Research Methods- Ethics

Question 1

Ethics/ ethical guidelines:

Answer 1

Practicing psychologists are expected to design and conduct research that follows a set of guidelines published by the BPS (British psychological society) in the UK and APA (American psychological association) in the USA.

Question 2

BPS

Answer 2

British psychological society

Question 3

The role of the British Psychological Society’s code of ethics:

Answer 3

“designed to inform and assist our members in the practical and professional application of psychology, from research and teaching to clinical practice.” - BPS

Question 4

BPS’s Ethical research ‘first principles’

Answer 4

Respect for the autonomy, privacy and dignity of individuals, groups and
communities.

Scientific integrity.

Social responsibility.

Maximising benefit and minimising harm.

Question 5

Legality?

Answer 5

The guidelines are not “rules or laws”, but a set of professional advice that requires psychologists to exercise professional judgement in complex research situations.

Question 6

Informed consent:

Answer 6

Consent is not valid if participants are not informed of what they are agreeing to. So before the research participants should be made aware of the aims, and consequences of taking part in research (e.g. risk of harm, potential benefits of research). Consent may be gained from a parent or guardian if the participant is unable to give informed consent themselves (e.g. children, mentally incapable).

Question 7

Informed consent linked to…

Answer 7

Informed consent is linked to the principle that we shouldn’t deceive participants.
However deception is part of many studies, used to avoid demand characteristics.

Question 8

Right to withdraw

Answer 8

Participants (as part of giving informed consent) should be told they can withdraw from the study at any stage with no adverse consequences (e.g. not being paid for their time). This incudes withdrawing data collected from them.

Question 9

Protection from harm:

Answer 9

The researcher is responsible for designing research that does not risk the psychological well-being, physical health, personal values and dignity of the participants.

Question 10

Confidentiality

Answer 10

Participants’ personal data should be kept securely by the researcher, and not shared. When the research is published it should not include the identity of participants or information that could reveal the identity of participants. However, there are exceptions, such as finding out the participant or others are in danger.

Question 11

Debriefing

Answer 11

After the data collection is completed the researcher should offer a debriefing, this would reveal any information withheld, such as the existence of other groups (e.g. they received a placebo while the other group received therapy). The researcher can also check for any psychological or physical harm and offer assistance.

Question 12

Ethical guidelines

Answer 12

5

Informed consent/ deception
Right to withdraw
Protection from harm
Confidentiality
Debriefing

Question 13

Milgrams study

Answer 13

5

Question 14

Revealing the true aims of a study when asking for informed consent can lead to…

Answer 14

demand characteristics, participants altering their behaviour to match what they think the researcher wants to find, and this reduces the internal validity of the research. The researcher can avoid this by using an alternative to informed consent.

Question 15

Prior general consent:

Answer 15

Participants agree to a long list of potential features of a research study, not knowing which aspects will be part of the study they are in.

Question 16

Retroactive consent:

Answer 16

The researcher asks for consent after the participant has taken part in the study, if the participant does not agree to take part their data is destroyed.

Question 17

Presumptive consent:

Answer 17

The researcher asks a group similar to the sample if they would agree to take part in the research, if the group agrees the researcher assumes that the participants would also agree.

Question 18

Dealing with ethical issues in rs

If the research design requires deception or risks harm to participants, the research can…

Answer 18

perform a cost-benefit analysis this is assessing the potential harm to participants and comparing this to the potential benefits of the research to society.

Question 19

Dealing with ethical issues in rs

Whose hand is it in to make the final decision on if the RS should be carried out?

Answer 19

often not in the hands of a researcher (who is likely biased in favour of conducting the research) but by an ethics committee, a group of experts who will use a cost-benefit analysis in their decision-making process.

Question 20

Dealing with ethical issues in rs

Evaluation ❌

Answer 20

•However, often the true value of a study to society isn’t known for many years after a study has been published, this means it can be difficult to accurately conduct a cost-benefit analysis

Question 21

In what circumstance is it more important to reveal ___ in debriefing ?

Answer 21

If deception was used on participants it is important to reveal this in the debriefing.
This is an exit conversation between the participant and researcher. This is also the time to fully explain the aim of the study and in an independent groups design, reveal the existence of other groups. The researcher should also check if no harm was caused and if it was then offer assistance such as access to counselling. Remind them they are still able to withdraw their data and ensure confidentiality of findings.