ETHICAL ISSUES Flashcards
What are the ethical issues? (5)
Informed consent, deception, protection from harm and right to withdraw, confidentiality
What is 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
-Participants should then make an informed judgement whether or not to take part without feeling oblidged
What happens with informed consent with under 16 year olds?
Parental consent should be obtained
How is informed consent dealt with?
Participants should be issues with a consent letter or form in the brief
What is deception?
Means deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants at any stage of the investigation
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 right to withdraw
Participants have a right to withdraw from the investigation at any point
How is protection from harm and right to withdraw dealt with?
The debrief - participants should be made aware of the true aims of the investigation and its details they were not supplied with during the study
They should be told what their data will be used for and must be given the right to withdraw data if they wish
If the participants are harmed, for example is they’re subject to stress or embarrassment they may require counseling
What is confidentiality?
If personal details are held these must be protected, or simply not record any personal details (maintain anonymity)
How can you deal with confidentiality?
Use numbers or initials when writing up the investigation
What should happen in the brief?
The participants are told some or all of the conditions of the experiment and what they will be doing in order to gain informed consent before the study
What should happen in the debrief?
After doing the experiment the participants should be told why the experiment was conducted
What should be included in the debrief? (6 things)
- The full aim of the study and the conditions; remind the participant which condition they took part in
- They should be re-assured that there behaviour was typical or normal
- The participant has the right to withdraw their RESULT
- In extreme cases, if participants have been subject to stress or embarrassment, ask them if they may require counseling
- Thank them for taking part
- Ask them if they have any questions
