Researchers involved in social and behavioral science may often put them at risk of either being identified or failing to get the right answers. There are several factors that can lead to such research failure. Sometimes, the identification of the researcher can be too risky as well.
Thus, special safeguards should be utilized to ensure the safety of the subjects as well as researchers. Those safeguards are
- Removal of all direct identifiers from the data: – It is probably the best solution to remove all the personal identifiers such as nationality, name, age, and other factors from the research data.
These data also include addresses, health data, diagnosis records, and medical reports, etc. This will not only protect your personal data from the subjects or the risk of threats but also provides a sense of freedom to subjects.
- Getting an authorized representative to provide signed consent for a vulnerable subject: – if you are unsure of the protection of the risks and the vulnerability of the subject during or after the research, a representative can be a backup. You may require an authorized representative to provide signed consent on behalf of the subject having vulnerability to risks.
The organization or the academic institute that is holding the research is responsible for such research. Thus, it is essential to make sure that the research meets all the necessary standards and requirements to a great extent.
- Monitoring the heart of the subject using ECG after administration of the study drug: – Sometimes, there may be a need to examine the subject’s heart after the administration of the study drug. This will ensure safety for the subjects having weak hearts or going through hypertension. The interaction during the analysis of social and behavioral studies can sometimes panic such subjects and may lead to a disaster and increase the risk.
- Getting a pregnancy test done before the study drug administration: – Study drugs can often have side effects on the subjects which are why this is an additional safeguard to ensure a successful study on the subject.
Those additional safeguards are included in the “Risks to Research Participants” section of the Human Subjects Protection Programs. Well, there are many more chances of risks in social and behavioral studies in certain circumstances. The wit and behavior of the researcher are crucial for such studies to deceive all the participants in the study as one among them.
One may need experience besides theoretical training as the real-time circumstances may change due to a ton of unexpected factors. Predicting those possible factors before a study is a challenging task even for researchers with years of experience.
The only possibility is to predict the consequences amidst ongoing study and react to it using theatrical knowledge gained from the research. Although additional safeguards can prevent some serious consequences to a great extent, one can’t rely on them completely. Instead, once and go through several other safety measures which are widely accepted and considered safe by the researcher as well.
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