Ethical issues and ways of dealing with them

Ethical issues

• Arise when there is a conflict between participants' rights and researchers' needs to gain valuable and meaningful findings. Such conflict has implications for the safety and well-being of participants

Informed consent

• Prospective participants in studies should know what they are getting into before they get into it. This involves making participants aware of the aims of the research, the procedures, their rights (including the right to withdraw), and also what their data will be used for. Participants make a judgement

• May make the study meaningless because behaviour will not be 'natural' as the aims of the study are known

Dealing with informed consent

• Participants should be issued with a consent form detailing all relevant information that might affect their decision to participate. Assuming they agree, this is then signed. For children, a signature of parental consent is required

Deception

• Deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants. Participants who have not received adequate information when they agreed to take part (or worse, have been intentionally lied to) cannot be said to have given informed consent

• There are occasions where this can be justified (knowing some things could affect behaviour)

Dealing with deception and protection from harm

• Participants should be fully debriefed. They should be made aware of the true aims of the investigation and any details they were not supplied with during the study. Should also be told what their data will be used for and the right to withhold data if they wish. Should be assured their behaviour was normal if they have natural concerns related to their performance

• Researcher should provide counselling if participants are subject to stress and/or embarrassment

Protection from harm

• Participants should not be placed at any more risk than they would be in their daily lives, psychologically and physically. The latter includes being made to feel embarrassed, inadequate, or being placed under undue stress or pressure. Participants should be reminded of their right to withdraw

Privacy and confidentiality

• Participants have the right to control information about themselves. If this is invaded then anonymity should be maintained. Such information extends to the area where the study took place such that institutions or geographical locations are not named

Dealing with confidentiality

If personal details are held these must be protected. However it is more usual to simply record no personal details i.e. maintain anonymity. Instead, researchers usually refer to participants as numbers or initials when writing up their investigation. During briefing and debriefing, participants should be reminded that their data will be protected and that it will not be shared with other researchers

BPS code of conduct

• Researchers may lose their job if they don’t adhere to.

• Implemented by ethics committees using a cost-benefit analysis.