Planning Ethically Responsible Research

Extensively revised and updated to serve today’s needs for insight and solutions to the most vexing ethical and regulatory problems faced by researchers today, Planning Ethically Responsible Research, Second Edition guides readers through one of the most important aspects of their social or behavioral research: planning ethically responsible research. Authors Joan E. Sieber and Martin B. Tolich offer invaluable, practical guidance to researchers and graduate students to understand ethical concerns within real-life research situations, satisfy federal regulations governing human research, and work with the university's Institutional Review Board (IRB). The book includes an abundance of useful tools: detailed instructions on development of an effective IRB 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.

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.

Martin B. Tolich has a BA and MA in Sociology from Auckland University and a Ph D in Sociology from the University of California, Davis. He is currently Associate Professor in Sociology at Otago University, New Zealand. Martin has authored and coauthored numerous books on research methods and research ethics for publishers Longmans, Auckland, and Oxford University Press, Auckland. He has published extensively in journals in a range of areas including ethics, qualitative health research, and unequal protection for patient rights.