Ethical Issues Flashcards
Five main Ethical Issues
Informed Consent
Deception
Protection From Harm
Right To Withdraw
Privacy and Confidentiality
Informed Consent
Making participants aware of the aims and procedures of the study and their rights
Can make an informed decision whether they would like to participate
Deception
Deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants
Protection From Harm
Protecting participants from any physical or psychological harm
Right to Withdraw
Participants have a right to withdraw themselves and their data from the study
Privacy and Confidentiality
Participants have a right to have any personal data protected under the data protection act
British Psychological Society Code of Conduct
A set of ethical guidelines implemented by the ethics committee to determine whether particular research proposals are ethically acceptable
Dealing with Informed Consent
During the briefing participant should be given a consent letter detailing all the information that might influence their decision to participate (may lead to demand characteristics)
Alternative ways of obtaining consent
Presumptive Consent
Prior General Consent
Retrospective Consent
Presumptive Consent
Instead of asking the participants a similar group of people asked if they think the research is acceptable and consent is presumed
Prior General Consent
When they sign up to a research company, participants give their consent to take part in a number of studies, including one that will involve deception
Retrospective Consent
Participants are asked for their consent during the debrief of the study, although they may have already been deceived or were unaware they were taking part in a study
Dealing with Deception and Protection From Harm
Participants should be given a full debriefing at the end of the study
Participants should be reassured their behaviour was normal
Counselling should be offered to all participants after the study
Dealing with Confidentiality
Maintain anonymity when writing up or reading out the study results