Ethics

Question 1

What are ethics?

Answer 1

Correct rules of conduct and moral principles when carrying out research on participants

Question 2

What is the aim and purpose of ethics?

Answer 2

• Protect participants, reputation of researchers and psychology
• Researchers have a moral responsibility to protect participants from harm - duty to respect the rights and dignity of participants
• Judgement should be made by researcher and committee to assess if potential benefits of the research are justifiable in light of the risk of possible physical or psychological harm

Question 3

What are the 4 ethical principles of the BPS?

Answer 3

1) Respect
- To privacy, consent, compassion - regardless of perceived/ real differences
2) Competence
- Standard of researcher work that is professional within their areas of knowledge/training
3) Responsibility
- Professional accountability, responsible use of knowledge etc
4) Integrity
- Being honest, fair, truthful, accurate and consistent in actions/words/decisions/methods to avoid exploitation

Question 4

What are the 6 key ethical guidelines of the BPS?

Answer 4

1) Informed consent
- Participants must be capable to give permission (parents/ guardians of children can consent on behalf of children)
- Participants need to know what they’re agreeing to do (purpose, methods, risks)
2) Deception
- Participants should not be deceived unless there is no alternative, deception should not cause distress
3) Right to withdraw
4) Confidentiality
5) Debrief
6) Protection from harm
- Must not frighten, embarrass, offend or harm
- Should not be exposed to risks greater than/ in addition to what they may typically encounter in everyday life
- Participants should leave ‘as they came in’ - offering aftercare/service tools may be necessary during/after the study

Question 5

What are grey areas of ethics in research?

Answer 5

• Limited capacity of informed consent (e.g. Dementia research)
• If some deception is necessary (to study real reactions or behaviours where participants may otherwise alter their behaviour or attitudes) participants must be fully debriefed afterwards

Question 6

What is participant etiquette?

Answer 6

• Check eligibility
• Read study info and details
• Don’t be a no show - in emergency contact the researcher
• Different studies have different notice periods for cancellation
• Responsible, enthusiastic, committed
• Ask questions if you need something