Ethics in Research

Question 1

What are research ethics?

Answer 1

The responsibility of researchers to be honest and respectful of all individuals who may be impacted by their studies or their reports of the studies’ results

Question 2

What are the two basic categories of ethical responsibility?

Answer 2

1. Ensuring the welfare and dignity of individuals who participate in research studies
2. Ensuring public reports of research are accurate and honest

Question 3

What 2 committees reviews research with individuals and assist researchers with ethical responsibilities?

Answer 3

1. Institutional Review Board (IRB) for humans
2. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for non-humans

Question 4

Which particular experiments in history set more formalized ethical guidelines for all research projects?

Answer 4

“Medical experiments” performed on prisoners in Nazi concentration camps

Question 5

Out of the trials in 1947, what was developed for the ethical treatment of human participants in research?

Answer 5

The Nuremberg Code - a set of 10 guidelines that laid the groundwork for ethical standards today

Question 6

In 1974, Congress passed which act to regulate the protection of humans in research?

Answer 6

The National Research Act

Question 7

In 1979, the National Commission published what report that summarized the basic ethical principles for protecting humans that today’s federal regulations follow?

Answer 7

Belmont Report

Question 8

What are the 3 basic principles of the Belmont Report?

Answer 8

1. Principle of respect for persons (autonomy)
2. Principle of beneficence (minimize risks and no harm done)
3. Principle of justice (fair procedures)

Question 9

What is the APA Ethics Code?

Answer 9

A common set of principles and standards psychologists build their work upon, which contains 10 ethical standards

Question 10

Name as many ethical standards of the APA Ethics Code as you can.

Answer 10

No Harm, Privacy and Confidentiality, Institutional Approval, Competence, Record Keeping, Informed Consent to Research, Dispensing with Informed Consent, Offering Inducements for Research Participation, Deception in Research, Debriefing

Question 11

What is the act of purposely withholding information or misleading participants about a study?

Answer 11

Deception

Question 12

What is the difference between passive and active deception?

Answer 12

Passive: the withholding or omitting of information
Active: the presenting of misinformation

Question 13

What is a confederate?

Answer 13

A person who pretends to be a participant in a research study

Question 14

What is an ineffective, inert substance for a treatment or medication?

Answer 14

A placebo

Question 15

What is the difference between confidentiality and anonymity?

Answer 15

Confidentiality - practice of keeping strictly secret and private the information or measurements from an individual
Anonymity - practice of keeping the individual’s name separate from the information or measurements from them

Question 16

The guidelines for nonhuman research are similar to those for humans but also include extra attention to which areas?

Answer 16

Housing, medical care, and daily maintenance

Question 17

What is the difference between error and fraud?

Answer 17

Error - an honest mistake that happens in the research process
Fraud - an explicit effort to falsify or misrepresent data

Question 18

What is replication?

Answer 18

The repetition of a research study using the same basic procedures used in the original

Question 19

What is peer review?

Answer 19

The editorial process many articles go through when a researcher submits a research project for publication