Ethics including writing a consent form and a debrief

Question 1

How do ethics relate to psychological research?

Answer 1

• Ethical issues arise in psychology when a conflict or dilemma exists between participants’ rights and researchers’’ needs to gain valuable and meaningful findings.
• Psychologists need to consider how participants will be affected by taking part in research and consider their welfare.

Question 2

The British Psychological Society (BPS) code of ethics.

Answer 2

• Researchers must observe these guidelines or they could lose their job.
• Guidelines are implemented by ethics committees who often use a cost-benefit approach to determine whether research proposals are ethically acceptable.
• researcher must get permission from the BPS ethics committee, by completing a proposal

Question 3

What is the cost-benefit approach?

Answer 3

• determines whether research proposals are ethically acceptable
• does the cost of breaking ethics outweigh the benefits of the information gained

Question 4

Analyse the cost-benefit approach:

Answer 4

• provides a framework for making ethical decisions
• involves objective judgments about costs and benefits
• consequences cannot always be anticipated (zimbardo + milgram)

Question 5

What is informed consent?

Answer 5

• researchers should tell potential participants exactly what is going to happen to them in the experiment
• ppts should agree to take part in the study, know the aim of the research, the procedure and their rights (including right to withdraw) and what their data will be used for.

Question 6

Why is informed consent not always possible?

Answer 6

• it can affect the results of the study as people can behave differently. (e.g. behaviour study)
• Some people are not in a position to give consent to be in a study:
  
  • children under the age of 16 - Parents give consent.
  • Individuals with mental health issues – e.g. dementia

Question 7

How do you deal with informed consent?

Answer 7

• Participants should be issued with a consent letter - detailing all information that might affect their decision to participate.
• For under-16s parental consent is required.

Question 8

What is deception?

Answer 8

Deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants.

Question 9

How do you deal with deception?

Answer 9

• Participants should be made aware of true aims, existence of other groups/experimental conditions and any other withheld information.
• Participants must be told what their data will be used for

Question 10

What is protection from harm?

Answer 10

participants should not be harmed either physically or psychologically, when participating in research

Question 11

How do you deal with protection from harm?

Answer 11

• ppts should be given a full debrief
• ppts given the right to withdraw
• ppts should be reassured if subject to stress/embarrassment - counselling provided if required

Question 12

What is confidentiality?

Answer 12

ppts should have the right to have any personal data protected.

Question 13

How do you deal with confidentiality?

Answer 13

• If personal details are held these must be protected
• case study initials/numbers are used.
• During briefing and debriefing ppts are reminded that their data will be protected throughout the process.

Question 14

how do you write a consent form

Answer 14

(Assume informed consent)
Dear ppt,
Thank you for considering taking part…
→ aim
→ what they are going to do
(both need to be very specific e.g. say if they are taking part in an interview)
→ go through ethics: kept confidential, debrief/counselling at end, can withdraw etc
If you still are happy to take part, please sign here

Question 15

how do you write a debrief form

Answer 15

Dear ppt,
Thank you for taking part in this research…
→ what the aim is
→ what they have done
→ go through ethics: please call this number 12345 if affected, you have the right to withdraw data