Ethical Issues & Guidelines

What is informed consent and how researches commonly get it

Informed consent:

• making participants aware of any aspect of they study that would affect their willingness to participate

• participants can then make an informed judgement about taking part

Ways of getting consent:

• consent letter

• detailed with relevant information

• signed by participant (and guardian if under 16)

What is presumptive consent and its limitations

Presumptive consent is:

• asking other people who could have taken part in the study

• to decide whether the deception / stress is justified

Limitations:

• cannot be presumed to be representative of the participant population

• people who consent don’t take part so may be less concerned of the ethics

What is prior general consent and its limitations

Prior General Consent

• getting permission to deceive a participant

• Participants consent to multiple experiments

Limitations:

• Participants may be wary knowing there is the possibility of deception

• Acting unnaturally (reducing validity)

What is retrospective consent and its limitation

Retrospective Consent:

• consent is obtained during the debrief (after the study)

• For use of data

Limitation

• Consents only for data, not for stress etc

What is deception and how is it dealt with

Deception:

• deliberately misleading / withholding information from participants during a study

How to deal:

• acceptable if there is a strong scientific/medical justification

• participants become aware of all deception during debrief

• participants have the right to withdraw data

What is protection from harm and how is it dealt with

Protection from Harm:

• Participants shouldn’t be placed at risk of physical/psychological harm

• Study shouldn’t be more stressful than everyday life

How to deal:

• researches should provide counselling if required

• debriefing isn’t an acceptable way of dealing with protection

What is privacy and confidentiality and how is it dealt with

Privacy & Confidentially:

• participants have the right to control their data / information

• Others shouldn’t know / figure out participants identity

How to deal:

• anonymity is actively maintained in databases

• Researches shouldn’t publish names

What is Right to Withdrawal and how is it dealt with

Right to Withdrawal:

• Participants have the right to stop participating in the study

• At any point without reason

How to deal:

• should be stated / explained at the outset

• Participants should be able to withdraw data at the end

When is it ethically acceptable to not obtain consent

If it’s expected to be observed in the situation (e.g. public)

Which Organisation produces the ethical guidelines for psychologists in the UK

BPS - British Psychological Society