Research Methods Ch 4 (exam 1)

anonymity

The practice of ensuring that an individual's name is not directly associated with the information or measurements obtained from that individual. Keeping records anonymous is a way to preserve the confidentiality of research participants.

Confidentiality

The practice of keeping strictly secret and private the information or measurements obtained from an individual during a research study. APA ethical guidelines require researchers to ensure the confidentiality of their research participants anonymity

deception

The purposeful withholding of information or misleading of participants about a study. There are two forms of deception: passive and active.

Ethics

The study of proper action.

Are confederates used in passive or active deception?

active

active deception

aka commission The intentional presentation of misinformation about a study to its participants. The most common form of active deception is misleading participants about the specific purpose of the study

Passive deception

aka omission The intentional withholding or omitting of information whereby participants are not told some information about the study

Informed consent has three components

1. Information 2. Understanding 3. Voluntary Participation

Major Ethical Issues

1. No harm 2. Informed consent 3. Deception 4. Confidentiality

Strategies for ensuring confidentiality of data (usually one of the following is used)

1. No names or other identification appears on data records This strategy is used in situations in which there is no need whatsoever to link an individual participant to the specific information that the participant provides. ex) ppl filling out a questionnaire 2. Researchers use a coding system to keep track of which participant names go with which sets of data. This strategy is used in situations in which it is necessary to reconnect specific names with specific data at different times during a research study ex)

Two APA ethical standards (2010) relate to scientific integrity and ethical issues:

1. Reporting of Data 2. Plagiarism

The APA guidelines identify three specific areas of responsibility for deception

1.The deception must be justified in terms of some significant benefit that outweighs the risk to the participants. 2.Cannot conceal from the prospective participants information about research that is expected to cause physical pain or severe emotional distress. 3.The researcher must debrief the participants by providing a complete explanation as soon as possible after participation is completed.

IRB

A committee that examines all proposed research with respect to its treatment of human participants. IRB approval must be obtained prior to conducting any research with human participants.

Confederates

A person who pretends to be a participant in a research study but actually is working for the researcher to create a false environment.

Debriefing

A postexperimental explanation of the purpose of the study. A debriefing is given after a participant completes a study, especially if deception was used.

Consent form

A written statement by the researcher containing all of the elements of informed consent and a line for the participant's signature. The consent form is provided before the study so that potential participants have all the information they need to make an informed decision regarding participation.

placebo

An ineffective, inert substitute for a treatment or medication.

What kind of research was the focus for most of the early attempts to establish ethical research guidelines?

Medical research with humans

APA members created a formal code of ethics after this study

Milgram's obedience study

Understanding

Simply telling participants about the research does not necessarily mean they are informed, especially in situations in which the participants may not be competent enough to understand. This problem occurs routinely with special populations such as young children, developmentally disabled people, and psychiatric patients. In these situations, it is customary to provide information to the participant as well as to a parent or guardian who also must approve of the participation. With special populations, researchers occasionally speak of obtaining assent from the participants and consent from an official guardian. Researchers must express their explanations in terms that the participants can easily understand and should give the participants ample opportunity to ask questions.

clinical equipoise

The ethical issue requiring clinicians to provide the best possible treatment for their patients, thus limiting research to studies that compare equally preferred treatments.

informed consent

The ethical principle requiring the investigator to provide all available information about a study so that a participant can make a rational, informed decision regarding whether to participate in the study.

Fraud

The explicit efforts of a researcher to falsify and misrepresent data. Fraud is unethical.

Voluntary Participation

The goal of informed consent is that participants should decide to participate of their own free will. Often, however, participants may feel coerced to participate or perceive that they have limited choice. In these cases (student/teacher, prison), it is especially important that the researcher explain to the participants that they are completely free to decline participation or to leave the study at any time without negative consequences.

difference between error and fraud

error is an honest mistake

In some situations, the research design permits a researcher to inform participants that deception may be involved and to ask the participants for consent to be deceived.

ex) drug research and placebos

Information

it is difficult or impossible to provide participants with complete information about a research study prior to their participation. One common practice is to keep participants "blind" to the purpose of the study.

Research Ethics

the responsibility of researchers to be honest and respectful to all individuals who may be affected by their research studies or their reports of the studies' results. Researchers are usually governed by a set of ethical guidelines that assist them to make proper decisions and choose proper actions. In psychological research, the American Psychological Association (APA) maintains a set of ethical principles for research.

Plagiarism

the unethical representation of someone else's ideas or words as one's own. Psychologists should not present portions of another's work or data as their own, even if the other work or data source is cited occasionally.

No harm

•"No harm" means a researcher is obligated to anticipate and remove any harmful elements in a research study. •A researcher must monitor the well-being of the participants and halt the study at any sign of trouble. •Zimbardo study (1973) •Clinical equipoise- •Researchers can compare treatments in a few cases. •May violate principle of "No Harm".

•Each institution or agency is required to establish an IRB committee.

•Composed of scientists and nonscientists. •Examines proposed research involving humans. •Reviews ensure compliance with the Common Rule. •Reviews research proposals according to seven criteria.

The Basic Categories of Research Design

•Ensuring welfare and dignity of participants/subjects. •Accuracy in reporting research results.

•Safeguards to Prevent Fraud:

•Experimental research studies are designed to be replicated. •Research articles are peer reviewed by experts in the field. •The consequences of being found guilty of fraud are a big deterrent.

IRB Criteria for Review

•IRB approval must be obtained prior to conducting any research with human participants.

IRB vs IACUCs

•Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs)

APA Ethics Code

•Primary goal is the welfare and protection of the individuals and groups with whom psychologists work. •Ten ethical standards to provide guidance for psychologists.

Milgram's obedience study (1963)

•Sought to discover how far subjects would go in order to obey an authority figure.

Ethical Principles in Research Examples

•Suppose you are interested in brain injury that may result from repeated blows to the head such as those suffered by boxers. •For ethical reasons you could not plan a study that involved injuring people's brains to examine the effects. •You could compare two preexisting groups. •What are two possible groups?

•The IACUC reviews and approves of all institutional research using animal subjects in much the same way that the IRB monitors research with humans.

•The committee must consist of a veterinarian, at least one scientist experienced in research involving animals, and one member of the public with no affiliation with the institution where the research is being conducted.

The federal government requires researchers using nonhuman subjects to follow:

•The guidelines of the local Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). •The U.S. Department of Agriculture's guidelines. •The guidelines of state agencies. •Established guidelines within the academic discipline of the researcher.

Ethical Concerns Throughout the Research Process

•What measurement techniques may be used. •How to select participants. •Which research strategies to use. •Which research design to use. •How to carry out the study. •How to analyze the data. •How to report the data.

Tuskegee Study (1932-1972)

•Withheld penicillin from participants with syphilis even after it became the standard treatment - and without their knowledge.