ethical issues and ways of dealing with them Flashcards
BPS code of ethics
a legal document produced by the British Psychological Society that instructs psychologists in the UK what is and is not acceptable when dealing with participants
Withdrawal
participants should always have the right to leave an investigation if they wish to
Informed consent
informed consent involves making participants aware of the aims of the research, the procedures, what their data will be used for, so they can make an informed judgement about if they want to take part
confidentiality
participants have the right to control information about themselves, if this privacy is invaded it must be kept protected/confidential
deception
information should not be withheld from the participants or be misleading
protection from harm
participants should not be caused unnecessary distress
brief
participants should be told they have the right to withdraw at the start of the study during the brief
participants should be issued with a consent letter, detailing all relevant information that may affect their decision to participate, this is then signed. Under 16 - a parent’s signature is required
participants should be told how their data will be protected e.g. using numbers or initials in order to anonymise data, kept on password protected computer or locked filling cabinet
participants should not be deceived to begin with, so told the true purpose of the experiment in the brief
participants should not be put in embarrassing/uncomfortable situations and this should be explained to participants
debrief
during the debrief, at the end of the study they should be reminded that they still have the full right to withdraw their data
if consent is not gained before the study or full consent due to deception, participants are asked for their retrospective consent
participants should be reminded that their data will be kept confidential
if deceived they should be told the true aims of the investigation and any details they were not supplied with during the study
if they were subject to embarrassment, they may require counselling which the researcher should offer in the brief