A Relational Perspective on Ethics-in-Science Decisionmaking for Research with Vulnerable Populations

Historical and Theoretical Bases of Applied Developmental Science

“…Rather, knowledge that is relational to its context, for example, to the community as it exists in its ecologically valid setting (Trickett, Barone, & Buchanan, 1996), is basic knowledge. Having an ontology of knowledge as ecologically embedded and contingent rationalizes the interest of ADS scholars in learning to integrate what they know with what is known of and by the context (Fisher, 1997). It thus underscores the importance of colearning collaborations between scholars and community members as a key part of the knowledge generation process (Higgins-D'Alessandro, Fisher, & Hamilton, 1998;Lerner & Simon, 1998a, 1998b.…”

Goodness-of-Fit Ethics for Multicultural Research

“…When embodied in federal regulations and professional codes of conduct, these largely Eurocentric, rationaldeductive, libertarian conceptions of the good (Prilleltensky, 1997) become moral premises that resist cultural challenges (Fisher, 1999). Chief among these is the utilitarian philosophy that the morally right action is the one that produces the most pleasing consequences (Mill, 1861(Mill, /1957.…”

“…The GFE model moves multicultural ethics further by posing several interrelated questions about these value premises (Fisher, 1999;Greenfield, 1994;Markus & Kitayama, 1991;Parham, 1993;Triandis, 1990) To ensure the responsible conduct of research, these questions require that investigators give careful consideration to the different cultural lenses through which they and research participants view the ethics of research involving ethnic minority populations. Indeed, one of the important gains in multicultural research ethics is the movement toward incorporating participant perspectives in the evaluation of research risks and potential benefits (Cassell, 1982;Fisher, 2002Fisher, , 2004Melton, Levine, Koocher, Rosenthal, & Thompson, 1998).…”

“…Drawing on established works on research ethics (Beauchamp, Faden, Wallace, & Walters, 1982;Freedman, 1975;Rosenwald, 1996;Veatch, 1987), Fisher (1999) identified a set of unchallenged assumptions based on traditional views of science:…”

“…Indeed, one of the important gains in multicultural research ethics is the movement toward incorporating participant perspectives in the evaluation of research risks and potential benefits (Cassell, 1982;Fisher, 2002Fisher, , 2004Melton, Levine, Koocher, Rosenthal, & Thompson, 1998). Co-learning is the GFE process through which participant perspectives are incorporated into the identification of ethical issues and construction of ethical procedures (Fisher, 1999(Fisher, , 2002.…”