THE LIMITS OF EMPIRICAL-STUDIES ON RESEARCH ETHICS

The results of empirical research in psychology and psychiatry are inc reasingly being used to formulate as well as understand problems at th e interface of law and psychiatry. There has been a proliferation of s tudies, such as the determinants of individual competence or threat to self or others, the results of which are influencing policy and legis lative decisions as well as buttressing holdings in court cases. In th is article, I explore the issues of interpretation of epidemiological studies, particularly the role of ideological positions on the design and results of empirical findings, the importance of the way data are interpreted, and the role of ideologies in the way research findings a re presented to provide support for policy positions. Two levels of an alysis are involved in determining the validity of a study. The first addresses the questions of whether the study meets the statistical and epidemiological requirements for reliable results. These include cons iderations such as the appropriateness of the study design and methods for gathering and interpreting data. The second focuses on the underl ying framework of the study. This involves factors such as the perspec tives and values of those conducting the study, the explicit and impli cit dominating ideologies where they operate, and the extent to which the study is constructed to reaffirm specific ideologies. This level o f analysis is essential for disclosing the influences of ideologies on the results of studies and the way in which data are interpreted. In this article, I try to demonstrate through critiques of selected studi es that the first stage of analysis is insufficient without an examina tion of underlying preconceived values to establish the meaningfulness of results.