ethical implications of research studies and theory Flashcards
what are ethical implications?
the consequences of any research in terms of the effects on individual participants or the way certain groups of people are subsequently regarded. there may also be consequences on a wider societal level
how might a study on depression have consequences in terms of the individual participants, the wider social group they represent and for social policy?
- an individual participant may reveal personal information that is later accessed by a prospective employer
- the findings of the study may suggest that people with depression never fully recover and therefore are a risk as an employer
- for social policy, the findings could inform preferred treatment options recommended by the NHS
how does the research process has implications?
- all psychological research has potential consequences but this applies to socially sensitive research in particular
- therefore, all stages of planning and conducting studies are important when thinking of social sensitivity, as well as later in handling the findings
what are 3 implications for the research process?
- research question
- dealing with participants
- the way findings are used
implications of the research process: heterosexual bias (kitzinger and coyle 1995)
- research into relationships has been guilty of a form of ‘heterosexual bias’
- homosexual relationships were compared and judged against heterosexual norms
implications of the research question for the research process (sieber and stanley 1988)
the way research questions are phrased and investigated may influence how findings are interpreted
how does dealing with participants contribute to implications for the research process?
- issues such as informed consent, confidentiality and psychological harm may be especially important in socially sensitive research
- eg. in a study on domestic abuse, participants may worry than an ex-partner will find out about the study
- it is also likely to be extremely stressful for participants to describe their experiences
- such participants may provide informed consent at the start of the study but not fully understand the effect of the research
the way findings are used
- researchers should consider in advance how research findings may be used
- it may impact on what data they actually collect
- this is especially important because findings from research may be seen as givin scientific credence to existing prejudices, such as studies examining the ethnic basis of intelligence
what does the media tend to be interested in and will publicise?
- sensitive information
- eg. owen’s research on people in a minimally conscious state received enormous media attention at the time, as it appeared he had made contact with patients who were thought to be ‘unreachable’
evaluation: socially sensitive research can have benefits for the groups who have been studied (eg. homosexuality)
- in 1952 the DSM-1 listed this as a ‘sociopathic personality disorder’ but removed it in 1973
- this change has been credited to the kinsey report, which was based on anonymous interviews with over 5000 men about their sexual behaviour (kinsey et al. 1948)
- the report concluded that homosexuality is a typical expression of human sexual behaviour
- the report also included data on interviews with 6000 women and caused outrage at the time because these were topics that no one discussed
- this illustrates the importance of reseatchers tackling topics that are sensitive
evaluation: in some studies there could be negative consequences for the group being studied
- research investigating the genetic basis of criminality has found that there is a ‘criminal gene’
- if this is true, it is unsure whetheer it should mean that someone could be convicted on the basis that they have such a gene or if they should be excused because they cannot be held responsible for any wrongdoing
- this suggests that, when reseraching socially sensitive topics, there is a need for very careful consideration of the possible outcomes and their consequences
evaluation: policymakers rely on research related to socially sensitive issues
- the government looks to research when developing social policies
> eg. decisions related to child care, education, mental health provision, crime etc. - it is preferable to base such policies on scientific research rather than politically-motivated views
- this is why in the UK there are independent groups such as the ONS (office for national statistics) who describe themselves as being responsible for collecting, analysing and disseminating objective statistics about the UK’s economy, society and population
> such data is used in psychological research - this means that psychologists have an important role to play in providing high quality research on socially sensitive topics
evaluation: poor research design may lead to erroneous findings which, once in the public arena, continue to have an impact
- after burt’s research was exposed as fraudulent, the 11+ continues to be used as a selection tool for independent schools
- therefore any research on socially sensitive topics needs to be planned with the greatest care to ensure the findings are valid because of the enduring effects on particular groups of people
evaluation: cyril burt
- burt (1955) was influential in establishing the 11+ exam which determines what type of secondary school a child goes to (grammar school or other)
- the government at the time based its policies on burt’s twin studies which showed that intelligence was highly heritable and could be detected by age 11
- discrepancies in burt’s ‘data’ later revealed that much of it was fake, including two ‘imaginary’ research assistants, and he was publicly discreted (joynson 1989)
- however, the 11+ and the idea that children should be separated on the basis of their ‘natural’ intelligence still remains
evaluation: socially sensitive research is avoided (APA 2001)
ethical committees approved 95% of non-sensitive proposals that didn’t include ethical problems whereas ‘sensitive’ proposals were only approved about 50% of the time
evaluation: socially sensitive research (siber and stanley)
advised that ignoring such topics is not a responsible approach
evaluation: way to research socially sensitive topics ethically
follow qualitative researchers, who are more up-front about their own biases and are reflexive in their approach
evaluation: research on underage smoking is sensitive (sieber 2004)
researchers require informed consent from the parents of children under 16, but this would compromise the participants whose parents may not know that their children are smokers
