This unit examines appropriate practices for ensuring data integrity and the ethics of using human and animal subjects in data collection. Although experimentalists’ choices, such as good habits of note taking, in important ways shape the quality of research data, the responsibility of ensuring data integrity lies not on the experimentalists alone but on the entire research group. Proper rules, protocols, and culture in the research group are critical for generating high quality data. In addition, humans and animals provide important sources of research data, but the use of human and animal subjects in research also involves a plethora of ethical questions about respect, care, and protection. The institutional review board (IRB) and institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) are local agencies to ensure the implementation of federal laws and regulations for protection of human and animal subjects in research.
References
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