research methods: ethical guidelines Flashcards
1
Q
what is research within the uk regulated by?
A
British Psychological Society (BPS)
2
Q
what is research within America regulated by?
A
American Psychological Association
3
Q
what is Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, and Greece regulated by?
A
European Federation of Psychologists’ Association
4
Q
what is the purpose of ethical guidelines?
A
to ultimately ensure safety and well-being of ppts within psychological investigations. they are also used to ensure that the standards, professionalism and reputation of the subject are uphold.
5
Q
what are the four ethical principles?
A
respect, competence, responsibility, and integrity
6
Q
what is respect within psychology?
A
- expects psychologists to have a general respect for the dignity of all individuals in terms of their cultural and role differences.
- should maintain the right to privacy (ppts not asked about topics they may find intrusive, personal data, just not be obtained that a ppt would not voluntarily disclose) and confidentiality (ppts should not be identified as part of the study, names should be kept anonymous)
- psychologists should seek informed consent (ppts should be fully aware of the aims, procedure and implications of the research) and avoid deception (ppts should not be lied to or misguided about nature of research)
- ppts should be offered right to withdraw (opportunity to leave study at any point without consequence, withdrawing data from research).
7
Q
what is competence within psychology?
A
- concerns the level of professionalism held by psychologist conducting research
- research should be fully aware of ethical code, and if uncertain, they are to seek help from experts or supervisors
- should monitor their own knowledge of the area and recognise their own limits and limits of their research
- must ensure protection of ppts (ppts should not be subject to physical or psychological harm)
- should be mindful of how they treat ppts and how they feel (stressed, fearful or embarrassed e.g should be avoided)
8
Q
what is responsibility within psychology?
A
- psychologist should not only have responsibility to their ppts, but also to general public, profession, and to science.
- must ensure their research does not harm others or result in misuse.
- should consider views of ppts and inform them of any potential for harm and how the harm will be safeguarded.
- principle reiterates ppts right to withdraw and maintains that participation should not be incentivised (forced/bribed).
- debrief (statement given at end/conclusion of study full disclosing nature of research and implications of research) should always be given at the conclusion of research.
9
Q
what is integrity within psychology?
A
- psychologists should be honest and fair in all work and avoid situations where they may be seen to exploit others or hold interests which may conflict with interests of ppts or how research is likely to be received by public.
10
Q
what are some weaknesses of the bps ethical principles?
A
- regulates research in psychology
- however cannot address every possible situation that researcher might face.
- judgements are made by researcher, and consultation with other professionals in field in encouraged.
11
Q
what are the seven ethical guidelines?
A
informed consent
deception
right to withdraw
debriefing
competence
protection from harm
confidentiality
12
Q
what is informed consent?
A
- ppts must be given consent to take part in research and this consent must be ‘informed’
- means that information must be made available on which base decision to participate or not
- ppts should be told what they are letting themselves in for
- to study ppts without consent would be ethically acceptable as long as what happens to ppts could just as likely happen to them in real life
- consent for young people under 16 should be obtained from parents
- major problem with informed consent is possibility that researcher will ‘give the game away’ and thus influence ppts’ behaviour. as result, case can be made for withholding information.
13
Q
what is deception?
A
- information is withheld from ppts; misled about purpose of study and what will happen during it.
- according to bps guidelines: ‘intentional deception of ppts should be avoided whenever possible’
- deception is unacceptable if it leads to ‘discomfort anger or objections from ppts’ when deception is revealed after research completed.
- however, bps accepts that sometimes deception is unavoidable. researcher must:
1. make sure alternative procedures that avoid deception are not available
2. consult with colleagues about how ppts might be affected by deception
3. reveal deception to ppts immediately after research complete
14
Q
what is right to withdraw?
A
- ppts should have right to withdraw at any time
- true even if they are being paid to take part
- ppts should be told at the start
- no attempt should be made to encourage or persuade them to remain
15
Q
what is competence?
A
- psychologists must not attempt to carry out research unless they are qualified to do so. if they are unsure, they should seek advice of qualifies individual.
- includes knowing ethical guidelines, adhering to safe practice, knowing where and how to store data, being suitably qualified and understanding implications of study.
