Ethics Flashcards
What is informed consent?
What is an issue with this?
Participants should have sufficient information about research aims and procedures to enable them to make an informed judgement about whether they take part
Means researcher must tell participant about all aspects of study which could influence participants behaviour
How do you deal with informed consent?
1) obtain prior general consent - tell participants they will not be told everything and may be deceived, they then choose whether to consent
2) obtain presumptive consent - inform a group of individuals similar to participants about aims and procedures and if they consent, assume participants would too
3) obtain fully informed consent - ask actual participants to consent after being given comprehensive details
What is deception?
What is an issue with this?
Participants being misled about true aims of research of have information withheld
In some research deception is needed so participants don’t show demand characteristics
How do you deal with deception?
1) obtain prior general consent
2) debrief - after research is complete, inform participants of true aims and researchers should ensure all participants leave in the same psychological/physical state in which they entered
What is right to withdraw?
What is an issue with this?
Participants informed that they can withdraw from study at any point and can withdraw their data once results have been gathered
Participants may feel obligated to continue especially if they are being paid and may not be confident to ask
How do you deal with right to withdraw?
1) provide right to withdraw at any point
What is confidentiality?
What is an issue with this?
Information on participants taking part should be kept confidential and not personally identifiable
Sometimes generic details (eg location) can make it obvious who it is referring to and researcher may discover information which should be disclosed (eg participants commit a crime)
How do you deal with confidentiality?
1) avoid collecting personal details from participants by using fake names or numbers/letters, not disclosing locations, not taking photographs, and only asking for necessary data in the first place
What is protection from harm?
What is an issue with this?
Participants should be protected from psychological or physical harm, such as humiliation and loss of dignity. Risks they are exposed to in research should not exceed those that they would encounter in everyday life
Lots of studies result in participants feeling some level of discomfort and can be difficult to determine whether risks would exceed everyday life. If very important findings are revealed, some psychologists may justify some distress
How do you deal with protection from harm?
1) terminate research
2) provide right to withdraw
3) debrief
