How to deal with specific ethical issues

Informed Consent (3)

Participants are asked to formally indicate their agreement to participate by signing a consent form with comprehensive details of the research

Offer right to withdraw

Gain presumptive consent - researcher asks group who are similar to participant if they would agree to take part - if they say yes researcher assumes participant would

Deception (3)

The need for this should be approved by an ethics committe using cost-benefit analysis

Participants should be fully debriefed after the study and be able to discuss any concerns / withhold data

Form of retrospective informed consent

The right to withdraw

Participants should be informed that they have the right to leave at the beginning of a study

Protection from physical and psychological harm (3)

Stop the study if harm is suspected

Offer participants the right to withdraw

Avoid any risks greater than experienced in everyday life

Confidentiality (2)

Researchers should not record the names of any participants

They should use numbers or false names

Privacy

Do not study anyone without their informed consent unless it is in a public place, and it is public behaviour

Informed consent: Limitations (3)

May invalidate the purpose of the study

Doesn’t gurantee participants fully know what they’ve signed up for

What people expect that they will/won’t mind is different from the reality

Deception: Limitations (2)

Cost-benefit analysis is flawed because they involve subjective judgements

Debriefing can’t reverse time - a participant may still feel embarrassed or have lowered self-esteem

The right to withdraw: Limitations (2)

Some participants may still be reluctant as they don’t want to “spoil” the study

Some are paid/rewarded in some way - increases reluctance

Protection from physical and psychological harm: Limitations

Harm may not be apparent at the time of the study - only judged later with hindsight

Confidentiality: Limitations (2)

It is sometimes possible to work out who the participants were using information that has been provided

This guideline may not be possible in practise

Privacy: Limitations

There is no universal agreeemnet on what constitutes a public place