Guide to Advanced Empirical
Benefits, Harms, and Inconveniences
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- 4.2.6. Deception
- 4.3. Informed Consent
| 4.2.5. Benefits, Harms, and Inconveniences The degree of acceptable research risk depends on several factors, as mentioned in our section on beneficence. Consequently, the judgment of what constitutes an acceptable risk can vary dramatically depending on the context of the research and the risks to which subjects from a particular group are typically exposed. For example, because of their situation, terminal cancer patients can incur more risk as part of research into a treatment for their cancer than would be acceptable, say, for healthy children. Consequently, when writing a proposal for ethics review, it is 250 N.G. Vinson and J. Singer advisable to clearly present the risks and benefits subjects will incur through the proposed research. However, we do not recommend that researchers try to anticipate ERB objections by listing a series of potential risks that will not arise out of the proposed research. This exposes researchers to being required to provide additional information on each of the measures put in place to eliminate those risks. It is important to recall that beneficence involves considering the relationship between risks and benefits for the subjects and society. Consequently, it is important to also clearly specify any benefit that may accrue from the research. 4.2.6. Deception It would be unusual for an ESE study to employ outright deception. The section on deception will therefore typically state that no deception will be employed. It is important to remember that partial disclosure is not deception. Partial disclosure and deception are discussed earlier in the section on informed consent. 4.3. Informed Consent In order to give fully informed consent, subjects must be given all the information needed to decide whether to participate in the research. In our proposal, we used two forms (see Fig. 2). The first is a subject information sheet providing subjects with an understanding of the research process and their potential involvement. The second form is the actual consent form. Generally, researchers will bring two copies of the informed consent form to the subject. The subject will keep one copy for his reference, and return a signed copy for the researchers records. In participant/observation or ethnographic studies, where the researcher assumes the role of an SE, it is impractical (if not impossible) to obtain written consent from everyone the researcher encounters. Regulations offer some flexibility in the informed consent process (American Anthropological Association, 2004; Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al., 2005; Penslar, 1993) but ERBs have been reluctant to avail themselves of this flexibility (American Anthropological Association, 2004; Fleuhr-Lobban, 1994). Our suggestion to researchers is to attempt to ensure that every subject who is at risk of harm provide written consent, and to emphasize this to the IRB. Download 1.5 Mb. Share with your friends:
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