Research Methods- Ethical Issues Flashcards
What is informed consent?
Participants should be told the aims and nature of the study before agreeing to it
What if the participant is under age 16?
They can’t legally give consent
When is research acceptable in a naturalistic observation?
If it is done in a public location where people would expect to be observed by others
What is deception?
When participant cannot have given informed consent
Why do researchers sometime deceive participants?
Participants wouldn’t behave naturally if they knew the aim
When is deception acceptable according to BPS guidelines?
If there’s strong scientific justification for the research and there’s no alternative procedure available to obtain the data
What is protection from harm?
Risk of harm in a study to participants should be no greater than they would face in their normal lives
What harm should participants be protected from?
Physical and psychological
What is debriefing?
Researchers must fully explain what the research involved and what results might show
What is confidentiality?
None of the participants in a psychological study should be identifiable from any reports produced
When may researchers have to deceive participants?
Sometimes it’s difficult to conduct meaningful research without deception
When may consent be hard to avoid in research?
Telling participants that they’re being observed could change the way they behave
How has research with animals caused debate?
+ Animal research has provided valuable information
- Ethically wrong to inflict harm and suffering on animals
- Animals may suffer same psychological harm that humans do
How do ethical guidelines not solve all problems?
- Researchers may not follow guidelines correctly
- Can’t be banned from research
- Difficult to access things like psychological harm or to justify use of deception
