Research Methods - ethics Flashcards
(13 cards)
What are ethics?
They concern what is right and wrong
When do ethical issues arise in psychological research?
If there are conflicting values between the researcher and ppts.
How is psychological research governed?
A research proposal is submitted to the Ethics Panel
They’ll decide whether or not to grant permission by using guidelines from the British Psychological Society (BPS) or the American Psychological Association (APA) by doing a cost-benefit analysis
What is the saying to help you remember ethical guidelines?
CAN DO CAN’T DO WITH PARTICIPANTS
- Consent (informed)
- Deception
- Confidentiality
- Debrief
- Right to withdraw
- Protection from harm
What is informed consent?
Ppts. need to know what they have to do as part of the study in order to give valid consent (should be written)
Ppts. will have a ppt. info sheet and then sign a consent form
How should informed consent be dealt with?
If study involves children aged 16 or younger, parental consent must be obtained
If consent is difficult to get, presumptive consent is used (asking people from same target population if they would participate)
When consent isn’t obtained before a study, retrospective consent can be obtained
What is deception?
Deceiving ppts. should be kept to a minimum and is only allowed if telling the truth will have an effect on results (mild deception allowed or use of confederate)
What is confidentiality?
A person’s right to control the flow of information about themselves - communication of personal info from one person to another and the trust that this data will be protected
If research is in a public space it will be granted permission as long as it doesn’t invade privacy
How should confidentiality be dealt with?
Individuals have a right to privacy; if this is broken then confidentiality must be maintained
Psychologists need to be sure the info they publish will not allow their ppts. to be identified so they use pseudonyms to keep them anonymous
What is a debrief?
When ppts. are informed that deception has occurred at the end of the study, explaining experiment and allowing them to withdraw information if they wish
Sometimes impractical to debrief all ppts. but in this case all data should be kept anonymous
What is the right to withdraw?
Even after giving consent ppts. have the right to leave the experiment at any point
When questionnaires are anonymous ppts. can only withdraw up until the point of submitting answers
What is protection from harm?
Ppts. should be no worse off when they leave an experiment from when they entered (risk acceptable if it’s no greater than it would be in real life)
How should protection from harm be dealt with?
If any harm is caused, researcher should check ppts. are in a positive state of mind and signposted to any relevant services
If vulnerable groups are used (elderly, disabled) they must receive special care
