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• 1 media/RestrictedDataset.PNG 2022-03-03T14:31:10-08:00 Introduction to Data Ethics 13 plain 2022-10-31T08:22:27-07:00 Philosophically, there are 3 ethical principles for human subjects research. These principles are outlined in the Belmont Report, a federal work created in 1979 as a guide to protect human subjects in research and referenced often in IRBs. You won’t have to know these principles by heart, but understanding how these principles relate to people who underlie your data should help to guide any actions you take when sharing data.
  Beneficence—Conduct research in ways that maximize benefit and minimize risk. Such as designing experiments with as little risk as possible.
  Respect for persons—Treat people with consideration that they should make decisions in their best interests, and recognize some specific vulnerable groups do not have this power. Such as obtaining permission to share data about a person
  Justice—Committing to distribute the benefit and burden equally across a population. Such as whether or not you should pay people for participating.
  
  Some ways you can apply these principles as they relate to sharing data include:
  • Respect what was agreed upon in your participants’ Informed consent forms
  • Share data and results back to the community of your population, and in a form they can use and understand
  • Share data to reduce the duplicating burden on communities that tend to get reached out to frequently for research studies
  • Consider how publishing or sharing may reinforce inequities, biases, and stereotypes about populations, so proactively learn about the context and populations of your topic and get input from those who’d bear risks.
  • Conscientiously remove re-identification risk.
  
  What we will not be getting into in this guide is data ethics as it relates to animals. But, be aware this is also a topic in relation to data ethics for data sharing! Sharing sensitive biodiversity observational data (such as geographic details about specific lions you’ve observed) could potentially impact poaching, disease spread, or habitat degradation! If you’ve heard of the IRB for protecting human subjects in research studies, the same office that handles IRBs in a university typically also has an Institutional Animal Care and Use application and research review board.
   

  Sources:

  • Gaddy, M., & Scott, K. (2020). Principles for Advancing Equitable Data Practice [Report]. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/principles-advancing-equitable-data-practice
  • National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. (1979). The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research [Report]. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/belmont-report/read-the-belmont-report/index.html
  
  
  
  
   
• 1 2022-03-03T14:51:34-08:00 Introduction to Data Curation 11 plain 2022-10-31T14:52:41-07:00 Alright, so how to share data? Meyer (2018) suggests you should be planning this from the very start, and throughout, your research project. She shares some tips for how to ethically share data.
  1. DON’T promise to destroy your data
  2. DON’T promise not to share data
  3. DON’T promise that research analyses of the collected data will be limited to certain topics
  4. DO get consent to retain and share data
  5. DO incorporate data-retention and -sharing clauses into IRB templates
  6. DO be thoughtful when considering risks of re-identification
  7. DO consider working with a data repository
  8. DO be thoughtful when selecting a data repository
  These are good baseline considerations as you begin preparing to share data. This OER will break down some of these tips in the following sections on Data Curation.
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  Activity: Construct a data ethics plan

  Take some time to complete some of the Data Ethics Canvas worksheet (link to worksheet) by the Open Data Institute (ODI). If you don’t actively have a data project right now, respond to the worksheet in regards to the type of data and research you’re interested in. The activity should get you to constructively think about what you may have to plan for to accommodate responsible sharing and reuse of research data. Look over the circles, especially the green circles in the bottom row.
  
  Questions to consider afterwards, based on your experience of this worksheet:
  • What was this experience like completing the circles in this worksheet?
  • If you’re with others, discuss how your answers may be different or similar between your disciplines, depending on what sorts of data you use in your field.
  • Did you find any of these circles particularly relevant for the type of data you might encounter in your subject area?
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  Sources

  • Meyer, M.N. (2018). Practical tips for ethical data sharing. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 1(1), 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245917747656
  • Tarrant, D., Maddison, J., & Thereaux, O. (2021, June 28). Data Ethics Canvas [Worksheet]. Open Data Institute. https://theodi.org/article/the-data-ethics-canvas-2021