Chapter 3: Ethical considerations

Question 1

What are the 3 goals of ethics in research?

Answer 1

1. Provide guidelines
2. Evaluatie and revise research
3. Establishment of enforcement mechanisms to guarantee ethical research

Question 2

What are the 3 ethical obligations to respondents according to the Belmont report

Answer 2

1. Principle of beneficence → maximize benefits and minimize harm. Make a balance decision
2. Principle of justice → fair balance between those benefiting from research and those bearing the burden
3. Principles of respect for others → protect autonomy of individuals and treat every person with respect and courtesy

Question 3

What is confidentiality?

Answer 3

Participants have the right to know how will have access to their data

Question 4

What is anonymity?

Answer 4

The assurance that its ill be impossible to trace back any results to an individual

Question 5

What is Privacy?

Answer 5

The freedom of participants to decide how much information about themselves they want to reveal or withhold

Question 6

What is the difference between anonymity and privacy?

Answer 6

1. How the data is handled (anonymity)
2. How the individual is treated (privacy)

Question 7

What should informed consent cover (4)

Answer 7

1. Participants may decline at any time. Inform if there is a consequence for stopping (e.g. no rewards)
2. Description about study, explain purpose, why study is important and what is expected of participant
3. Potential risk and benefits like increasing knowledge or any inducements
4. how is anonymity and confidentiality treated and whom to contact for questions

Question 8

What is criticism on/of deception

Answer 8

1. It is disrespectful in a lot of ways (dignity, privacy, freedom)
2. It may lead to a suspicious attitude in future participants

Question 9

How can researchers justify deception?

Answer 9

1. They provide a clear cost-benefit analysis and explain the necessity

Question 10

What are the 3 functions of a debriefing

Answer 10

1. Ethical -→ reveal true purpose
2. Educational → answer questions and offer possibility to stay informed
3. Methodological → collect info which could help to review and check one’s methods

Question 11

What is dehoax

Answer 11

1. Explain the deception and clarify any misunderstandings as a result of this

Question 12

What is desentisize? (3)

Answer 12

1. Undo any harm that resulted from participation
2. Reassure the participant
3. Make them feel good about participating

Question 13

Ethical issues in web surveys with informed consent are (3)

Answer 13

1. Difficult to see if someone actually ‘signed’
2. Hard to check if participant fully understood information
3. No option to answer questions on the spot

Question 14

Ethical issue in web surveys debriefing

Answer 14

1. Unknown why participants choose to abandon a survey

Question 15

Ensure debriefing with early withdrawal. Options to arrange this are

Answer 15

1. Ask everyone for e-mail and e-mail debriefing to all participants
2. Leave study is rerouted to debriefing page
3. Debriefing automatically presented when respondent closes the study before completion

Question 16

What is server-side paradata

Answer 16

Data collected from server logs. Think of timestamps and visits of web pages.

Question 17

What is client-side paradata

Answer 17

1. More detailed information about respondents actions
2. Think of: mouse movements, latencies, clicks, order of responding
3. Downside: it is not saved if web page is not submitted

Question 18

What is ballot-stuffing and how to prevent this in web surveys?

Answer 18

1. The same respondent is filling-in the survey multiple times
2. Prevent this with cookies and IP trackers

Question 19

What are 4 ways to minis risk of children participating in online surveys?

Answer 19

1. Design appealing for adults and not children
2. Recruitment from sites usually visited by adults
3. Require participants to enter a password
4. Adult-check system using a centralized government database