Abstract
Some legal and ethical aspects of utilizing human subjects in research are discussed. Among these key issues are: (I) How does one make a fair judgment of the risks involved as opposed to the potential benefits to be gained? (2) Can one be assured of a subject's “informed consent”? (3) How can a researcher protect himself against liabilities arising from accusations of negligent behavior? As part of the answer, it is suggested that the Human Factors Society establish committees to recommend a code of ethics for its members and also review proposals for human research at the request of its members. Such provisions could be of legal and ethical value in the protection of its member researchers and would help establish and preserve a high professional recognition for the society's leadership in human factors research involving risk to the human subject.
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