ethical issues

Question 1

what is a research

Answer 1

exploring a theme to gather information

Question 2

what is an experiment

Answer 2

testing for a hypothesis

Question 3

what is a hypothesis

Answer 3

an inference usually an educated guess

Question 4

what is meant by ethics

Answer 4

well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.

Question 5

what is meant by good research

Answer 5

research that is ethical in nature and is guided by basic respect for human dignity and safety. modern researchers must show research that is ethically sound by using extensive and strict guidelines

Question 6

what is the most important thing that should be done before conducting any experiment

Answer 6

participants must consent to all that they could be subjected to. sometimes animal subjects must be used instead

Question 7

what is meant by informed consent

Answer 7

participants must sign an informed consent form with a written description of what they should expect, any risks and implications. it lets them know that involvement is voluntary and can be discontinued without penalty at any given time

Question 8

what does informed consent guarantee

Answer 8

any data collected in experiment will remain completely confidential

Question 9

what happens if the participant is under 18

Answer 9

parents/legal guardians must sign the consent form

Question 10

what is meant by deception

Answer 10

when a researcher gives false information to subjects or intentionally misleads them about some key aspect of the research.

Question 11

why is deception sometimes necessary

Answer 11

even though informed consent should be as honest as possible, sometimes deception is necessary to prevent participants knowledge of the exact research question from affecting the results. it stops them from acting a certain way

Question 12

what does deception involve

Answer 12

purposely misleading the participants to maintain the intergrity of the experiment. it should not come to a point where deception is harmful.

Question 13

what should happen if deception is involved

Answer 13

participants must recieve a full debrief upon conclusion of the study

Question 14

what do many psychologists conduct their research on

Answer 14

animals, particularly rodents

Question 15

what must psychologists make sure to do when experimenting on animals

Answer 15

they must ensure humane and ethical treatment of animal subjects and should minimise pain and distress experienced by the animals

Question 16

what are the code of ethics

Answer 16

participants are treated with respect not with harm. British Psychology Society Ethical Guidelines states that “investigators have a primary responsibility to protect participants from physical and mental harm during the investigation”

Question 17

what must investigators do to minimise risks

Answer 17

no investigation is risk free. there should be no greater risks than participants are normally exposed to in their day-to-day life. Participants should be told what they are letting themselves into

Question 18

when can studying participants without informed consent be ethically acceptable

Answer 18

if the tasks involved are what they would do in their normal everyday life

Question 19

what is the major problem with informed consent

Answer 19

the possibility that the researcher will give the game away and therefore influence the participants behaviour. the participant has to be handled carefully

Question 20

what should happen with the results of the experiment

Answer 20

they should be kept securely and publication must preserve anonymity

Question 21

how should studies be designed

Answer 21

in a way that they won’t risk physical or psychological harm to participants beyond risks people experience in everyday life. researchers should ask permission to erun a study by proposing to an organisations ethics board (British Psychology Society). they should give participants the right to withdraw at any time for any reason without question.