The use of control group in research design: the ethical challenge in the population with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Susana Diz; Miguel Jacinto; Diogo Monteiro; Rui Matos; Dulce Esteves; Aldo Matos da Costa; Raul Antunes

doi:10.6063/motricidade.30653

The use of control group in research design: the ethical challenge in the population with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Authors

Susana Diz Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior
Miguel Jacinto ESECS—Polytechnic Institute of Leiria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1727-3537
Diogo Monteiro ESECS—Polytechnic Institute of Leiria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7179-6814
Rui Matos ESECS—Polytechnic Institute of Leiria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2034-0585
Dulce Esteves Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior
Aldo Matos da Costa Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0296-9707
Raul Antunes https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5485-9430

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6063/motricidade.30653

Keywords:

control group, experimental group, ethical challenges, intellectual and developmental disabilities, research design

Abstract

Ethics studies moral values and defines good and bad conduct in research and researchers. In research with human beings, it plays a crucial role in imposing limits, reducing abuses, and providing fair lines of research. The use of control groups in this type of research has been addressed and seems to be an effective method to assess the effects of an intervention, but it has raised doubts about the ethical challenges it involves. Therefore, this narrative review aims to address the ethical challenges in the use of control groups in research projects. In the analysed studies on populations with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), it was found that most researchers favoured the use of control groups, which, during the research period, did not engage in any activity other than the usual activities in their daily lives. However, they should ensure that the control group has the opportunity to perform an intervention equal to the one performed by the experimental group after the end of the research. In addition, it was possible to verify that, for the most part, the authors ensure the follow-up of ethical standards in studies with human subjects.

Downloads

Published

2024-12-31

How to Cite

Diz, S., Jacinto, M., Monteiro, D., Matos, R., Esteves, D., Costa, A. M. da, & Antunes, R. (2024). The use of control group in research design: the ethical challenge in the population with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Motricidade, 20(4), 359–365. https://doi.org/10.6063/motricidade.30653

Download Citation

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 4 (2024): Motricidade

Section

Review Article

License

Authors retain copyright of their work.

Upon acceptance for publication, authors grant Sílabas Didáticas, LDA a non-exclusive licence to publish, reproduce, distribute, communicate the article to the public, and identify itself as the original publisher of the article in print and electronic formats, including its indexing and dissemination through databases, repositories, and other scholarly platforms.

All published articles are made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-NC 4.0).

This licence permits non-commercial use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and to Journal Motricidade, and that any changes made are indicated.

Authors may deposit the final published version of the article (Version of Record) in institutional repositories, subject repositories, academic networks, or personal websites, provided that the original publication is properly cited.