Resources for Student Inquiry and Research
Specifications of Research Ethics
U.S. Federal Regulation Title 45: CFR Part 46 Protection Of Human Subjects
Subpart A: Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects
Subpart B: Additional DHHS Protections Pertaining to Research, Development, and Related Activities Involving Fetuses, Pregnant Women, and Human In Vitro Fertilizatio
Subpart C: Additional DHHS Protections Pertaining to Biomedical and Behavioral Research Involving Prisoners as Subjects
Subpart D: Additional DHHS Protections for Children Involved as Subjects in Research
APA Ethical Guidelines Section 8: Research and Publication
This complete Ethical Standards document sets forth enforceable rules for all conduct as a researcher or clinician. Section 8, on research with human and animal subjects and publication of research, is applicable to many.
The Belmont Report
Gives Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research
On July 12, 1974, the National Research Act (Public Law 93348) was signed into law, thereby creating The Belmont Report which attempts to summarize basic ethical principles of working with human subjects. It is the outgrowth of an intensive four-day period of discussions that were held in February 1976 at the Smithsonian Institution's Belmont Conference Center, supplemented by the monthly deliberations of the Commission that were held over a period of nearly four years. It is a statement of basic ethical principles and guidelines that should assist in resolving the ethical problems that surround the conduct of research with human subjects.
Declaration of Helsinki
Adopted in 1964 in Finland, this guidance to medical doctors in biomedical research involving human subjects was revised by the World Medical Assembly in Tokyo, Japan in 1975, in Venice, Italy in 1983, and most recently in Hong Kong in 1989. It directs that biomedical research involving human subjects must conform to generally accepted scientific principles and should be based on adequately performed laboratory and animal experimentation and on a thorough knowledge of the scientific literature.
Guide to the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
Federal law requires the humane use and treatment of vertebrate animals in research. Every institution that receives federal funding, as well as individual researchers, must comply with these regulations. The guide may be reviewed on numerous websites, or ordered from the National Research Council.
The Nuremberg Code
As a result of the Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Control Council Law No. 10, this code was developed to ensure the protection of prisoners against submission to human experimentation.
Oath Of Hippocrates (original version, 5th Century B.C.)
Before they begin medical practice or research, some physicians may take an oath to do no harm. Depending on where they earn their medical degrees, physicians may instead take some other oath or pledge such as the Physician's Oath to protect their patients.