ethical issues and ways of dealing with them

Question 1

BPS code of ethics

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Withdrawal

Answer 2

participants should always have the right to leave an investigation if they wish to

Question 3

Informed consent

Answer 3

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

Question 4

confidentiality

Answer 4

participants have the right to control information about themselves, if this privacy is invaded it must be kept protected/confidential

Question 5

deception

Answer 5

information should not be withheld from the participants or be misleading

Question 6

protection from harm

Answer 6

participants should not be caused unnecessary distress

Question 7

brief

Answer 7

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

Question 8

debrief

Answer 8

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