Dealing with ethical issues

• Main Ethical Principles • Informed consent/withdrawal • Deception • Protection of participants from harm • Privacy & Confidentiality
• Informed consent Participants must be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of a study and their role in it. • Aim of research • The procedures • Their rights to withdraw • What their data will be used for • From the researchers point of view, asking for informed consent may make the study meaningful.
• Deception Deception mean deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants at any stage of the investigation. Researchers should avoid deceiving participants where possible. However, the BPS recognises that there is a difference between falsely informing participants about the aim of the study and withholding some information about the aims of the study. For example, in our energy study it would probably be acceptable not to tell participants that there is another group drinking a different substance, as knowing this may affect their behaviour.
• Protection from harm Investigators have a primary importance to protect participants from any physical/ mental harm during the investigation. • Participants should not be exposed to harm any greater than would normally occur in everyday life • Physical and psychological harm (e.g. stress, damage to self image, under pressure) • Participants should leave (rights to withdraw) the study unchanged from how they entered it (debriefing)
• Privacy and confidentiality

  All data should be confidential, all PPs should be anonymous and unidentifiable. (e.g. through use of numbers; not recording names etc.) • Confidentiality refer to our right, protected under the Data Protection Act, to have any personal data protected. • The rights to privacy extends to the area where the study took place, such as institutions • PPs’ right to privacy must be respected since invasions of privacy may affect well-being and raise confidentiality issues
• What is the primary role of ethics committees in research?


  To make judgments about the costs and benefits involved in research
• What does an ethics committee ensure regarding medical experimentation?


  That it is carried out in an ethical manner
• What are considered costs in a cost-benefit analysis of research?


  Potentially negative consequences of the research
• What might be a damaging effect of research on individual participants?


  Negative consequences that affect their well-being
• What are the benefits in a cost-benefit analysis of research?


  Potentially positive consequences for participants or society
• What is the definition of an ethics committee?


  • A body responsible for overseeing ethical standards
  • Ensures medical experimentation and human subject research are ethical
• What is the potential impact of unethical research on psychology?


  It can damage the reputation of psychology as a whole
• Why is it important to analyze both costs and benefits in research?

  To ensure ethical considerations are balanced in decision-making
• Ethical issues 


  when a conflict occurs between participants rights and researchers aim and need to gain valuable findings
• British psychological society BPS

  The society that governs psychology in Britain and controls the profession. upholds high standards of professionalism promoting ethical behaviours
• Informed consent 


  an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate resreachers must tell participants all aspects of the research that are likely to influence their willingness to take part in the study participants must be given the right to withdraw and fully understand the aims of the research and procedure special care is needed when dealing with chilldren and vulnerable adults the purpose of the study should be explained to them in the language they understand
• Deception 


  misleading participants about the true purpose of a study or the events that will actually transpire with holding information from participants at any stage of the experiment researchers should avoid deceiving participants
• Protection from harm


  • Investigators have a primary responsibility to protect participants from physical and mental harm during the investigation. - The risk of harm must be no greater than in ordinary life.
• Privacy and confidentially 


  Protect the privacy of the participant, generally by keeping all responses participants should be anonymous
• Ethics committee 


  is the body that is responsible for ensuring that medical experimentation and Human subject research is done in a ethical manner
• Cost benefit analysis 


  costs are negative consequences on a research this may have a damaging effect on the partcipant or the reputation of psychology
• Dealing with informed consent

  participants should be issued with consent letter or form detailing all info that might affect their decision to participate -parental consent if under 16
• Dealing with deception and protection from harm 


  Debriefing = made aware of true aims after study and any details not supplied during like other conditions, must be given right to withhold data (important for retrospective consent), should be reassure behaviour is normal and offer counselling
• Dealing with confidentially and privacy

  Dealing with confidentiality can be done by keeping the participant anonymous and keeping their personal data protected when participants are debriefed they must be reminded that their data is protected Researchers may give retrospective consent asking consent after the research And presumptive consent asking before the research