Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15725
Authors: Edward Asiedu; Dean Karlan; Monica Lambon Quayefio; Christopher Udry
Abstract: Ethics in social science experimentation and data collection are often discussed but rarely articulated in writing as part of research outputs. Although papers typically reference human subjects research approvals from relevant institutional review boards, most recognize that such boards do not carry out comprehensive ethical assessments. We propose a structured ethics appendix to provide details on the following: policy equipoise, role of the researcher, potential harms to participants and nonparticipants, conflicts of interest, intellectual freedom, feedback to participants, and foreseeable misuse of research results. We discuss each of these, and some of the norms and challenging situations of each. We believe that discussing such issues explicitly in appendices of papers, even if briefly, will serve two purposes: more complete communication of ethics can improve discussions of papers and can clarify and improve the norms themselves.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| structured ethics appendix (Y20) | improved communication of ethical issues (M14) |
| improved communication of ethical issues (M14) | better ethical adherence and research quality (C90) |
| role of the researcher in implementing interventions (C90) | ethical considerations (A13) |
| more thorough examination of potential harms (D18) | mitigate risks associated with research interventions (C90) |