Ethical concepts and guidelines

Ethics

-Refer to standards that guide people to identify good, desirable or acceptable conduct.

-Ethical standards help us to make moral judgements about what is right and what is wrong

Beneficence

-Commitment to maximising benefits and minimising risks and the harms in taking part in a particular action or course

Integrity

-Commitment to searching for knowledge and understanding, the honest reporting of all sources of information and results, weather favourable or not, in ways that permit scrutiny and contribute to public knowledge and understanding.

Justice

-Moral obligation to ensure that there is fair consideration of competing claims.

-That there is no unfair burden on a particular group from an action.

-That there is no fair distribution and access to the benefits of an action

Non-maleficence

-Avoiding the cautions of harm. (Although in some actions in scientific research may lead to harm)

-Implies that harm resulting from any course of action should not be disproportionate to the benefits from a position or course of action.

Respect

-involves consideration of the extent which living things have an intrinsic value and or instrumental value.

-giving regard to the welfare, liberty and autonomy beliefs, perceptions, customs and cultural heritage of both the individual and the collective consideration.

-the capacity of living things to make their own decisions and when living things have diminished capacity to make their own decisions ensuring that they are empowered where possible and protected as necessary

Confidentiality

-The privacy, protection and security of a participant’s personal information in terms of personal details and the anonymity in individual results including the removal of identifying elements.

Debriefing

-Ensures that at the end of the experiment, the participant leaves understanding the experimental aim, results and conclusions.

-Any questions participants have are addressed and support is also provided to ensure there is no lasting harm from their involvement in the study.

Informed consent procedures

-Ensure that participants understand the nature and purpose of the experiment, including potential risks, before agreeing to participate in the study.

-Voluntary written consent should be obtained by the experimenter and if participants are unable to give this consent, then a a parent or legal guardian should provide this

Use of deception in research

-Is only permissible when participants knowing the true purpose of the experiment may affect their behaviour whilst participating in the study, and the subsequent validity of the experiment.

-The use of deception is discouraged in psychological research and used only when necessary

Voluntary participation

-Ensures that no coercion or pressure is put on the participant to partake in an experiment, and they really choose to be involved.

Withdrawal rights

-Involves a participant being able to discontinue their involvement in the experiment at any time during or after the conclusion of an experiment, without penalty.

-This may include the removal of the participants results from the study after the study is completed.

-Participants also have the right to withdraw without giving a reason to do so