This book deserves to be read widely by researchers who work with human participants or subjects.  Participants or subjects of research may also find that this book provides valuable insights about the ethical standards of research.  People who work with ethics committees (IRBs and the like) will find this a beneficial, although at times predictable, reference point.  Kimmel gives a comprehensive guide to the ethical issues in research with human participants.  While his central focus is on behavioral research, the book discusses ethical issues underpinning much non-medical research and thus covers an extensive range of issues concerning research undertaken through universities and public institutions. 

Any summary needs to be selective and will miss out some material, and this is the same for Kimmel.  One frustration is that the table of contents provides only chapter headings; a more detailed table of contents (including topic sub-headings) is desirable and would enable more effective ongoing use of the book as a reference source.

The substance of the book is presented in 10 chapters and 3 appendices.  Kimmel begins by demonstrating the need for current approaches to research ethics approval on the basis of an historical investigation into research where there has not been full disclosure to subjects.  Chapter 2 extends this discussion to provide a summary of the principles and regulations that guide behavioral scientists, including discussion of research fields such as sociology, anthropology and psychology. 

Chapter 3 presents a detailed discussion of ethical issues in laboratory research, mainly of psychological research.  Kimmel identifies deception as the core issue and most of the chapter is devoted to unravelling this.  The discussion is certainly interesting, but seems somewhat overdone when the next chapter (4) is entirely devoted to the issue of deception.  As a consequence, Kimmel misses discussion of a number of wider ethical points relevant to laboratory research including the artificial nature of the setting, the relationship between researcher and subject, nature of the research, issues such as identifiably and confidentiality, the management of data, the use of statistics and reporting of results.

A solid discussion of ethics in field research is provided in Chapter 5.  Research in areas such as ethnography and internet research are canvassed, and ethical issues — in particular those related to privacy and different approaches to observation — are discussed.  Unfortunately the section on informed consent in field research is far too short (less than 1 page).  Discussion of alternate approaches to consent, including forms of implicit consent would have been helpful.  There is much of value in this chapter, and Kimmel continues to back the discussion with a variety of strong examples of research projects and practice.  The section on internet research could have been expanded to include more discussion on themes such as observing people’s behavior (and possible issues such as net-stalking) as well as protocols for internet surveys and investigations.

Therapeutic research reaches far beyond formal drug trials and the like.  There are many different types of research which investigate therapeutic impacts or benefits e.g. psychological therapies, using control groups in community studies, or establishing which type of preventative measure works best.  In each case, there are individuals who can remain untreated or who may in some way be disadvantaged by virtue of their participation in the trial.  Kimmel’s discussion in Chapter 6 provides an important entry point to these issues.  Kimmel also discusses the special issues which need to be considered for professionals such as counselors who engage in research with their clients.  An exploration of organizational research provides yet another angle, which is extended by the discussion, in Chapter 7, of marketing and survey research.  The book provides a sound introduction to the ethical issues commonly raised in these fields. 

Again, Chapter 8 on the recruitment and selection of volunteers offers a strong discussion of the pertinent issues.  There is an examination of issues including the use of university subject pools, the use of volunteers (and what it means to volunteer), inducements, the concept of vulnerability and special populations (e.g. prisoners or children).  Some focus on ethical issues associated with studying other special populations such as people with mental illness or cognitive impairment, people who may be involved in illegal activities, people from other cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and indigenous people, would have been of interest.

The book concludes with a helpful discussion of the IRB (ethics committee) process and the issues that arise in this context.  Kimmel exposes some myths and allays fears about the system, as well as providing a discussion of the issues that can emerge and some of the wider context (such as dishonesty and fraud) that these committees sometimes have to address.  The appendices which follow round off the practical nature of the book by providing 1) an annotated list of and web addresses for ethics codes, 2) information about psychology and research codes of ethics from around the world, and 3) some sample research application forms and formats for informed consent.  Much of this information will unfortunately date quite quickly, and I hope that this does not detract from the overall usefulness of the book as a more enduring resource. 

By far the weakest section of the book is Chapter 9 on animals in research.  While there was once considerable behavioral research undertaken with animals, this is now minimal.  Unfortunately, the chapter is far too brief and at times comes across as naïve.  Its summary of the arguments for and against the use of animals is superficial, and it misses some important points.  For instance, Kimmel presents evidence that the overall use of animals in research is declining.  While this may be the case, it is controversial in that the rules under which animals are counted and reported have also changed.  So, for example in the USA laboratory rats and mice are not usually reported as animals — hence significantly limiting the overall numbers reported by institutions.  Issues such as alternatives to animal research, choosing the correct species, constructing appropriate research protocols, addressing pain and suffering, euthanasia, the 3Rs of animal use, the re-use of animals etc are at best touched on briefly.  Issues relating to different species or different kinds of animal research such as laboratory, wildlife, or farm based are not addressed at all.  There are specialist books in this area, and Kimmel would probably have been best served to leave out this chapter. 

The overall strength of this book is in its holistic approach, presenting a summary of a vast and important field and a practical approach to thinking about applied ethics in research.  It brings together insights from a huge range of areas and makes them accessible to readers who may not be immediately familiar with the literature in any of the individual areas.  Indeed, it opens up so many issues that each chapter could fruitfully be turned into a book in its own right.  The reference list provided is among the most comprehensive I have seen in this field, and is fairly up-to-date, which in itself this is a very valuable resource.

All in all, a book I enjoyed reading and will come back to as I grapple with some of the practical questions it raised.

© 2008 Erich von Dietze

Erich von Dietze, Ph.D., Manager, Research Ethics, Murdoch University, Western Australia 

Keywords: ethics, research