ethical implications of research studies and theory Flashcards
what do ethical implications refer to
the impact of research on those who take part as well as the way findings are communicated to the public
what is meant by socially sensitive research
any research which might have direct social consequences for the participant in the research or the group they represent
where in the research process may ethical issues with social consequences occur
1) the research question
2) conduct of research and treatment of pps
3) institutional context
4) interpretation and applications of findings
outline how ethical issues with social consequences may occur in the research question
the question may be damaging to members of a particular racial group or sexual orientation as it appears to add scientific credibility to a prevailing prejudice or stereotype
for example
is homosexuality inherited?
outline how ethical issues with social consequences may occur in the conduct of research and treatment of participants
the main concern is the confidentiality of the information collected, for example, if a PPS confesses to a crime, should confidentiality be maintained.
outline how ethical issues with social consequences may occur in the institutionalized context
research may be funded or managed by private institutions that may misuse or misunderstand data that is produced
for example
if the media obtain reports they may misinterpret findings and report the wrong thing which could be damaging to a group of individuals
outline how ethical issues with social consequences may occur in the interpretation and application of findings
reach may be used for other purposes from which it was originally intended for example the development of IQ tests was subsequently used to demonstrate inferiority of certain groups of people
what are the ten types of ethical issues that relate to socially sensitive research
1) privacy
2) confidentiality
3) valid methodology
4) deception
5) informed consent
6) equitable treatment
7) scientific freedom
8) ownership of data
9) values
10) risk/benefit ratio
outline the socially sensitive ethical issues of privacy and confidentiality
privacy - during research the individual may give more information than they wanted to lead to some research, such as aids, leading to social policies that are an invasion of individuals private lives
confidentiality- PPS may be less willing to divulge information in the future if this is breached so future research would be compromised
outline the socially sensitive ethical issues of validity methodology
in cases of poor methodology, where findings are invalid, scientist is aware however the public are not. Therefore if findings are released it may create a poor social policy to the detriment of groups represented by research
outline the socially sensitive ethical issues of deception and informed consent
deception - where research may form untrue stereotypes such as believing women are bad at math, which affects ones own performance
informed consent- potential pps may not always comprehend what is involved
outline the socially sensitive ethical issues of equitable treatment
all PPS should be treated in an equitable manner and resources which are vital to the PPS wellbeing are not withheld from one group whilst available to another such as educational opportunities
outline the socially sensitive ethical issues of scientific freedom and ownership of data
1) the scientist has a duty to engage in research but at the same time has the obligation not to harm pps as well as institutions in society
2) some of the problems with determining ownership involve sponsorship of research and the public accessibility of the data
outline the socially sensitive ethical issues of values and risk/benefit ratio
1) psychologists differ in orientation towards subjective, idiographic approaches and more objective scientific ones. Sensitive issues arise when there is a clash in values between scientist and pps
2) risk or costs should be minimized but problems arise determining risks as well as benefits
evaluate ethical implications of research and theories
1) inadequate ethical guidelines- they still my inflict harm on others- the current development of strict guidelines that aim to protect immediate needs of pps and fail to deal with the possible ways the research may inflict harm on the group or people the research represents, It fails to consider how research may be used or misinterpreted. This means there is a potential impact on the family, co-workers or even group targeted by research to be misrepresented. Therefore groups may be misrepresented in future research lessening our understanding of human behaviour or causing certain groups to miss out on potential benefits of research
2) avoid socially sensitive research all together- an argument in favour of this is that findings which may be negative or have consequences for some pps are avoided however it can also be argued that it will leave psychologists with nothing meaningful to study. Therefore by ignoring sensitive research psychologists are taking an irresponsible approach to science, therefore psychologists have a duty to conduct controversial research
3) instead, to ensure it is used responsibly, researchers should actively engage with wider society such as the public and policy makers reducing the likelihood of misusing data. Researchers should be aware that their results may lead to abuse of discrimination and therefore it is their responsibility to prevent this eg the British psychological society has a press centre which aims to promote evidence based research to the media. This supports the idea that individual researchers should be supported in promoting socially sensitive research in the correct way instead of just avoiding it all together
