ethical issues and ways of dealing with them

Question 1

how do ethical issues arise?

Answer 1

when a conflict exists between the rights of participants in research studies and the goals of research to produce authentic, valid and worthwhile data

Question 2

what is the BPS code of ethics?

Answer 2

a quasi-legal document produced by the british psychological society (BPS) that instructs psychologists in the UK about what behaviour is and is not acceptable when dealing with participants

Question 3

what are the four major ethical issues that face participants and researchers?

Answer 3

• informed consent
• deception
• protection from harm
• privacy and confidentiality

Question 4

what is informed consent?

Answer 4

• making participants aware of the aims of the research, the procedures, their rights (including the right to withdraw partway through the investigation should they so wish) and also what their data will be used for
• participants should then make an informed judgement whether or not to take part without being coerced or feeling obligated

Question 5

why might informed consent affect a study from a researcher’s point of view?

Answer 5

participants’ behaviour will not be ‘natural’ as they know the aims of the study (demand characteristics)

Question 6

what is deception?

Answer 6

deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants at any stage of the investigation

Question 7

how is deception linked to informed consent?

Answer 7

participants who have not received adequate information when they have agreed to take part, or deliberately lied to, cannot be said to have given informed consent

Question 8

when can deception be justified?

Answer 8

if the deception does not cause the participant undue distress ie. does not affect their behaviour

Question 9

what does protection from harm mean?

Answer 9

• as a result of their involvement, participants should not be placed at many more risk than they would be in their daily lives, and should be protected from psychological harm
• participants should also be reminded that they have the right to withdraw from the investigation at any point

Question 10

what could psychological harm refer to?

Answer 10

• being made to feel embarrassed
• being made to feel inadequate
• being placed under undue stress or pressure

Question 11

what does privacy refer to?

Answer 11

• how participants have the right to control information about themselves
• this extends to the area where the study took place eg. institutions or geographical locations should not be named

Question 12

what does confidentiality refer to?

Answer 12

our right, enshrined in law under the data protection act, to have any personal data protected

Question 13

how does the BPS code of conduct deal with ethical issues?

Answer 13

• there is a set of ethical guidelines
• researchers have a professional duty to observe these guidelines when conducting research
• the guidelines are closely matched to ethical issues and attempt to ensure that all participants are treated with respect and consideration during each phase of research
• guidelines are implemented by ethics committees in research institutions who often use a cost-benefit approach to determine whether particular research proposals are ethically accpetable

Question 14

how can you deal with the issue of informed consent?

Answer 14

• participant should be issued with a consent letter or form detailing all relevant information that might affect their decision to participate
• assuming the participants agrees, this signed
• for investigations involving children under 16, a signature of parental consent is required

Question 15

why are alternative ways of getting consent needed?

Answer 15

asking for informed consent may spoil the research as participants then know what is being studied and alter their behaviour accordingly

Question 15

what are the 3 alternatives to informed consent?

Answer 15

• presumptive consent
• prior general consent
• retrospective consent

Question 16

what is presumptive consent?

Answer 16

• rather than getting consent from the participant themselves, a similar group of people are asked if the study is acceptable
• if this group agrees, then consent of the original participants is ‘presumed’

Question 17

what is prior general consent?

Answer 17

• participants give their permission to take part in a number of different studies, including one that will involve deception
• by consenting, participants are effectively consenting to be deceived

Question 18

what is retrospective consent?

Answer 18

• participants are asked for their consent (during debriefing) having already taken part in the study
• they may not have been aware of their participation or they may have been subject to deception

Question 19

how can you deal with the issue of deception and protection from harm through debriefing?

Answer 19

• at the end of a study, participants should be given a full debrief
• with this, participants should be made aware of the true aims of the investigation and any details they were not supplied with during the study, such as the existence of other groups or experimental conditions

Question 20

how can you deal with the issue of deception and protection from harm with the right to withhold data?

Answer 20

• participants should be told what their data will be used for and must be given the right to withdraw during the study and the right to withhold data if they wish
• this is particularly important if retrospective consent is a feature of the study

Question 21

how can you deal with the issue of deception and protection from harm with counselling?

Answer 21

• participants may have natural concerns related to their performance within the investigation, and so should be reassured that their behaviour was typical or normal
• in extreme cases, if participants have been subject to stress or embarrassment, they may require counselling, which the researcher should provide

Question 22

how can you deal with the issue of confidentiality?

Answer 22

• if personal details are held these must be protected
• it is more usual to simply record no personal details, ie. maintain anonymity
• researchers usually refer to participants using numbers or initials when writing up the investigation
• in a case study, psychologists often use initial when describing the individual or individuals involved
• during the debriefing, participants are reminded that their data will be protected throughout the process and told that the data will not be shared with other researchers