Who’s Responsible for Research Ethics?

“Who’s responsible for research ethics? ” This paper asserts that aspirational, regulatory, and educational approaches to research ethics, albeit the most common ways institutions attempt to manage research practices, cannot predict nor guarantee ethical behavior among researchers. This researcher argues for a revolutionary change in academia where researchers not only accept responsibility for their behavior, but guide graduate students to become “active ethical agents. ” To accomplish this faculty must “out their ethics,” practice ethical reflexivity, and meta-ethical analysis, and ultimately ask themselves, “Why be ethical? ” The application of the proposed practices to ethics research education is also addressed