Research in the human and social sciences and education: ethical questions raised by the Brazilian regulations

• Autor(a) principal: Campos, Regina Helena de Freitas
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng; por
• Título da fonte: Educação e Pesquisa
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/ep/article/view/166360
• topic: Ethics in research; Human and social sciences; Sciences of education; Dialogue; Bioethics; Ética na pesquisa; Ciências humanas e sociais; Ciências da educação; Diálogo; Bioética

The guidelines that regulate ethics in research involving human beings in Brazil, especially those that refer to the areas of the human and social sciences and to the sciences of education, are analysed in their relationships to bioethics and the sciences of life. The difficulties raised by researchers in the human areas in their dialogue with the interdisciplinary ethics committees are considered, including the possibility of disconnecting the authorization for research in these areas from the CEPs-CONEP system, the National System of Committees of Ethics in Research run by the National Health Board. Nevertheless, it is argued that the main focus of this system of ethics in research is the protection of the physical and mental health of the participants, which is considered a question within the area of bioethics and health, and broadly as a biopsychosocial process. It is also observed that the data collection techniques developed by the human and social sciences (interviews, questionnaires, observations or participant observations) are also utilized by the sciences of life. These considerations indicate that the dialogue between the areas, proportioned by the interdisciplinary composition of the ethics committees, is salutary and necessary for the good functioning of the system, despite the possibility, contemplated in the legislation, of specific committees existing for judging research ethics in the human and social sciences. It is proposed that new research be carried out for monitoring the functioning of the committees of ethics in universities and research institutions to perfect the regulatory system.