Ethical Issues That Are Raised - 1677 Words

Ethics Research ethics are concerned with analysing moral issues that are raised when people are participants in primary research. The objective of being ethical is to protect participants in research, through examining the ethical soundness of all aspects of research taking place (Miller et al. 2012). The research should be conducted in a way which has no effect on the welfare of participants. Aubrey (2000 p.156 cited in Mukerhji Albon 2010 p.34) defines ethics as â€Å"a set of moral principles underpinning a project’. This includes, analysing risk factors, protecting confidentiality and having informed consent (Oliver 2010). Denscombe (2014) maintains that potential ethical risks can occur throughout all methods of research. However,†¦show more content†¦Deontologists such as Kant (1724-1804) believe that ‘duty based’ ethics (known as the deontological approach) are concerned with the actions that people take, not the consequence of their action (Mukerhji Albon 2010). Deontologists believe that moral rules bind individuals to their ethical duty (ibid). Duty based ethics rules consist of, †¢ Doing the right action †¢ Doing it because it is morally correct †¢ Not doing the wrong action †¢ Not doing it as it immoral (BBC 2014) Duty based ethics maintains that individuals have a duty to do the right thing even if it produces more harm. This approach considers the consequences of any action (good or bad) is insignificant in comparison with having good morals when carrying out the action (Godfrey et al. 2000). Cohen et al. (2011) state the deontological approach is ‘non-consequential’ as it is believed you cannot justify a bad action, regardless of the outcome. Deontologist moral rules may include, †¢ It is wrong to steal †¢ It is right to keep promises †¢ It is wrong to lie †¢ It is wrong to kill (Randsome 2013). Oliver (2010) uses the Ten Commandments as an example of duty based ethics which are regarded important in today’s world. Therefore, considering the deontological ethical approach, it would be wrong to steal food to provide for people that are hungry. The deontological approach would regard this fundamentally immoral, whereas Sales