Directory:Wikiversity/Wikimedia Ethics/The Ethics of Breaching Experiments/planning

This page is in flux, having been deleted, and recreated as part of [[Wikiversity:Community_

Review/Wikimedia_Ethics:Ethical_Breaching_Experiments|this]] review (March 2010)

Planning an experiment

Maybe have a look at w:Scientific method first, and make some notes about your intended experiment, it is unlikely to be reasonable at this time for you to plan an experiment here.

Technical 'how to'

It' also worth reviewing w:Blind experiment for information on why it's probably best for some experiments to retain some information in private until results are published ('Blind experiments are an important tool of the scientific method').

'The ethics of breaching ethics' - describing several possible ethical lapses

The word ethics is used to describe adherence to proper conduct and morality. In breaching agreed ethics a person is immediately guilty of improper conduct.

Moral duty

Often the particulars of ethics may be in dispute, is one thing proper conduct or is another thing proper conduct. A breach of ethics with such a view is a rebellious sort, a statement of right and wrong and, as viewed by the offending party, the fulfillment of a moral obligation regardless of the consequnces.

Immorality

Breaching ethics without the view that actions are morally correct or with the view that moral conduct is unimportant or should not be adhered to is immoral conduct.

Significance

Often in defining a breach of ethical conduct an allusion is made to the significance of an act, i.e. perhaps an act is so insignificant that it did not breach ethics, was committed innocently in play.