• livus@kbin.social
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      2 years ago

      @HorseRabbit I think “inconsistencies between the consent documentation and the research reported” could be anything from

      • fewer consent forms than participants
      • age and sex of consent form signatures don’t match participant cohort
      • consent forms do not consent to an aspect of the research process
      • consent forms from clearly illiterate subjects or indicate in some other way that subjects do not understand the nature of the research, and methodology does not deal with this.

      Take for example that retracted study where the authors basically state that their research on Uighur DNA “might be useful for the police”..

      If you said that about, say, African-Americans in a ghetto I think most people would be suspicious of the level of informed consent given and want to look into it.

      • Umbrias@beehaw.org
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        2 years ago

        I’ll also point out “the forms weren’t detailed enough to resolve the concerns raised” directly implies that not only were these sorts of inconsistencies then investigated, but that the forms didn’t provide information to allow the investigators to understand why (or why not) it was ethically performed.

        The paperwork isn’t there for no reason, if it isn’t sufficient to cya, it’s not actually doing anything for you beyond ritual, and you’d need to redesign your forms or accounting to correct that.

    • prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works
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      2 years ago

      The samples came from a population considered to be at risk for exploitation. So that raises a level of scrutiny.

      The researchers having ties to “public security” (police?) adds some credence that maybe there could be a conflict.

      “uncovered inconsistencies between the consent documentation and the research reported; the documentation was not sufficiently detailed to resolve the concerns raised”

      This to me sounds like the research used the blood in ways and for purposes that the consent forms did not specify. If you consent to foo and bar are they then considered to have consented to baz? That is what that statement sounds like to me.

      Another retracted study appears to be because the publication has taken a stance to not publish that kind of research, “genetic forensics” which to my understanding is an area fraught with ethical questions.

      I think the overarching issue here is that China hasn’t yet proved that they deserve the benefit of the doubt as it pertains to their handling of the ethics of these studies. In fact the mounting evidence says otherwise, which is why there is extra scrutiny.