CH 21: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

informed consent

a process in which potential participants are informed about what participation in the study will involve, so that they can make an informed decision whether or not to engage in the research

debriefing

a session following participation in a study, in which the participants are informed of the true purpose of the research

contamination

a result of communication among members of a research participant pool, the effects of debriefing-generated suspicion may extend beyond those who have participated in deception experiments

process debriefing

An extensive form of debriefing, particularly when the experimental manipulation has involved providing false information of some kind about the participant’s personality, competence, or self- esteem

Suggestions for participant safety in a dataset

• only objective information be included in the dataset

• individuals be given the right to review their files for accuracy, and to have errors corrected

• files of individuals be identified only by code numbers, with access to personal identification strictly restricted

• security precautions be instituted for screening data users and restricting access

linking system

a mediating step between access to a particular file and connection between file number and person’s name

Common Rule

federal regulations regarding the conduct of research involving human participants

institutional review board

committee that evaluates, approves, and monitors all research projects in an institution with respect to ethical requirements and practices

Components reviewed in the IRB

• consent form and debriefing procedures

• participant recruitment and characteristics

• methods and measures

• potential risks and benefits to participants

• precautions to safeguard data