On the Ethics of Social Science Research During a Pandemic

Abstract

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant challenges for most aspects of life in 2020. Unsurprisingly, social science research has not been spared and also has to grapple with new challenges of a scientific and an ethical nature. This chapter focuses on four main ethical challenges facing social scientists conducting research in a pandemic as well as drawing out more general lessons for future research and science communication. The four main ethical challenges discussed in this chapter are (1) informed voluntary participation, (2) trade-offs between scientific interests and health, (3) the role and speed of institutional review boards, and (4) the communication of potentially applicable findings to policymakers. It is argued that these issues are of significant ethical importance in this pandemic and that the findings will generalize to many further disasters of similar proportions, especially when it comes to the speed requirement foisted on institutional review boards and the need for an ethic of science communication that is fit for emergencies.