Ethical issues and ways of dealing with them

Define ethical issues

when there is a conflict between the rights of the participants to be safe and the goals of research to produce valuable data

What is the code of ethics?

a document produced by the BPS that instructs psychologists in the UK on what behaviour is and isn’t acceptable when dealing with participants. It’s built on 4 major principles: respect, competence, responsibility and integrity

What is informed consent?

making participants aware of the aims, procedures (e.g other groups or tests) and their rights. Participants can then make an informed decision as to whether they want to take part

researchers don’t always wish to disclose this information as is it could lead to demand characteristics

How can you deal with the issue of lack of informed consent?

• retrospective consent - asking for consent after they have participated in the study

• presumptive consent - when a researcher gathers opinions from a group of people like the participants

• researchers produce a letter, sign a consent form (parental consent for under 16)

What is deception?

this is the act of deliberately withholding information from participants or misleading them during the research study

How can you deal with the issue of deception?

debriefing - provide a full debrief at the end of the study to inform the participants of anything they were not told about during the study, giving participants the right to say if they would like their data to be used or not

What is protection from physical or psychological harm?

participants should not be at more risk of suffering harm than in their everyday lives. This includes not feeling embarrassed or stressed

How can you deal with the issue of harm?

• the researcher should provide counselling for any participant if required

• psychologists should reassure participants that their behaviour was ‘normal’ if they are anxious about it

What is privacy and confidentiality?

right of privacy - participants have the right to control information about themselves

confidentiality - right to have any personal data protected and anonymised

How can you deal with the issue of lack of privacy and confidentiality?

• anonymity can be maintained by researchers not recording any personal information so things can’t be traced back to them.

• refer to participants by their number

What is the right to withdraw?

participants can leave the study and decide not to take part at any point , before, during or after the study

How can you deal with the issue of having no right to withdraw?

participants can be reminded during the debrief that they have the right to with hold their data