Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 46 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS
Part LX - Professional Counselors
Subpart 1 - Licensed Professional Counselors
Chapter 21 - Code of Conduct for Licensed Professional Counselors
Section LX-2115 - Research and Publication

a. Use of Human Research Participants. Licensees plan, design, conduct, and report research in a manner that is consistent with pertinent ethical principles, federal and state laws, host institutional regulations, and scientific standards governing research with human research participants.

b. Deviation from Standard Practice. Licensees seek consultation and observe stringent safeguards to protect the rights of research participants when a research problem suggests a deviation from standard or acceptable practices.

c. Independent Researchers. When independent researchers do not have access to an institutional review board (IRB), they should consult with researchers who are familiar with IRB procedures to provide appropriate safeguards.

d. Precautions to Avoid Injury. Licensees who conduct research with human participants are responsible for the welfare of participants throughout the research process and should take reasonable precautions to avoid causing injurious psychological, emotional, physical, or social effects to participants.

e. Principal Researcher Responsibility. The ultimate responsibility for ethical research practice lies with the principal researcher. All others involved in the research activities share ethical obligations and responsibility for their own actions.

f. Minimal Interference. Licensees take reasonable precautions to avoid causing disruptions in the lives of research participants that could be caused by their involvement in research.

g. Multicultural/Diversity Considerations in Research. When appropriate to research goals, licensees are sensitive to incorporating research procedures that take into account cultural considerations. They seek consultation when appropriate.

a. nformed Consent in Research. Individuals have the right to consent to become research participants. In seeking consent, licensees use language that:

b. Deception. Licensees do not conduct research involving deception unless alternative procedures are not feasible and the prospective value of the research justifies the deception. If such deception has the potential to cause physical or emotional harm to research participants, the research is not conducted, regardless of prospective value. When the methodological requirements of a study necessitate concealment or deception, the investigator explains the reasons for this action as soon as possible during the debriefing.

c. Student/Supervisee Participation. Researchers who involve students or supervisees in research make clear to them that the decision regarding whether or not to participate in research activities does not affect one's academic standing or supervisory relationship. Students or supervisees who choose not to participate in educational research are provided with an appropriate alternative to fulfill their academic or clinical requirements.

d. Client Participation. Licensees conducting research involving clients make clear in the informed consent process that clients are free to choose whether or not to participate in research activities. Licensees take necessary precautions to protect clients from adverse consequences of declining or withdrawing from participation.

e. Confidentiality of Information. Information obtained about research participants during the course of an investigation is confidential. When the possibility exists that others may obtain access to such information, ethical research practice requires that the possibility, together with the plans for protecting confidentiality, be explained to participants as a part of the procedure for obtaining informed consent.

f. Persons Not Capable of Giving Informed Consent. When a person is not capable of giving informed consent, licensees provide an appropriate explanation to, obtain agreement for participation from, and obtain the appropriate consent of a legally authorized person.

g. Commitments to Participants. Licensees take reasonable measures to honor all commitments to research participants.

h. Explanations after Data Collection. After data are collected, licensees provide participants with full clarification of the nature of the study to remove any misconceptions participants might have regarding the research. Where scientific or human values justify delaying or withholding information, licensees take reasonable measures to avoid causing harm.

i. Informing Sponsors. Licensees inform sponsors, institutions, and publication channels regarding research procedures and outcomes. Licensees ensure that appropriate bodies and authorities are given pertinent information and acknowledgement.

j. Disposal of Research Documents and Records. Within a reasonable period of time following the completion of a research project or study, licensees take steps to destroy records or documents (audio, video, digital, and written) containing confidential data or information that identifies research participants. When records are of an artistic nature, researchers obtain participant consent with regard to handling of such records or documents.

a. Nonprofessional Relationships. Nonprofessional relationships with research participants should be avoided.

b. Relationships with Research Participants. Sexual or romantic counselor-research participant interactions or relationships with current research participants are prohibited.

c. Sexual Harassment and Research Participants. Researchers do not condone or subject research participants to sexual harassment.

d. Potentially Beneficial Interactions. When a nonprofessional interaction between the researcher and the research participant may be potentially beneficial, the researcher must document, prior to the interaction (when feasible), the rationale for such an interaction, the potential benefit, and anticipated consequences for the research participant. Such interactions should be initiated with appropriate consent of the research participant. Where unintentional harm occurs to the research participant due to the nonprofessional interaction, the researcher must show evidence of an attempt to remedy such harm.

a. Accurate Results. Licensees plan, conduct, and report research accurately. They provide thorough discussions of the limitations of their data and alternative hypotheses. Licensees do not engage in misleading or fraudulent research, distort data, misrepresent data, or deliberately bias their results. They explicitly mention all variables and conditions known to the investigator that may have affected the outcome of a study or the interpretation of data. They describe the extent to which results are applicable for diverse populations.

b. Obligation to Report Unfavorable Results. Licensees report the results of any research of professional value. Results that reflect unfavorably on institutions, programs, services, prevailing opinions, or vested interests are not withheld.

c. Reporting Errors. If licensees discover significant errors in their published research, they take reasonable steps to correct such errors in a correction erratum, or through other appropriate publication means.

d. Identity of Participants. Licensees who supply data, aid in the research of another person, report research results, or make original data available take due care to disguise the identity of respective participants in the absence of specific authorization from the participants to do otherwise. In situations where participants self-identify their involvement in research studies, researchers take active steps to ensure that data are adapted/changed to protect the identity and welfare of all parties and that discussion of results does not cause harm to participants.

e. Replication Studies. Licensees are obligated to make available sufficient original research data to qualified professionals who may wish to replicate the study.

a. Recognizing Contributions. When conducting and reporting research, licensees are familiar with and give recognition to previous work on the topic, observe copyright laws, and give full credit to those to whom credit is due.

b. Plagiarism. Licensees do not plagiarize, that is, they do not present another persons work as their own work.

c. Review/Republication of Data or Ideas. Licensees fully acknowledge and make editorial reviewers aware of prior publication of ideas or data where such ideas or data are submitted for review or publication.

d. Contributors. Licensees give credit through joint authorship, acknowledgment, footnote statements, or other appropriate means to those who have contributed significantly to research or concept development in accordance with such contributions. The principal contributor is listed first and minor technical or professional contributions are acknowledged in notes or introductory statements.

e. Agreement of Contributors. Licensees who conduct joint research with colleagues or students/supervisees establish agreements in advance regarding allocation of tasks, publication credit, and types of acknowledgement that will be received.

f. Student Research. For articles that are substantially based on students' course papers, projects, dissertations or theses, and on which students have been the primary contributors, they are listed as principal authors.

g. Duplicate Submission. Licensees submit manuscripts for consideration to only one journal at a time. Manuscripts that are published in whole or in substantial part in another journal or published work are not submitted for publication without acknowledgment and permission from the previous publication.

h. Professional Review. Licensees who review material submitted for publication, research, or other scholarly purposes respect the confidentiality and proprietary rights of those who submitted it. Licensees use care to make publication decisions based on valid and defensible standards. Licensees review article submissions in a timely manner and based on their scope and competency in research methodologies. Licensees who serve as reviewers at the request of editors or publishers make every effort to only review materials that are within their scope of competency and use care to avoid personal biases.