Ethical question and Extended Essay on biology?

[hyppykeppiorava]

Hi!

I'm planning to do my Extended Essay on biology on a subject that has something to do with decomposition of an animal, I'm not sure of the research question yet. But I've heard IBO is pretty strict on the ethics and I would like to know where does the line go, what is accetable and what is not? Has anyone else had to deal with the ethical problem on biology? Is there any ethical criteria or so written somewhere that I could get familiar with?

I'm just afraid my Extend Essay won't be accepted if I'm examining a dead animal because failing for that reason has happened before. Should I just play it safe and do it with for example a fruit instead? I'm just not that into plants and I'd like to do my EE on some sort of an animal.

I'm new here and I tried to search the question I have on mind but I couldn't find anything and so I decided to start a new topic, so I'm sorry if it already exists. And if it does could you link it to me please?

Help really needed, thank you already!

[sweetnsimple786]

The EE guide [found in the Files system under IB syllabi on this site] says

Some topics are unsuitable for investigation because of ethical issues. Investigations that are based on

experiments likely to inflict pain on, or cause unnecessary stress to, living organisms are not appropriate for submission. Investigations that are likely to have a harmful effect on health (for example, culturing micro-organisms at or near body temperature), or those which may involve access to, or publication of, confidential medical information, are also not appropriate.

I don't really know how cautious to be. I assume you're not killing the animal. If it's not a vector for disease, that seems like a green light. Hmm I don't know. Sorry

[Sandwich]

I believe it's possible for your IB Coordinator to actually contact and ask the IB. It's not speedy but it's possible, to my knowledge

[Charizard]

Well, you're not "inflict[ing] pain on, or caus[ing] unnecessary stress to, living organisms" and nor does your experiment have a "harmful effect on health" so I think you should be fine. You could always buy meat/organs from a market and examine its decomposition. A few years back in Science we were given pig lungs and hearts to learn about the cells and we had to squeeze them and cut them up; we didn't even do investigations into them as they were just there to demonstrate the 'bubble-wrap' texture of lungs, etc. So if that was ethical then surely doing an investigation into it should be fine as well.