Chapter 3: Ethical Research

risk-benefit analysis

calculate potential risks and benefits that are likely to result

assent

agreement by a minor (when minors are asked to participate)

justice principle and issues of equity

any decisions to include or exclude certain people from a research study must be justified on scientific grounds; if age, ethnicity, gender, or other criteria are used to select participants, the researcher must provide a scientific rationale

coercion

any procedure that limits an individual's freedom to consent is potentially coercive

confidentiality

becomes particularly important when studying topics such as sexual behavior, divorce, family violence, or drug abuse

what are the associated applications of these principles?

(1) assessment of risks and benefits (2) informed consent (3) selection of subjects

what are the three basic ethical principles?

(1) beneficence (2) respect for persons (autonomy) (3) justice

three primary reasons for a decrease in the type of elaborate deception

(1) more researchers have become interested in cognitive variables rather than emotions and so use methods that are similar to those used by researchers in memory and cognitive psychology (2) general level of awareness of ethical issues has led researchers to conduct studies in other ways (3) ethics committees at universities and colleges now review proposed research more carefully, so elaborate deception is likely to be approved only when the research is important and there are no alternative procedures available

honest experiments

(1) participants agree to have their behavior studied and know exactly what the researchers hope to accomplish (2) naturally occurring event presents an opportunity for research

risks in psychological research

(1) physical harm (2) stress (3) loss of privacy and confidentiality

research activities considered minimal risk

(1) recording routine physiological data from adult participants; this does not include recordings that might involve invasion of privacy (2) moderate exercise by healthy volunteers (3) research on individual or group behavior or characteristics of individuals; in which the researcher does not manipulate participants' behavior and the research will not involve stress to participants

alternatives to deception

(1) role-playing (2) simulations (3) "honest" experiments

what do informed consent forms typically cover?

(1) the purpose of the research (2) procedures that will be used including time involved (3) risks and benefits (4) any compensation (5) confidentiality (6) assurance of voluntary participation and permission to withdraw (7) contact information for questions

what must research participants be informed about?

(1) the purposes of the study (2) the risks and benefits of participation (3) their rights to refuse or terminate participation in the study

The Belmont Report

Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects on Research

IACUC

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

evens simulations may present ethical problems

Stanford Prison Experiment (participants became so involved in their roles that the experimenter produced higher levels of stress than expected)

benefits

direct benefits to the participants, material benefits, satisfaction gained through being part of a scientific investigation, potential beneficial applications of the research findings

most of us would probably overestimate our altruistic tendencies

especially when undesirable behavior is involved and when people are asked to predict whether they would help someone in need

fraud

fabrication of data

risks

factors like psychological or physical harm and loss of confidentiality

where is deception most common?

in social psychology research; much less frequent in experimental psychology

concealed observation of behavior

in some studies, researchers make observations of behavior in public places

informed consent procedure would affect outcome of study

knowledge that the research is designed to study obedience would likely alter the behavior of the participants (bias participants' responses)

informed consent bias sample

limit ability to generalize the results only to those "types" who agreed to participate

plagiarism

misrepresenting another's work as your own

what is the most serious defect of role-playing?

no mater what results are obtained, critics can always claim that the results would have been different if the participants had been in a real situation

debriefing

occurs after the completion of the study; an opportunity for the researcher to deal with issues of withholding information, deception, and potential harmful effects of participation

deception

occurs when there is active misrepresentation of information

informed consent

potential participants in a research project should be provided with all information that might influence their decision of whether to participate

deception outside of laboratory research

procedures in which observers conceal their purposes, presence, or identity

debriefing has both an educational and an ethical purpose

provides an opportunity for the researcher to explain the purpose of the study and tell participants what kind of results are expected and discuss the practical implications of the results

withholding information

providing too much information could potentially invalidate the results of the study; researchers usually will withhold information about the hypothesis of the study or the particular condition an individual is participating

stress

psychological stress; self-esteem, anxiety, asking people about traumatic or unpleasant events; the researcher must ask whether all safeguards have been taken to help participants deal with the stress (debriefing)

exempt research

research in which there is no risk; anonymous questionnaires, surveys, and educational tests; naturalistic observation in public places when there is no threat to anonymity

loss of privacy and confidentiality

researchers must take care to protect the privacy of individuals; at a minimum, researchers should protect privacy by keeping all data locked in a secure place

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

responsible for the review of research conducted within the institution; local review agency composed of at least five individuals; at least one member of the IRB must be from outside the institution

physical harm

risks in such procedures require that great care be taken to make them ethically acceptable; need to be clear benefits of the research that would outweigh the potential risks

simulation of a real-world situation (role-playing)

simulations can be used to examine conflict between competing individuals, etc. such simulations can create high degrees of involvement among participants

autonomy

states that participants are treated as autonomous; they are capable of making deliberate decisions about whether to participate in reserach

role-playing and simulations

the experimenter describes a situation to participants and then asks them how they would respond to the situation

beneficence

the need for research to maximize benefits and minimize any possible harmful effects of participation

justcie

the principle of justice addresses issues of fairness in receiving the benefits of research as well as bearing the burdens of accepting risks

minimal risk research

the risks of harm to participants are no greater than risks encountered in daily life or in routine physical or psychological tests

identifying individual participants

when individuals are studied on multiple occasions over time or when personal feedback, such as test score, must be given; researcher should develop a way to identify the individuals but to separate the information about their identity from the actual data