ethics Flashcards
(53 cards)
what is research
exploring a theme to gather information
what is an experiment
testing for a hypothesis
what do practising psychologists need to follow
the ethical guidelines - they are expected to design and conduct research that follows these guidelines
who comes up with the ethical guidelines
the British Psychological Society or the American Psychological Association
what are ethical guidelines
not rules or laws but a set of professional advice that requires psychologists to exercise professional judgement in complex research situations.
what would mistreatment of ethical guidelines result in
being expelled as a member of the BPS
what do scientists agree is “good research”
its ethical in nature and guided by basic respect for human dignity and safety
why do modern researchers have to follow extensive strict guidelines
to make sure research is ethically sound
what is “informed consent”
participants must be informed of what they agreeing to. before the research, participants should be made aware of the aims and consequences of taking part in the research (risk of harm, potential benefits). they must all sign an informed consent form
what is an informed consent form
a written description of what to expect, the risks and the implications of taking part
what does an informed consent form let participants know
- lets them know involvement is voluntary and can be discontinued without penalty at any time.
- it guarantees any data collected in experiment will remain completely confidential
who is unable to give consent
children, mentally incapable individuals
who can give consent if the participant is unable to give informed consent
a parent or guardian
when would it be ethically acceptable to study participants without consent
it the task is something they would do in their normal everyday life
what is deception
involves purposely misleading participants to maintain the integrity of the experiment
even though the form should be as honest as possible, when is deception necessary
to avoid demand characteristics.
what are demand characteristics
cues that may indicates the aims of the study to the participant so they act in a certain way in order to meet what they believe is expected of the researcher
when is deception necessary
- to prevent participants knowledge of the exact research question from affecting the results.
- it should not be to the point where it is harmful
what should happen if deception is used
if involved, participants must receive full debriefing upon the conclusion of the experiment
what is “right to withdraw”
participants (as part of giving informed consent) should be told they can withdraw at any stage with no adverse consequences (e.g. not being paid for their time). they can withdraw at any time
what must be done if a participants decides to withdraw
their personal data collected from such as interview recordings must be destroyed
what is “protection from harm”
researcher needs to consider the study from the perspective of the participant and consider any risk to the participants psychological wellbeing, physical health, personal values and dignity. the researchers are responsible for the participant
how should studies be designed in order to not risk the participants physical and psychological health
any harmful risks should not be beyond anything they experience in everyday life
researchers ask permission to run a study by proposing to an organisations ethics board
what is “confidentiality”
participants personal data should be kept securely by the researcher and not shared. when the research is publised it should not include the identity of participants or information that could reveal the identity of participants
