Ethics Flashcards
(8 cards)
What is informed consent and how do we deal with this issue ?
• Participants must be informed about the aims of the research, what will be required and what their rights are as a participant.
• The participant must then make an informed judgement to take part in the study without being coerced or feeling obliged.
• Asking for informed consent may reduce internal validity of a study as a participant’s behaviour may not be natural.
Consent Form
• Participants should be given a consent form informing them of all relevant information that might affect their decision to participate.
Prior General Consent
• Involves
giving
participants general
information about the research before they chose to take part e.g. You may be misinformed about the true nature of the study you are considering taking part in). If they agree, it is assumed they have given consent in principle to take part.
What is deception and how do we deal with this issue .
• Participants are deliberately misled or the researchers
deliberately
withhold
information about the aims of the study.
• Deception is sometimes unavoidable as it would invalidate the study to inform the participants about the aims of the research as it would lead to demand characteristics.
Presumptive Consent
• A group of people who share characteristics with the sample are given information about the study and asked whether they would agree to take part. If this group of people would give consent, it is presumed the actual participants would also agree.
Debriefing
• After participants have finished their involvement in a study, full details of the study should be provided, including the true aims of the study if deception was involved.
What is protection from harm and how do we overcome this issue ?
• Participants should be protected from both physical and psychological harm as far as possible.
• Participants should be in the same state after taking part in a study as they were before.
• Researchers should avoid any risks that are greater than those in everyday life. But they are not always able to predict the risks of taking part in a study.
Debriefing
• During debriefing, participants should be reassured about the data they have provided to deal with any potential embarrassment or perceived underperformance.
follow-up or support can be offered.
Participants should be reminded about their
the debriefing.
Debriefing can establish whether participants have been harmed and contact details for
right to withdraw their data because they may be unhappy about something revealed in
What is confidentiality and how do we overcome this issue ?
• Confidentiality is a participant’s right to have personal information protected.
• It is also a legal right under the Data Protection act.
• It is an issue as the researcher wants to publish the findings of the study.
Anonymity
• Researchers should not record any personal details of the participants where possible.
Rather than use actual names, participants can be assigned a number.
What is privacy and how do we overcome this situation?
• People do not expect to be observed by others in certain situations, e.g. in the privacy of their own home.
• It is difficult to avoid invasion of privacy when studying participants without their awareness, e.g. during covert observation.
Retrospective Consent
• Participants should be debriefed if possible and researchers can ask for retrospective consent as data has already been obtained.
Participants must also be given the right to withdraw their data and be reminded that their data will be protected.
What is the right to withdraw and how do we overcome this situation?
• Participants need to know at the outset of a study they are free to withdraw at any time and to have their data destroyed.
• They need to know this right still applies even if they have completed the study and accepted payment for participation.
• If a participant withdraws during a study, it may leave a biased sample.
Reminding of Right to Withdraw
• Participants should be informed at the beginning of the study that they have the right to withdraw, during the study and again at the end in the debriefing.
What are the British society code of ethics?
Ethical Guidelines
The BPS provides guidelines to help to establish whether research is acceptable and that certain standards are maintained. The guidelines are regularly updated. The intention of the guidelines is to tell psychologists what behaviours are not acceptable and give guidance on how to deal with ethical dilemmas.
Ethics Committees
All institutions where research takes place have an ethics committee who must approve any study before it begins. The ethics committee weighs up the costs and benefits of the research. An ethics committee should include a lay person (non-expert).
Cost-Benefit Analysis
This involves weighing up the costs of the research to the participant and the benefits of the research for society. One problem is that it is difficult to predict costs and benefits prior to the study. Costs for the participant may be loss of time and distress versus benefits of payment and feeling of having contributed to scientific research. Costs in terms of society could be less trusting individuals compared to benefits of improving people’s lives.
Punishment
If a psychologist behaves in an unethical manner such as conducting unacceptable research then the BPS reviews the research and may decide to bar the person from practising as a psychologist.
