Charge

The Ad Hoc Committee on Human Subjects will review and potentially propose new language
for the APSA Guide to Professional Ethics, Rights, and Freedoms, Section H (currently pp.27-28 of the “Guide”). The object is to identify broad principles of ethics relating to research on human subjects that can guide individual scholars in the design and practice of their research, inform institutional review boards about current standards and practices in Political Science research, and possibly form the basis for Association standards in areas of broad-based agreement. Although researchers interact with human subjects in different ways using different methodologies, the ad hoc committee will focus on broad principles that span the discipline of political science. Where strong agreement exists among practitioners of certain methods about ethical practices, the committee may seek to make specific recommendations. Any recommendations of the ad hoc committee will be reviewed by the APSA Governing Council for possible adoption in the Guide.