ethical issues Flashcards
what are ethical issues?
conflict about what is acceptable in scientific research.
describe informed consent from the researchers and the participants perspective.
participant- consent is a basic human right so they should be told the true aims of the study to make an informed choice as to whether to be a part of the research
researcher- revealing the true aims of the study may cause participants to guess the experiments true aims thus leading to demand characteristics.
describe deception from the researchers and the participants perspective.
participants- this is unethical for participants. this could lead to participants consenting into something they don’t understand. researchers could then be seen as untrustworthy, hindering further development.
researcher- participants may alter behaviour is this does not occur. researchers have to determine if it’s worth deception. if deception occurs, a debriefing must follow.
describe the right to withdrawl from the researchers and the participants perspective.
participants- it is important if a participant begins to feel emotionally distressed. particularly if deception or money has been involved.
researcher- results may be sabotaged or biased if participants leave during the study. this would have negative impacts on the validity of the study.
describe protection from physical and psychological harm from the researchers and the participants perspective.
participant- no physical or psychological harm should occur during this study.
researcher- it can be difficult to guarantee this. it is also difficult to predict the outcome of certain procedures. they must leave in the same state they entered in.
describe confidentiality from the researchers and the participants perspective.
participants- data protection act makes confidentiality a legal right. Data must not be able to identify participants
researcher- difficult to protest. sometimes it might be obvious who took part in the study.
describe privacy from the researchers and the participants perspective.
participant- people do not expect to be observed in certain situations (e.g own homes). however it may be acceptable in public places
researcher- difficult to avoid (e.g field studies)
what are some ways to deal with ethical issues?
ethical guidelines (code of conduct) :
- cost-benefit analysis (a systematic approach to estimating the positives and negatives of any research.)
- ethics committee (a group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins.
- punishment- to the researcher if they don’t behave in an ethical manner.
- ethical guidelines (something researchers should follow to ensure they are ethical)
what are some methods of dealing with specific ethical issues?
informed consent: presumption consent (asking a group similar to that in the study if they’d take part, if they say yes, they presume the actual group would too) -may be different to actual experience
deception: debriefing (post-research interview designed to inform participants of true nature of study) -participants may still feel embarrassed.
right to withdraw: participants should be informed that they have the right before the study - participants may still feel they shouldn’t withdraw as it might spoil the study.