Chapter 4 Definitions

debriefed

to be carefully informed about the study’s hypothesis

principle of respect for persons

a principle that states individuals potentially involved in research should be treated as autonomous agents

informed consent

each person learns about the research project, considers its risks and benefits, and decided whether to participate

principle of beneficence

a principle that states researchers must take precautions to protect participants from harm and to ensure their well being

anonymous study

a study where researchers do not collect any potentially identifying information

confidential study

a type of study where researchers collect some identifying information, but prevent it from being disclosed

principle of justice

a principle that calls for a fair balance between the kinds of people who participate in research and the kinds of people who benefit from it

institutional review board

a committee responsible for interpreting ethical principles and ensuring that research using human participants is conducted ethically

deception

when researchers withhold some details of the study from participants.

deception through omission

deception through withholding details

deception through commission

deception by actively lying to participants

Data fabrication

when researchers invent data that fit their hypotheses instead of recording what really happened

data falsification

when researchers influence a study’s results possibly by deleting data sets or influencing participants

self-plagiarism

recycling portions of the methods section from previous version of your own work