Week 3- Ethics + reporting results Flashcards
What are research ethics and what are the 4 ethical principles according to BPS guidelines?
Research ethics are moral principles that govern psychological research
Guidelines published by BPS (2018):
Respect
Competence
Responsibility
Integrity
Respect- informed consent
Psychologists value dignity + worth of all persons
- All studies require a ppt information sheet
-> needs to include what the study involves (purpose, procedures, duration)
-> also indicate ppts have right to refuse or withdraw at any time, without giving reasons
-get ppts to create unique identification code which they can email you if want to withdraw after completing study - Include researcher contact details for further info
- After reading ppt info sheet, ppt given informed consent form to read + sign (if they choose to participate)
Competence
Ability to provide services (that require specialist knowledge, training, skill and experience) to a professional standard
Responsibility- Deception
Members must accept responsibility for what is within their power or control - should avoid harm
- Shouldn’t be used unless necessary
-> sometimes it is necessary (if ppts knew true purpose of study, it would affect their behaviour) - Must explain deception as early as possible (usually in debrief)
-During debrief, opportunity for ppt to withdraw data after made aware - Monitor response of ppts during debrief - make sure not upset by deception
Responsibility- protection from discomfort + harm
- Obligation to protect ppts from harm
- Physical + psychological harm
-> stress, anxiety, embarrassment, depression, fear - Potential for harm must be made explicit in the ppt info sheet
- May be necessary to put in place resources for offering support if harm occurs (link to website in debrief sheet)
Responsibility- Debriefing
- Debrief sheet presented to ppt at end of study
-> summary of study’s true aims
-> ensure ppt well-being (include. support website in document if necessary)
-> opportunity to ask questions + get further info - Verbal discussion with ppt about debrief contents before entering study. Ppt takes debrief sheet home
Responsibility- Confidentiality
- Ppt data should remain confidential + anonymous
-> should be stated on ppt info sheet
Confidentiality -> researcher knows identity of ppt but avoids this being known by other people
Anonymity ->Researcher doesn’t know identity of ppt
- Need to inform ppts if confidentiality can’t be guaranteed
- Use of unique ID codes so ppt can remove data
- Separation of data files + names or identifiable info
Integrity
Psychologists value honesty, accuracy, clarity + fairness in their interactions with all persons
-> Includes not fabricating any data + being honest and accurate regarding any claims you make in the report
What is the results section?
Report + describe results relevant to your research question/hypothesis
- Don’t include raw data -> needs some level of analysis
- Use tables, figures, text etc.
- Don’t give rationale of why you conducted those specific statistical analyses
What should a results section include?
1) Descriptive statistics - to summarise data that was collected (means + sd’s)
2) Inferential statistics - to show whether differences/associations within these data were statistically significant different from chance (e.g. a linear regression, an analysis of variance)
-> usually presented after descriptive statistics
How do you present a table in your results?
- Introduce + describe table in text before it is presented
- Include table number and label above table
- Remove all but the top two horizontal lines and the bottom horizontal line in table
- All values in report (except p-values) should be rounded to 2d.p
- Tables are not always needed
How do you present a figure in your results?
- This includes graphs, photos, images
- Same rules as tables, but label goes under figure
