Research methods - Ethics

Question 1

what are the four ethical principles of the BPS

Answer 1

respect, competence, responsibility and integrity

Question 2

outline the principle of respect

Answer 2

psychologists should respect individual, cultural and role differences and should avoid practices that are unfair or prejudiced

Question 3

outline the principle of competence

Answer 3

psychologists value the continuing development and maintenance of high standards and competence in their professional work

Question 4

outline the principle of responsibility

Answer 4

psychologists value their responsibilities to the general public, including the avoidance of harm

Question 5

outline the principle of integrity

Answer 5

psychologists value honesty, accuracy clarity and fairness

Question 6

what are the main ethical issues

Answer 6

informed consent, right to withdraw, confidentiality, protection of participants, debrief, deception

Question 7

define informed consent

Answer 7

participants can enter research freely and with full information about what it means for them to take part

Question 8

which BPS principle does informed consent fall into

Answer 8

respect

Question 9

define right to withdraw

Answer 9

a participant can drop out of a study as any time without penalty

Question 10

which BPS principle does right to withdraw fall into

Answer 10

respect

Question 11

define confidentiality

Answer 11

participant’s information will be treated confidentially and, if published, will not be identifiable as theirs

Question 12

which BPS principle does confidentiality fall into

Answer 12

respect

Question 13

define protection from harm

Answer 13

participants should not experience any physical or mental distress that is more than what they could experience in day to day life

Question 14

which BPS principle does protection from harm fall into

Answer 14

responsibility

Question 15

define debrief

Answer 15

after the research, the participant should be able to discuss the aims, research and findings with the psychologist, with access to psychological support

Question 16

which BPS principle does debrief fall into

Answer 16

responsibility

Question 17

define deception

Answer 17

the researcher should avoid deceiving (purposely misleading) participants about the nature of their research unless there is no alternative

Question 18

which BPS principle does deception fall into

Answer 18

integrity

Question 19

what is the cost benefit analysis

Answer 19

psychologists must “weigh up” the benefits to society that may be gained from their research and the costs to the participants within the research that may result from a lack of ethics

Question 20

why might psychologists sometimes break ethical guidelines

Answer 20

don’t know what participant will find distressing, the research may be ground-breaking so confidentiality breached, giving informed consent could impact results of study

Question 21

what are the three ways of dealing with ethical issues

Answer 21

debrief, ethics committee, presumptive consent

Question 22

what is an ethics committee

Answer 22

a group of people within a research institution that approve a study before it begins, it consists of both professional and lay people

Question 23

what is presumptive consent

Answer 23

a method of dealing with lack of informed consent. ask a group of people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in the study