The role of ethics in psychology research and practice

Introduction
Several ethical issues, dilemmas, and problems apply to various aspects of psychology, including educational and scientific practices. The expansive body of literature on ethical issues shows that ethical issues are normally multifaceted and usually pose societal, interpersonal, professional, emotional, and intellectual challenges to psychologists. Furthermore, every psychologist can act unethically and harm their clients. In brief, ethics is important in the field of psychology, for it guides psychologists and various aspects of the field they are married to.
Ethics, as a field, emerged from the inquiries about moral life by ancient Greek philosophers. The term ethics is now described as a set of principles or a system that can significantly alter previous considerations regarding choices and actions. Philosophers argue that ethics is a sub-discipline of philosophy that deals with the dynamics of what is right and what is wrong when making decisions. Concerning research, ethics is an evolving field; some of the research practices that were tolerated and supported decades ago are no longer considered appropriate nowadays (Walsh, 2015). Research, as with every human activity, is guided by the social, community, and individual values. Research ethics is a field that revolves around research guidelines, protection of subjects' dignity, and the documentation of the research designs, other information, and results (Walsh, 2015). This paper examines the important role of ethics in psychology, especially on research.
Role of Ethics in the Use of Others' Research
It is important to follow ethical norms, particularly in research, for several reasons. First, ethical norms support the objectives of the research, which include truth, knowledge, and prevention of error. For instance, ethical standards in research prohibit the misrepresentation, falsification, or fabrication of research data and, therefore, promote truth and reduce error. Second, ethical standards promote values such as fairness, mutual respect, accountability, and trust, which enable and promote coordination and cooperation among researchers and scholars and between different institutions. This is important because proper research almost always requires coordination and cooperation between different parties. For instance, ethical standards promote fairness and trust, which is important in studies that involve cooperation and coordination since without ethical standards and values such as fairness and trust, cooperation would be difficult; things such as data sharing would be difficult. Most researchers who contribute to studies also want credit for their work, and this has become the norm because ethical standards and values do not allow the stealing or use of other people's work without crediting them (Resnik, 2015).
Third, ethical standards are important in research because they make researchers more accountable. For example, the federal government and many institutions have research policies and ethical codes of conduct that researchers have to adhere to get the support they need from them, e.g., funding. If researchers violate the set ethical codes of conduct, e.g., they violate the rules that protect human subjects or use animals without necessary care; their funding can be cut. Fourth, ethical standards are important to encourage support from the public for research studies. Many people are supporting research studies and the use of funding to support them because they are aware that most researchers are guided by ethical standards and values (Simelane-Mnisi, 2018).
Finally, ethical standards are important in research because they encourage social and moral values, e.g., public safety, public health, compliance with regulations and the law, animal welfare, human rights, and social responsibility. Without such standards, studies that end up harming the public, subjects, animals, or the researchers themselves could be very common. For instance, there could be many cases of researchers fabricating or falsifying data during clinical trials resulting in the approval of drugs or medicines that could be harming many people right now. There could also be many cases of research studies that do not abide by biological safety and radiation safety requirements with tragic consequences (Simelane-Mnisi, 2018).
Role of Ethics in Dissertation Research
Many ethical issues can emerge when one is conducting dissertation research. Ethical issues usually start from problem identification to the publishing of findings. Ethical issues are usually very important to consider, especially in studies that involve human subjects because such studies require the protection of the subjects. Yet, most of the time, researchers are more concerned above the outcomes of their studies (Kjellström et al., 2010).
Dissertation researchers/ doctoral students particularly need to take into account ethical issues at the data collection stage. Normally, at the stage, researchers have to design a consent form to inform the potential participants of the purpose of their study, the risks, the benefits, and the part of their information that will be used. Also, even if participants sign consent forms, it is up to researchers to make sure they are not putting participants in the way of physical, legal, professional, emotional, or economic harm. In the United States, researchers have to follow regulations set by the Department of Health and Human Services when conducting dissertation research. The regulations include ethical standards that must be abided in studies with human subjects. Even though the standards protect humans in general, they include extra protections for prisoners, children, newborns, human fetuses, and pregnant women. This is the reason why doctoral students are more likely to receive approval from IRBs (Institutional Review Boards) when they avoid studies involving subjects who receive extra protections (Kjellström et al., 2010).
