Focus on Ethics in Research

Ethics in Research was the focus of Day two of CPUT's annual Research Festival, recently held at the District Six campus.

The festival stretched over four days and this year's theme was Relevant, Responsive and Focused Research and Innovation for Societal Impact.

Dr Jerome Kiley, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences' Human Resource Management Department, delivered a thought-provoking talk on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Research Ethics.

He said there was no straightforward answer to the question of AI and ethics.

Some of the ethical concerns discussed included privacy and consent, transparency and disclosure, data sensitivity, fair use and copyright, bias and representation, data security and anonymisation, and the impact on online communities.

The event also featured roundtable discussions, including one around informed consent, which touched on issues such as informed consent in research involving vulnerable individuals, when the process starts and when it ends, and the various elements of informed consent.

Prof Johan Bester, Associate Dean for Pre-clerkship Curriculum at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in the United States, delivered an online presentation titled: Autonomy as Ethical Principal in Research. Why it Matters and Present Challenges.

Some of the "take-home" thoughts that he left the audience with included:

• Vulnerable people must get special protection.
• Research involving children must consider the best interest of the child.

He said: "There are many different professional obligations for the researcher. They are not all reducible to autonomy. Autonomy is very important, but it's not the only thing you should be worried about. You should also be worried about beneficence, about justice, about risk reduction, and risk avoidance."