Vitamin PhD Podcast: Prof. Spencer Explores Ethical Responsibilities During Research
What are a researcher’s ethical responsibilities? In an episode with the podcast Vitamin PhD, BUSSW Prof. Renée Spencer was joined by neuroscience PhD candidate Luis Rameriez to talk about the importance of transparency in the pursuit of knowledge. Prof. Spencer draws on her experience as the chair of the Charles River Institutional Review Board, where she explains that at the forefront of any research should be the principle to “do no harm.”
Excerpt from “Navigating Ethics and the Impact Research Has,” originally published by Vitamin PhD Podcast:
The classic mandate in ethics is, ‘First, do no harm.’ We have to have that at the forefront of our minds, that we’re doing things that won’t harm people. If we can predict harm, then we ought to be mitigating it and doing something about it to prevent it from happening. So that’s the first mandate. But to make that happen, I think it requires transparency and respect. Those are at the core. It’s making sure that your study – whatever you’re studying, whatever form it takes – is designed in a way that creates safety for the participants. If you’re talking about human subjects, if you’re talking about people who are going to be participants in your study, then the study needs to be safe for them.”
Listen to the full podcast here.