Greetings Dr. Research Advisor,
I am writing you in regard to my current research into the induction of new recruits
into a military training establishment. Thus far, all has gone well with the exception of
an incident I observed this morning. During my daily observations throughout the
training establishment, I observed two staff verbally degrading a new recruit while
they continually shoved down, struck him with various objects, and repeatedly forced
him to recite the institution's mantra while utilizing the aforementioned techniques to
incite error on part of the recruit, thus continuing the process. I am writing you to
express not only the concern for the current and future recruits, but my ethical
obligations instilled by the APA Code of Conduct and how I ought to proceed.''
First, during the 8-week course of this research, this is the first time I have observed
any behaviors or interactions remotely similar to what I witnessed this morning.
Additionally, there have been no mentions of safety concerns, fear of harm, or
descriptions by any of the other 44 recruits that would indicate use of the initiation
techniques that I observed today. That being said, I am beginning to worry about the
reactivity of the participants and whether or not the interaction I witnessed this
morning is a means for the staff to force the recruits to act, respond, and behave in
certain ways to elicit a specific outcome of my research. While everyone knows of
my presence, my role in being here, and the intent of the research in accordance
with APA code of conduct principle of Fidelity and Responsibility, I am wondering if
my presence is consequently violating the principle of beneficence and
nonmaleficence. Therefore, I believe one course of action I can take is reduce the
timeframe of my research and complete the research tomorrow and use 7-weeks of
data instead of the proposed 8-weeks. The main motivation behind the decision to
terminate the research early is due to the belief that my research has resulted in
harm coming to the recruits of my research. Furthermore, in order to minimize harm
in accordance with APA code 8.08 Debriefing, I believe cessation of my presence is
the best course of action.'
Alternatively, while my primary concern is the reduction of harm and safety of my
research participants, I also worry that the reactivity of the participants may have
skewed the potential findings of my research. Moreover, since the aforementioned
initiation techniques have been used on one of my participants, this raises the
question of the likelihood that additional recruits have received similar treatment
without my knowledge. Furthermore, while the military institution does not have an
explicit statement or description of how new recruits are trained here in order to enter
the military, I do not believe these actions align with the principles and ethical
obligations afforded to human research participants as stated by APA code 1.03
Conflicts Between Ethics and Organizational Demands. In addition to treatment of
this one recruit and potential similar treatment to other recruits, APA code 8.10
Reporting Research Results demands we do not publish fabricated data or data with
significant errors. While my data and current methods do align appropriately with the
procedures laid out in my proposal, I do believe that the integrity of this research has
been compromised considering the premise of my research is on non-corporal
initiation techniques. Furthermore, if I were to continue and publish my findings with
the premise of non-corporal techniques, I would be misrepresenting facts and
knowingly'engaging in research that may be causing harm which directly contradicts
principles, A (do no harm), B (acknowledge my presence may be precipitating harm),
C (misrepresentation of fact), D (my participants may be experiencing more harm
than benefits of my research), and APA codes 8.08, and 8.10.'
'Overall, I do believe the best course of action is to terminate and debrief my
research immediately and conduct exit debriefing tomorrow. Additionally, I am
unsure of the validity of my research given the potential reactivity from the recruits.
Therefore, I believe that extensive review of my data is needed in order to determine
the validity and potential research, scientific, and education benefits my research
could pose.'I look forward to discussing this matter with you further and
implementing an efficacious solution.
'
Respectfully,
'
American Psychological Association. (2017).'Ethical principles of psychologists and
code of conduct'(2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017).
https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/