Doctoral students also need to take into account ethical norms in the phase where they interpret data. A biased or inaccurate interpretation of data is unethical. Therefore, researchers must avoid concealing, falsifying, fabricating, or modifying findings to make their results align with their pre-study objectives. Doctoral students must also do their best when writing dissertations to maintain the anonymity of the subjects in their study. This is the reason why researchers usually remove identifying information and use coding instead to maintain the privacy rights of their participants. Researchers also have to avoid utilizing biased language and labels in their studies and presenting the writings or arguments of other researchers as their own. Finally, dissertations usually require utilizing authoritative journal articles for support, and for ethical reasons, researchers need to cite the works they use to support their work, properly. Doing this prevents plagiarism and theft of the works of others (Kjellström et al., 2010). As it is evident from the above statements, there are many ethical considerations that doctoral students must have in mind when writing dissertations. This is the reason why most such students require assistance to ensure compliance with all ethical standards (Kjellström et al., 2010).
APA Ethical Principles
One of the most important ethical principles by APA is that obtaining written consent is necessary for all studies involving human subjects. This is important to ensure all potential study participants know the study's purpose as well as the risks and benefits. At the minimum, the consent form must provide potential participants with everything they need to know that can influence their decision to participate or not participate in a particular study. This includes the harms/ risks of participating in the study and their likelihood and their duration. The APA also has ethical principles protecting the privacy and encouraging psychologists to understand and to respect cultural and individual differences including differences in socioeconomic status, language, ability, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, culture, ethnicity, race, gender identity, gender, and age (Smith, 2003).
It is important to note that the APA Ethics Code specifies the duties and responsibilities of researchers conducting experimental treatment studies. Among the duties is to inform the participants and make sure they understand the experimental status of the treatment they are being subjected to and the risks. The code also states that researchers must inform participants of the use of control groups. How individuals will be divided between control and treatment groups, treatment alternatives they can opt for instead of the experimental treatment, and the compensation for participation/ the monetary costs. If the research participants cannot understand or comprehend such things, the person or persons responsible for them must in their place be provided with the information (Smith, 2003).
According to the Code of Ethics by the APA, psychologists are only allowed, not to ask for consent, when federal laws or institutional regulations say so or when their studies are logically expected not to cause any harm, e.g., when they are conducting archival research, using anonymous questionnaires, or studying routine educational practices or classroom management techniques (Smith, 2003).
Understanding the History of Ethics in the Field of Psychology
In history, many cases of unethical medical and psychological research can be found. Such cases and some recent cases of unethical studies have underscored problems with human rights, dishonesty, coercion, consent, and the handling of vulnerable groups. The cases of unethical studies and their harmful or shameful consequences made it clear decades ago that there was a need for ethical codes and standards. This led to the development of ethical codes. Among the most prominent pioneer ethical codes was the 1947 Nuremberg Code. The code was informed by the revelations of the types of research Nazi Germany scientists were conducting on human subjects without their consent and approval, and with total disregard for human rights, dignity, and safety. This is the reason why one of the most important elements of the Nuremberg Code is to require researchers to obtain voluntary consent from human subjects (Hardicre, 2014).
Therefore, it is the unethical research studies in the past with disastrous consequences that led to the development of pioneer ethical standards and codes that are still in force today. Many more international and professional ethical standards have been developed since the 1947 Nuremberg Code, and they guide different types of research today. Without the codes and the consent given, probably many of the drugs, medicines, and treatments currently used could be nonexistent. Therefore, researchers and psychologists must continue observing ethical codes and standards to continue protecting human subjects and to ensure human subjects continue participating in research for the betterment of the human race (Hardicre, 2014).
References
Hardicre, J. (2014). An overview of research ethics and learning from the past. British Journal of Nursing, 23(9), 483-486.
Kjellström, S., Ross, S. N., & Fridlund, B. (2010). Research ethics in dissertations: ethical issues and complexity of reasoning. Journal of medical ethics, 36(7), 425-430.
Simelane-Mnisi, S. (2018). Role and importance of ethics in research.  Ensuring research integrity and the ethical management of data (pp. 1-13). IGI Global.
Smith, D. (2003). Five principles for research ethics. Monitor on Psychology, 34(1), 56.
Resnik, D. B. (2015). What is ethics in research & why is it important? Retrieved May 26, 2020, from https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm
Walsh, R. T. (2015). Introduction to ethics in psychology: Historical and philosophical grounding. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 35(2), 69.