Ethics in Research Flashcards
7 cards from real STP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Ethics in Research flashcards as text
A scientist discovers an error in a published paper after peer review. The appropriate first step is to:
Answer: Contact the journal editor to issue a correction or erratum
Authors are obligated to notify the journal and issue a correction or erratum promptly when a non-fraudulent error is discovered post-publication.
Pre-registration of a clinical trial before participant enrollment is required primarily to:
Answer: Prevent outcome switching and selective reporting bias
Pre-registration publicly records primary outcomes before data collection, making it impossible to switch endpoints post-hoc to achieve significance.
Under HIPAA's Privacy Rule, a limited data set differs from fully de-identified data in that a limited data set:
Answer: Retains certain geographic and date information but removes direct identifiers
A limited data set removes direct identifiers but may retain geographic subdivisions below state level and dates, and must be governed by a data use agreement.
An investigator conducting a dual-use research of concern (DURC) study must:
Answer: Assess potential biosecurity risks and consult institutional biosafety and biosecurity oversight bodies
DURC policies require researchers to conduct risk-benefit assessments and engage oversight bodies to mitigate misuse potential while enabling scientific progress.
When an IRB waives the requirement for written documentation of informed consent, participants must still receive:
Answer: A verbal explanation of the study with an opportunity to ask questions
Waiving written documentation removes the signature requirement but does not eliminate the obligation to provide information and allow participants to make a voluntary, informed decision.
A mentor who publishes a student's thesis data under the mentor's name alone is committing which form of research misconduct?
Answer: Plagiarism and misappropriation of credit
Taking another person's ideas, data, or work without attribution constitutes plagiarism and misappropriation of intellectual credit, a serious form of research misconduct.
The concept of equipoise in randomized controlled trials means that:
Answer: There is genuine uncertainty in the expert community about which treatment is better
Clinical equipoise exists when there is honest, substantial disagreement among experts about the relative merits of interventions, ethically justifying random assignment.