Ethical issues in research l l What is

Ethical issues in research l l What is an ethical issue? How do they arise? What can we do about them? What are the rules and regulations that we must follow

Ethical issues l Problems arising from conflict between l l What is necessary for our research Our moral obligations towards our participants

Practices that raise ethical issues l l l Getting informed consent Deceiving participants Putting participants at elevated risk of harm Obtaining confidential information Invading participants’ privacy

l Why do we care so much about the wellbeing of the participants? Why don’t we just do what’s good for our science?

BPS Guidelines l l Guidelines issued by the British Psychological Society (or equivalent professional body e. g. APA) Clarify what is ethically acceptable in psychological research

Informed consent l participants must be told about anything ‘that might reasonably affect their willingness to participate’ (BPS, 1998). l l l Can be withdrawn at any time, including during and after the study NB: observational studies NB: children (under 16 yrs)

Deception l Should be avoided if at all possible, especially where it would raise other issues l l l Will it cause stress? Would the participants participate if they knew? APA: only permissible where research is very important and no alternative method is available

Risk of harm l Risk should be no more than participants expect in everyday life. l l Physical and psychological harm (e. g. stress, damage to self image) participants should leave the study unchanged from how they entered it (NB: debriefing)

Confidentiality All data should be confidential, all participants should be anonymous and unidentifiable unless prior informed consent given l l Can be problematic in case studies Procedures should routinely anonymise participants (e. g. through use of numbers; not recording names etc. ) k l

Privacy l participants’ right to privacy must be respected esp. since invasions of privacy may affect well-being and raise confidentiality issues l l l Respect social & cultural variability participants may be unwilling to answer certain Qs. Observe only public behaviour in public places

Briefing Before the study, researcher must obtain consent & ensure participants understand tasks etc. l l Explain nature of study & invite participation Instruct PP about what is expected of them & what will happen Confirm that they fully consent Explain that they can withdraw at any time, for any reason k l

Debriefing After the study, researcher should ensure that participants are returned to their initial state & informed about the research they have participated in. l l l Ensure no harm has occurred Obtain feedback about the study Widen public understanding of psychology k l

Debriefing l l l Explain the aims and nature of the study Explain any deceptions used Reassure the participants about their performance or behaviour Offer retrospective withdrawal Get feedback Invite & answer questions