Planning Ethically Responsible Research: A Guide for Students and Internal Review Boards

This book provides readers with the practical knowledge needed to plan ethically responsible social and behavioral research. It includes: detailed instructions on development of an effective protocol; methods for handling issues of consent, privacy, confidentiality and deception; ways to assess risk and benefit to optimize research outcomes; and how to respect the needs of vulnerable research populations such as children and the urban poor, including those at risk from HIV infection.

Joan E. Sieber, a psychologist and Professor Emerita, California State University, East Bay, has specialized in empirical research on questions of scientific ethics, culturally sensitive methods of research and intervention, data sharing methodology, and scholarship on ethical problem solving. In 2001-2002, she was Acting Director of the National Science Foundation program Societal Dimensions of Engineering, Science and Technology. She is the author of eight books and numerous other publications including software and encyclopedia entries on ethical problem solving in social and behavioral research.