Environmental Design Law Veterinary Medicine Fine Arts Science Haskayne School of Business Humanities Social Sciences Affiliated Institutes Social Work ETHICS IN CONTEXT

21. compliance • The Research Compliance subunit assists researchers in meeting their regulatory obligations, when conducting research involving human participants, animals or biohazards. • All research, funded or not, that involves any of the above, must first be reviewed and receive approval by the appropriate certification committee. • Access to funds possible after all of the required certificates are in place. ETHICS IN CONTEXT

22. Tri-council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS). • Developed in 1998 by Canada’s three research agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). • This Policy expresses the Agencies’ continuing commitment to the people of Canada to promote the ethical conduct of research involving human participants. ETHICS IN CONTEXT

23. Tri-Council on research • Defined as an undertaking designed to extend knowledge through a disciplined inquiry or systematic investigation. • Research to benefit human society. To maximize the benefits researchers must have certain freedoms referred to as “academic freedom.” ETHICS IN CONTEXT

24. Tri-council on research ethics • With freedoms comes the responsibility; • Responsibility to make sure that research involving human participants meets high ethical standards that respect and protect the research participants; • In advancing the pursuit of knowledge while protecting and respecting human participants. ETHICS IN CONTEXT

25. video ETHICAL FIELD RESEARCH MIGRAM

26. Tri-council on conflict of interest A conflict of interests may arise when: • Activities or situations place a person or institution in a real, potential or perceived conflict between their duties related to research and their personal, institutional or other interests; • Researchers and students hold trust relationships with research participants, research sponsors, institutions, their professional bodies and society. ETHICS IN CONTEXT

27. Conflict of interest continued • Conflicts of interest may compromise independence, objectivity or ethical duties of loyalty; • May jeopardize the integrity of research and the protection offered to participants; and • May distract researchers, REBs and institutions from concern for the welfare of participants. ETHICS IN CONTEXT

28. Conflict of interest continued Conflicts of interests may arise from: • Interpersonal relationships (e.g., family or community relationships); • Financial partnerships, other economic interests (e.g. spin-off companies in which researchers have stakes, or private contract research outside of the academic realm); • Academic interests or any other incentives that may compromise integrity, or respect for the core principles of this Policy; and • Individual’s involvement in dual and multiple roles within or outside an institution. ETHICS IN CONTEXT

29. DIFFICULTIES FACED BY RESEARCHERS FOLLOWING CODE OF ETHICS • Ethical issues have always been a central feature in social work.  • Social workers have been concerned with matters of right and wrong and matters of duty and obligation.  • Social workers' concern with ethics has matured, moving from frequently moralistic preoccupation with clients' values to concern about complex ethical dilemmas faced by practitioners and strategies for dealing with these dilemmas. • Researchers may face situations where they experience a tension between the requirements of law and the guidance of ethical principles; and • Researchers themselves may be exposed to risks that may take many forms (violence, sexual assault, injury). ETHICS IN CONTEXT

30. Criticisms of codes of ethics • Several criticisms of professional codes of ethics were raised including: • Professionals often are unclear about the meaning and interpretation of some of the principles and how these translate into practice; • Codes do not offer guidance when goals and principles conflict; • Codes are irrelevant with practice being guided more by law and organizational procedures; • Codes are not being used in practice; ETHICS IN CONTEXT

31. Criticisms of codes of ethics continued • The language of the Code is difficult to interpret; • Insufficient time to critically reflect on the Code and heavy workloads; and • Less emphasis on the Code of Ethics because of overriding organizational policies and procedures, and a perception exists that the Code does not have the same weight and respect as these factors. ETHICS IN CONTEXT

32. Addressing ethical challenges Ask the following question when faced with ethical challenges: • What does my intuition tell me? Am I feeling stress or self-doubt about my chosen direction?  • Is there an established way that my colleagues would act in the same situation?  • Does my profession have a set of ethical guidelines? If so, do they suggest a course of action?  • Are there existing laws that apply? If so, what requirements do I need to follow?  • What are my personal values and beliefs? What guidance do they provide? ETHICS IN CONTEXT

33. Case Study In small groups, discuss the questions identified for your group (10min). Group reporting to the class (5min).