Research Ethics and Course Overview

Exams are being graded; some strong scores. One person missed only 3 or 4 points.
Mean distribution assessment is pending, once all exams are graded.
Correction opportunities: Unlikely if enough people perform well at the top of the distribution. Typically offered if initial scores are 'really, really bad'.

Some online quiz deadlines will be adjusted due to material coverage delays in class.
Extended: Quizzes are now due next Monday (pending progress on material this week).
Rationale: Instructor's discomfort with quizzing students on material not yet covered in class, even for reading quizzes.

Due Date: Monday by midnight, one week from today.
Required Module: Only the Basic Social Behavioral Module.
Structure: Approximately 6 modules with 5 quizzes (or similar combination). Each quiz has 5 multiple-choice questions, requiring 4 out of 5 correct to pass. Quizzes can be retaken.
Purpose: Provides certification for human research involvement for the next couple of years.
Special Populations:
- The basic module covers research with adults aged 18 or older.
- Additional modules may be required for research with special populations (e.g., children, individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, or those working with ABA/developmental faculty).
Time Estimate: Varies by individual, but typically manageable.
- Could be completed in 1 hour over 3 days.
- Estimated average completion time: 3 hours (standard deviation of 2).
- Suggestion: Spread it out, e.g., one module every day and a half.
Existing Certification: If you have completed the CITI program within the last 2 years, log into citiprogram.org, and you may not need to redo it (no 'refresher modules' required).

Complete the ethics lecture (material from last week's Monday class, will be on the next test).
Worksheet 4 will be completed in class, in groups.
Begin APA style (time permitting).

Status: Posted to Canvas; students must thoroughly read the guidelines.
Task: Find a news source/magazine article discussing psychological research, then locate the original research article it references. Students will compare the two and prepare a report in APA format.
Learning Outcomes: Develop APA writing skills, critical reading of research articles, and the ability to extract relevant information. It also encourages critical evaluation of how secondary sources (news articles) summarize or potentially misrepresent original research.
Due Date: In a couple of weeks, but start working on it now.

Context: The standard formatting used in social and behavioral sciences, also adopted in business and sometimes natural sciences.
Vs. MLA: Contrasted with MLA, typically used in humanities (e.g., high school children use MLA).
Resources: Lecture, apa.org, and Purdue OWL. The course's methods textbook is not updated for the 7^{th} edition of APA.

National Research Act: A response to egregious violations of human participants' rights in research.
Nazi Germany: Atrocities committed during experiments in concentration camps.
Biomedical Studies:
- Tuskegee Syphilis Study: 400 African American men with syphilis were deliberately left untreated, even after penicillin became available in 1943. This led to many deaths and the spread of syphilis to spouses and children.
- Guatemala Syphilis Study (Broad Myelosyphilis): Deliberate injection of STDs into vulnerable populations, including prisoners and sex industry workers.
Behavioral Studies: Various historical studies in psychology have also shown significant ethical violations.

1960s: The US Surgeon General mandated review for all institutions receiving federal funding for research from the Public Health Service.
1974: Congress passed the National Research Act, establishing a commission to protect human subjects in biomedical and behavioral research.
1979: The National Commission published the Belmont Report, which outlines three core ethical principles that guide human subjects research.

These three principles form the basis for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) globally, guiding their evaluation of human research protocols.

Protection of Special Populations: This involves protecting individuals who may have limited autonomy or understanding (e.g., intellectual/mental disabilities, prisoners, pregnant women, children).
- When working with these populations, researchers often need permission from a parent, guardian, or legal representative, in addition to writing materials in a language level the participant can understand.
Voluntary Consent: Participants must freely agree to participate, free from any coercion.
- Example: Berry College's psychology department's Sona system, requiring Intro Psych students to earn 2 research credit hours, must offer alternative options (comparable in time, commitment, and effort) to avoid coercing students into research studies.
Informed Consent: A cornerstone of respect for persons, ensuring participants fully understand the research before agreeing. This involves providing explicit details in an informed consent form (discussed later).