Lisa Chaney

Abstract
Horner, J., & Minifie, F. D. (2011). Research ethics I: responsible conduct of research (rcr)
historical and contemporary issues pertaining to human and animal experimentation. Journal
Of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 54(1), S303-29. doi:1092-4388(2010/09-0265
Ethical treatment of human and animal research models has always been at the forefront of the
research science community. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) covers historical and
contemporary issues pertaining to human and animal testing in comparative medicine and similar
communities. By being acquainted with the most common terms in the field such as, research,
scientific integrity, responsible researcher and responsible science, it is clear what expectations
stem from their official definitions. The history of the RCR movement starts in the early 1970s
with congress passing the National Research Act and the National Commission for the Protection
of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research being formed. These items were
developed for the increasing awareness of the ethical findings in science. Essential values in the
scientific process include truthfulness, trust, and best interests (in regards to the test subject
animal or human). These values are defined by what is expected of them by the scientific
community. Vivisection (nontherapeutic experimentation) is not a focus on one model or the
other both human and animal subjects are used for the procedure which is defined as cutting into
a live organism. In early scientific experimentation there was a dark era of nonconsensual
research in the U.S. This era dates between the mid 1930s up to the late 1970s. Vivisection was
commonly used for procedures and usually involved the mentally ill and orphaned children for
research models. In the early 2000s, the Office for Human Research Protections took over the
task of maintaining the compliance of regulations for federally funded research. Moving from
human research models more into animals the rise of humane treatment of animals in a
laboratory setting took root. The issue of animal welfare versus animal rights has always been a
main focus in the research community from the start of animal models being used. The universal
reasoning for animal testing is to further the sciences for illness in both humans and animals.
PETA (The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is one of the largest entities of
opposition to animals being used in research. There are many regulatory organizations involved
in the ethics of animal testing. These organizations include IACUC (Institutional Animal Care
and Use Committee) which is made up of approved volunteers from the research community and
a lay person from the outside community. The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture are also major entities in research laboratory ethics. Lastly the
research community thrives on the three Rs which are considered the golden rules of research.
These rules are, reduce, refine, and replace. Reducing the number of animals used in experiments
is always a focus of a good scientist. Refining experimental procedures to minimize animal pain
and suffering is a positive initiative for both the scientist who has happier models but also the
animals rights activists. Replacing animal subjects with non-animal alternatives when
scientifically feasible is a positive move to developing better models that more closely resemble
the intended target group i.e. tissues grown in a Petri dish.
Keywords: Animal testing, Vivisection, IACUC, Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

Lisa Chaney