Case Study 1
Intro to Ethics
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Research Ethics: What Are They
- Definition-A set of guidelines
- Ethical Concerns
- Relationship between Science and Society
- Government funding of scientific research
- Congressional influence on which studies are funded
- Corporate funding of scientific research
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Research Ethics: What Are They
- Professional Issues
- Scientific Misconduct
- Faking data
- Other less serious issues as failing to present data or changing the design to meet pressure from a funding source
- Developing an institutional culture of ethical behavior best way of combating this.
- Treatment of Research Participants
APA Code of Ethics
- General Principles
- to guide and inspire psychologists towards the very highest ideals of the profession
- Standards
- establish specific rules of conduct
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Ethical Standards for Research
- APA code of ethics— 10 guiding principles to direct behavior of researchers
- Issues to consider when conducting research
- Institutional approval must be obtained
- Informed consent
- Dispensing with it informed consent
- Minors—need to obtain their assent
- Passive versus active consent
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General Principles
- Beneficence and Risk vs. Benefits
- constantly weigh the costs/benefits of the research
- Risks include physical, emotional, social risks
- Fidelity and Responsibility
- responsibility to society
- Integrity
- being extremely honest in all aspects of research
- Justice
- treat everyone with fairness, avoid bias
- Respect for People's Rights and Dignity
- protecting the rights of those involved in research
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Guidelines for Research with Humans
- Institutional Review Board (IRB)
- At least 5 members with varying backgrounds and expertise.
- Scientists and nonscientists, at least 1 person not affiliated with the institution.
- Reviews proposals to protect rights and welfare of human participants.
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Guidelines for Research with Humans
- Informed Consent
- Documented description of the research project before participation
- Briefly describes purpose of the study
- Describes potential risks, discomforts, adverse effects
- Told that they may withdraw at any time without penalty
- Written informed consent is essential when participants are exposed to MORE THAN MINIMAL RISK
- harm or discomfort experienced is not greater than what they might experience in daily lives or during routine physical/psychological tests.
- If risks are more than minimal, individuals are considered to be “at risk.”
- When individuals are at risk, researchers are ethically obligated to protect participants’ welfare.
- Research that places participants at risk should not be carried out if there are alternative methods available that have lower risk.
- Informed consent is not necessary when researchers observe public behavior.
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Guidelines for Research with Humans
- Confidentiality
- One way of reducing social risk
- Data should be collected so that no identifiable aspects can be traced to any one individual
- Assign participant numbers to data (No names or SS#’s)
- “confidential” is NOT the same as “anonymous”
— responses are anonymous when individuals do not provide any identifying information.
- Confidentiality is a special problem in Internet research, even though participants perceive their responses to be anonymous.
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Guidelines for Research with Humans
- Privacy
- is the right of individuals to decide how information about them is communicated to others.
- Researcher should explain to participants the ways in which their information will be protected and kept confidential.
- Informed consent is not required when researchers observe people’s behavior in public settings.
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Privacy (continued)
- 3 major dimensions should be considered when trying to decide whether behavior is public or private:
- Sensitivity of the information
— more sensitive information is typically regarded as more private (e.g., sexual practices, religious beliefs)
- Setting of the information
— in public settings, people give up a certain degree of privacy (e.g., sporting events, concerts)
- Method of dissemination of the information
— sensitive information should be reported in ways so that specific individuals cannot be identified (e.g., group averages)
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Guidelines for Research with Humans
- Deception - when info is withheld or when participants are intentionally misinformed about aspect of research.
- Pros: Why do we deceive?
- Allows researchers to study individuals’ natural behavior.
- Allows opportunities to investigate behaviors & mental processes not easily studied using nondeceptive methods.
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- Deception—refers to deceit
- Types
- Active—deception by commission
- Passive—deception by omission
- Type of studies in which it raises ethical concerns
- Studies that involve invasion of privacy and/or may harm the participants
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Cons of Deception
- Why should we NOT deceive?
- Deception contradicts the principle of informed consent.
- Relationship bw researcher & participant is not open & honest.
- Frequent use of deception may make individuals suspicious about research and psychology.
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Deception is justified only
- when the study is very important,
- no other methods for conducting research are available,
- deception would not influence individuals’ decision to participate in the research.
- when the deception does NOT involve misinforming participants about significant risks, discomforts, etc
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Debriefing
- When deception is used, after the experiment the researcher must debrief participants
- Full disclosure of the nature of the study involves 2 important things…
- 1. DEHOAX =
- reveal the true purpose of the study,
- Inform participants the reasons for the deception, &
- Discuss any misconceptions they may have
- 2. DESENSITIZE =
- Remove any harmful effects of the deception
- Reduce any negative feelings from participation
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- Debriefing
- Difficult to do
- if person terminates the study early
- If connection with the study is broken by computer crash or power outage
- Ways to maximize probability of debriefing
- Have participant provide an email address
- provide a ‘leave the study’ radio button
- Incorporate a debriefing page into the program so it is delivered directly to the participant
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- Ethical Issues in electronic research
- Informed consent
- Complicated because there is no clear distinction between what is public and what is private over the internet
- How to obtain informed consent
- Can put a consent to participate form on line
- Does the participant understand it
- How do you answer questions about the study
- Privacy and confidentiality
- Hackers can obtain the data
- But data can be encrypted and the only connection to the participant is the IP address
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Research with Animals
- Should animals be used in research?
- The answer to this question is fiercely debated.
- Pro’s:
- Animal studies can be much more highly controlled than human studies.
- Important areas of research can be examined that would be less appropriate in human samples.
- Important Considerations: Must follow federal, state, and local laws on use of animals in research
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Guidelines for Animal Research
- APA Ethical Standards and IACUCs:
- The researcher who uses animal subjects is ethically obligated to look out for their welfare and to treat them humanely.
- Any pain, discomfort, or death must be justified by the potential scientific, educational, or applied goals.
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