ethical issues in research

• what are ethical issues in research methods

  informed consent

  deception

  confidentiality and privacy
• what is informed consent


  Making participants aware of the aim of research, procedures and the right to withdraw so participants can make an informed decision about being in research - problem = cannot study natural behaviour
• What is deception 


  Deliberatly misleading or with holding information from participants

  Problem = it can be justified if it doesn’t cause undue distress
• What is protection from harm

  Participants should not be placed at any more risk than at normal , they should be protected from physical and Psychological Harm - they have the right to withdraw
• What is privacy and confidentiality 


  Participants have the right to control information about themselves , confidentialonly refers to our right to have any personAl data protected
• What is the BPS


  British Psychological Society
• What does the BPS say about researchers

  They have a professional duty to observe the code of ethics when conducting research ( guidelines are closely match to code of this to ensure participants are treated with respect)
• How do we deal with informed consent

  participants should be given a letter of consent,, detailing all relevant information- if a participant signs it , they’ve agreed to research - children below 16 get parental consent
• What are the alternative ways of dealing with informed consent

  Presumptive consent

  Retrospective consent

  Prior General consent
• What is presumptive consent 


  Not getting consent from the participants but asking a group similar to the participants and getting their opinion on whether to study is acceptable - if they agree the consent of the real participants is presumed
• What is retrospective consent 


  Participants are asked for their consent after taking part in the research
• What is Prior General Consent 


  Participants give their permission to take part in A number of studies - including one which will involve deception
• How do we deal with deception and protection from harm


  At the end of the stuft , participants should receive a full debrief

  Support using counselling

  Fully explained reasoning for the study

  Be given reassurance about their behaviour
• How do we deal with confidentially 


  if personal details are held they must be protect either by using numbers or initials