Are students really human? observations on institutional ethics committees

Abstract

A handful of quotations will suffice to set the stage for the discussion to follow.

From the National Health and Medical Research Council (1988):

Before research is undertaken, the free consent of the subject should be obtained (p. 3).

Special care must be taken in relation to consent, and to safeguarding individual rights where the research involves … those in dependant relationships or comparable situations (p. 3). Volunteers may be paid for inconvenience and time spent but such payment should not be so large as to be an inducement to participate (p. 3). From the Australian Psychological Society (1986): Investigators must endeavour to ensure that participants' consent to be involved in the research is genuinely voluntary. (Section E. 7, p. 8).

Investigators must not exert undue pressure on potential participants for the purpose of securing their involvement in a particular research project. (Section E. 8, p. 8).

An investigator must not use a position of authority to exert undue pressure on potential subjects for the purpose of securing their participation in a particular research project. (Appendix E. 6, p. 22).