Ethics- Key Terms

Question 1

Confidentiality

Answer 1

Concerns the communication of personal information from one person to another, and the trust that the information will be protected

Question 2

Deception

Answer 2

A participant is not told the true aims of a study (e.g. what participation will involve) and thus cannot give valid consent

Question 3

Active deception

Answer 3

Participants are deliberately misled e.g. Milgram’s shock study

Question 4

Passive deception

Answer 4

Some of the aims are withheld/ omitted e.g. Stanford prison experiment

Question 5

Privacy

Answer 5

A person’s right to control the flow of information about themselves

Question 6

Risk of harm

Answer 6

During a research study, participants should not experience negative physical or psychological effects, such as physical injury, lowered self-esteem or embarrassment= beyond what would be normal for them to experience

Question 7

Valid consent

Answer 7

Participants are given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it, in order that they can make an informed decision about whether to participate

Question 8

Debriefing

Answer 8

A post-research interview designed to inform participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the state they were in at the start of the study. It may also be used to gain useful feedback about the procedures in the study.

Question 9

Ethical guidelines (code of conduct)

Answer 9

A set of principles designed to help professionals behave honestly and with integrity

Question 10

Ethics committee

Answer 10

A group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins

Question 11

Presumptive consent

Answer 11

A method of dealing with lack of valid consent or deception, by asking a group of people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in a study. If this group of people consents to the procedures in the proposed study, it is presumed that the real participants would also have agreed.

Question 12

Prior general consent

Answer 12

Participants are aware that they are going to be perceived or observed but are not told when, where or how

Question 13

Right to withdraw/ results

Answer 13

Participants can stop participating in a study if they are uncomfortable in any way. This is especially important in cases where it was not possible to give valid consent. Participants should also have the right to refuse permission for the researcher to use any data they produced

Question 14

Anonymity

Answer 14

To improve confidentiality a researcher may not use the participants real name but would use a number or fake name instead to reefer to the participants data