Ethical Decision Making in Physical Activity Research

Can scientific studies that expose subjects to potentially harmful situations be justified if the subjects are volunteers?

Should students be required to participate as subjects in research projects developed to benefit their professors?

Can a single set of ethical rules apply to all research situations?

These and other questions come under scrutiny in Ethical Decision Making in Physical Activity Research. Written by a lawyer and physical educator, this book explores the important relationship between ethics and the research process.

The book begins with a discussion of the scientific method and basic parameters of ethical behavior, then focuses on ethical concerns that can arise in the following situations:
-The selection and formation of the research question

-The work of institutional review boards

-Methodology, including the use of human and animal subjects, data collection, and statistical analysis

-The presentation of results, including publication

-Measures used to prevent fraud and misconduct
Fifteen case studies highlight the text and help readers develop sensitivity toward ethical issues in research and how to think ethically. Researchers can use the case studies to help them learn to
-identify the ethical dilemma in question,

-determine the choices available for resolving the dilemma,

-evaluate the ethics of the actual choice made to resolve the dilemma, and

-decide on the most appropriate course of action.
The author encourages readers to consider potential ethical issues from the moment the research problem is contemplated until it has been studied and published. The book also describes how to discipline fraudulent researchers and proposes how to improve ethical conduct.

John N. Drowatzky, JD, EdD, is professor emeritus of exercise science in the Department of Health Promotion and Human Performance at the University of Toledo, where he has served on the faculty since 1965.

As both a lawyer and physical educator, Dr. Drowatzky has long been aware of the problems associated with professional ethics and the potential for abuse in the research process. This awareness, combined with a desire to increase public confidence in research and the people who undertake it, prompted Dr. Drowatzky to study the relationship between general ethical issues and specific research practices. His articles on the subject have appeared in such prestigious journals as Clinical Kinesiology and Quest. In addition, Dr. Drowatzky has chaired both the Ethics Committee of the American Academy of Physical Education and Kinesiology and the Ethics Committee for the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).

Dr. Drowatzky received his bachelor of science in physical education and social science from the University of Kansas. He went on to complete a master of science in physical education administration and a doctorate in scientific foundations of physical education at the University of Oregon. In 1979 Dr. Drowatzky earned a juris doctorate from the University of Toledo and passed the Ohio Bar exam.

Dr. Drowatzky is the author of nine books and more than 50 scholarly articles on a variety of physical education and legal topics. He is a fellow in the Research Consortium of AAHPERD and was a member of the International Society of Sports Psychology, the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, and the American, Ohio, and Toledo Bar Associations.

Dr. Drowatzky resides in suburban Toledo, Ohio, with his wife, Linnea. His favorite leisure activities include playing tennis and golf, reading, and traveling.