Ethical Issues

Question 1

what is the ethical issue of anonymity and confidentiality?

Answer 1

a participant’s right to have personal information protected through withholding their name or keeping information safe

Question 2

what is the ethical issue of deception?

Answer 2

occurs when a participant is not told the true research aims of a study and/or not told what they will be required to do

sometimes necessary to prevent demand characteristics

can be argued that this can be compensated by adequate debriefings

Question 3

what is the ethical issue of informed consent?

Answer 3

participants are given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of a study and their role in it

can lead to demand characteristics

Question 4

what is the ethical issue of the right to withdraw?

Answer 4

participants should be told that they can stop participating in a study if they are uncomfortable

however loss of participants may bias the results as the ones leftover may be less emotionally sensitive/more motivated etc.

Question 5

what is the ethical issue of protection from harm?

Answer 5

participants should not experience negative physical effects, such as physical injury, nor should they experience negative psychological effects, such as lowered self-esteem or embarrassment

however it may not be possible to estimate harm before conducting a study

Question 6

what are the four core principles of the BPS (British Psychology Society) code of conduct?

Answer 6

1. respect - informed consent, confidentiality, privacy, right to withdraw
2. competence - awareness of professional ethics and making ethical decisions
3. responsibility - protection from harm, debriefing
4. integrity - avoiding deception, addressing misconduct

Question 7

how can ethical issues be dealt with using debriefing?

Answer 7

• post research interview to inform participants about the true nature of the study
• aims to restore participants to the state they were in at the start of the study
• participants should also have the right to refuse permission for the researcher to use any data they produced

Question 8

how can ethical issues be dealt with using ethics committees?

Answer 8

• a group of people within a research institution approve a study before it begins
• the group may consist of both professional and lay people
• the committee looks at all possible ethical issues and how researchers plan on dealing with these, weighing up the value of research against the possible ethical costs

Question 9

how can ethical issues be dealt with using presumptive consent?

Answer 9

• a method of dealing with lack of informed consent or deception
• ask a group of people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in the study
• if this group consents to the procedures, it is presumed the real participants would too