Ethical issues Flashcards
What are ethical issues?
when a conflict exists between participants’ rights and researchers’ needs to gain valuable and meaningful
findings.
What are the 6 ethical issues?
Informed consent
Deception
Protection from harm
Confidentiality
The right to withdraw
Privacy
What is informed consent?
Informed consent involves making participants aware of the aims of the research, the procedures, their rights, and also what their data will be used for.
What are alternative ways of getting consent?
Presumptive consent
Prior general consent
Retrospective consent
What is presumptive consent?
a similar group of people are asked if the study is acceptable. If this group agrees, the consent of the original participants is ‘presumed’
What is prior general consent?
participants give their permission to take part in a number of different studies - including one that will involve deception. By consenting, participants are effectively consenting to be deceived
What is retrospective consent?
participants are asked for their consent having already taken part in the study. They may not have been aware of their participation or they may have been subject to
deception
What is deception?
Deception means deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants at any stage of the investigation.
There are occasions when deception can be justified if it does not cause the participant undue distress.
How to deal with deception?
Participants should be fully debriefed after the study. This involves informing then of the true nature of the study. Participants should be offered the opportunity to discuss any concerns they may have and to withhold their data from the study.
what is the right to withdraw?
If a participant begins to feel uncomfortable or distressed they should be able to withdraw.
What is protection from harm?
Participants should not be placed at any more risk than they would be in their daily lives, and should be protected from physical and psychological harm
What is confidentiality and privacy?
Participants have the right to control information about themselves. This is the right to privacy.
If this is invaded then confidentiality should be protected. Confidentiality refers to our right, according to the Data Protection Act, to have any personal data protected.
How to deal with confidentiality and privacy?
If personal details are held these must be protected. However, it is more usual to keep participants anonymous.
n a case study, psychologists often use initials when describing the individual(s) involved.
It is standard practice that during briefing and debriefing, participants are reminded that their data will be protected throughout the process.
