Research Ethics Projects

The Office of Research Ethics

This site, Research Ethics Projects aims to raise awareness about the number of projects at work to help clarify the meaning of research ethics in our society we live in today. Our aim is to generate discussioin and act as a window into the general public's further understanding of research ethics.

Research involving human subjects can raise difficult and important ethical and legal questions. This Project of Ethics Research aims to ensure that those conducting the tests and those being tested on take cation to ensure that research is being conducted safely. The field of research ethics is devoted to the systematic analysis of such questions to ensure that study participants are protected and, ultimately, that clinical research is conducted in a way that serves the needs of such participants and of society as a whole.

The scientific research enterprise is built on a foundation of trust. Scientists trust that the results reported by others are valid. Society trusts that the results of research reflect an honest attempt by scientists to describe the world accurately and without bias. But this trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct.

There are many reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research. First, norms promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error. For example, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting research data promote the truth and avoid error. Second, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among many different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness.