As professionals, we must be aware of our ethical responsibilities when engaged in research and testing. The purpose of this paper is threefold: 1) to increase the reader's awareness of some of the issues specific to our discipline, 2) to provide some guidelines and references regarding the use of human subjects, and 3) to increase the dialog in this critical area. The material discussed focuses on Federal Regulations related to the protection of human subjects. The changing role of the human subject from “research material” to “participant partners” is also discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdairJ.G. (1973). The human subject: The social psychology of the psychology experiment. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co.
2.
AdairJ.G. (1988). Research on research ethics. American Psychologist, 43(10), 285–826.
3.
American Psychological Association. (1992). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 47(12), 1597–1611.
4.
BittnerA.C.Jr.BramwellA.T. (1992). Subjects in human factors: Evaluation of subject-condition (S x C) interactions. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting. 1232–1236.
5.
BittnerA. C.Jr.HarbesonM. M.KennedyR. S.LundyN.C. (1986). Assessing the human performance envelope: A brief guide (SAE 851776). SAE Transactions, 6, 375–385.
6.
BlanckP.D.BellackA.S.RosnowR.L.Rotheram-BorusSchoolerN.R. (1992). Scientific Rewards and conflicts of ethical choices in human subjects research. American Psychologist, 47(7), 959–965.
7.
BramwellA. T.BittnerA. C.Jr.MorrisseyS. J. (1992). Repeated measures analysis: Issues and options. International Journal of Ergonomics, 10, 185–197.
8.
ChristensenL. (1988). Deception in psychological research: When is its use justified?Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14(4), 664–675.
9.
Defense Nuclear Agency. (1994). Nuclear test personnel review (Fact Sheet of Jan 14, 1994). Alexandria, VA: Defense Nuclear Agency.
10.
Department of Defense. (1983). DOD Directive: 3216.2: Protection of human subjects in DOD-supported research. Washington DC: DOD.
11.
Department of Health, Education and Welfare. (1979). The Belmont report: Ethical principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioral research. Washington, DC: HEW.
12.
GishK. (1990). Model of visual degradation due to glare. Proceedings of the 61st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association. Washington, DC: Aerospace Medical Association.
13.
Government Printing Office. (1949). Trials of war criminals before the Nuerenberg military tribunals under Control Council Law No 10 (Vol. 2). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
14.
Health and Human Services. (1991). Code of Federal Regulations, Title 45, Part 46: Protection of human subjects. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services.
15.
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. (1993). Code of Ethics. Human Factors Society, 1993, Directory and Yearbook, 357–358.
16.
KantowitzB. H. (1992). Selecting measures for human factors research. Human Factors, 34, 387–398.
17.
PattulloE.L. (1987). Exemption from review, not informed consent. Institutional Review Board, 9(5), 6–8.
18.
RosenthalR.RosnowR. L. (1991). Essentials of Behavioral research. New York: McGraw-Hill.
19.
RosnowR. L.Rotheram-BorusM.J.CeciS. J.BlanckP.D.KoocherG. P. (1993). The Institutional Review Board as a mirror of scientific and ethical standards. American Psychologist, 48(7), 821–826.
20.
RussellW. M. S.BurchR. L. (1959. Principles of humane experimental technique. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
21.
StanleyB.SieberG.B.MeltonG.B. (1987). Empirical Studies of ethical issues in research: A research agenda. American Psychologist, 42(7),735–741.
22.
VeatchR.M. (1987). The patient as partner. Bloomington, Indiana University Press.
23.
WeissM. S.MatsonD. L.MawnS. V. (1989). Guidelines for safe human exposure to impact acceleration, Update A, NBDL-89R003. New Orleans, LA: Naval Biodynamics Laboratory.
24.
WhinneryJ. E.HamiltonR. J. (1991). Naval Air Development Center medical standards for research subjects exposed to hazardous aerospace environments. NADC-91035-60. Warminster, PA: Naval Air Development Center.
