Need a Topic/Title and Research Proposal outline in Power Point format.

Week 4: Research

Ethics and

Professional Issues

Research Ethics and Professional Issues

Learning objectives:

• Gain an understanding of the ethical issues and concerns in research

• Learn the principles to follow when conducting research

1.1. Introduction

Research Ethics is concerned with the ethical issues involved in the conduct of research, the

regulation of research, the procedures and process of ethical review as well as broader ethical

issues associated with research (i.e. scientific integrity and the end uses of research).

Research ethics are the guidelines researchers follow to protect the rights of humans, animals

who participate in studies. Universities, government, and organizations often have

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs).

Ethical guidelines are published by professional organizations such as American

Psychological Association.

Ethical approval is required for all research carried out by staff and/or students. This includes

research where there is no face to face interaction between researcher and participant

(including internet surveys).

Ethics Committee is an independent body in a member state of the European Union,

consisting of healthcare professionals and non-medical members, whose there main

responsibility is to protect the rights, safety and well-being of participants involved in a

research.

Institutional Approval

When institutional approval is necessary for a research project, psychologists are required to

provide accurate information about their research proposals and obtain approval before

conducting the research. Then research is conducted in accordance with the approved

research protocol.

Both the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the American Psychological Association

(APA) have agreed guidelines on the ethical issues involved in psychological research.

1.2. Four Ethical Principles

• Respect

• Competence

• Responsibility

• Integrity

Informed Consent: For any research to be ethical, the researcher must have gained informed

consent from the participants. If the participant is under 16 years old, the informed consent is

provided by their parents or carers.

Deception: Have the participants been deceived in any way? If so, could this have been

avoided? Deception includes: misleading the participants in any way and the use of stooges

or confederates.

Debriefing: is conducted with the participants after the study has taken place. It has a number

of aims:

•To ensure that none of the participants have been harmed

•To make sure that the researchers have informed consent

•To make sure that the researcher allowed the participants an opportunity to remove their

results from the study.

•To make sure that participants had the opportunity to ask question

Withdrawal from the study: Participants have the right to withdraw from the research at

any point. They should also be allowed to withdraw their data.

Anonymity and Confidentiality: Participants have a right to remain anonymous in

publication of the research and confidentiality should be maintained except in exceptional

Note that this is not an extensive list of the ethical considerations involved in research and

professional settings. For a more detailed description of the ethical issues in psychology you

can refer to BPS ethical code (2009).

circumstances where harm may arise to the participant or someone associated with the

research or participant. No names must be used in a research report.

Protection of participants: researcher must protect participants from both physical and

psychological harm

Informed Consent

(a) When obtaining informed consent psychologists are required to inform participants about

(1) the purpose of the research, expected duration, and procedures; (2) their right to refuse to

participate and to withdraw from the research once a study has begun; (3) the foreseeable

consequences of declining or withdrawing; (4) reasonably foreseeable factors that may be

expected to affect participants’ willingness to participate in the research (e.g. potential risks,

discomfort, or adverse effects); (5) any prospective research benefits; (6) limits of

confidentiality; (7) incentives for participation; and (8) whom to contact for questions about

the research and research participants' rights.

(b) Psychologists conducting intervention research that involved the use of experimental

treatments clarify to participants prior to the beginning of the study1) the experimental nature

of the treatment; (2) the services that will or will not be available to the control group(s) if

appropriate; (3) the means by which individuals will be assigned to treatment and control

groups; (4) treatment alternatives that are available to individuals who do not wish to

participate in the research or wish to withdraw once a study has begun; and (5) compensation

for or monetary costs of participating including, if appropriate, whether reimbursement from

the participant or a third-party pay or will be sought.

Informed Consent for Recording Voices and Images in Research

In research that involves recording voices and images psychologists are required to obtain

informed consent from research participants prior to recording their voices or images for data

collection purposes unless (1) the research consists merely of naturalistic observations in

public places, and it is not anticipated that the recording can lead to personal identification or

harm, or (2) the research design includes deception, and consent for the use of the recording

is obtained at a later stage i.e. during debriefing.

Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate Research Participants

(a) When research is conducted with clients/patients, students, or subordinates as participants,

psychologists take steps to protect the prospective participants from adverse consequences of

declining or withdrawing from participation.

(b) When taking part in a study is a course requirement or an opportunity for extra credit, the

prospective participant is given the option to choose between other equitable alternatives.

Dispensing with Informed Consent for Research

Psychologists may omit informed consent only (1) where research would not reasonably be

assumed to create distress or harm and involves (a) the study of normal educational practices,

curricula, or classroom management methods conducted in educational settings; (b) only

anonymous questionnaires, naturalistic observations, or archival research for which

disclosure of responses would not place participants at risk of criminal or civil liability or

damage their financial standing, employability, or reputation, and confidentiality is protected;

or (c) the study of factors associated with job or organization effectiveness conducted in

organizational settings for which there is no risk for participants' employability, and

confidentiality or (2) where otherwise permitted by law or federal or institutional regulations.

Offering Inducements for Research Participation

(a) Psychologists avoid offering excessive or inappropriate financial or other inducements for

research participation as such inducements are likely to force participation.

(b) When professional services are offered as an inducement for research participation,

psychologists make clear the nature of the services, as well as the risks, obligations, and

limitations.

Deception in Research

(a) Psychology research should not involve deception unless the use of deceptive techniques

is justified by the study's significant prospective scientific, educational, or applied value and

that effective non deceptive alternative procedures are not feasible.

(b) Psychologists do not deceive potential participants about research that is reasonably

expected to cause physical pain or severe emotional distress.

(c) Psychologists explain any deception involved in a study as early as possible, preferably at

the completion of their participation, and inform participants of their right to withdraw their

data.

Debriefing

(a) Upon the completion of the study, researchers are required to provide participants with

accurate and appropriate information about the nature of the experiment or study.

Researchers also share with participants any information related to what the purpose of the

research was, as well as what the findings indicate.

(b) If scientific or human values justify delaying or withholding this information,

psychologists take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of harm.

(c) When psychologists become aware that research procedures have harmed a participant,

they take reasonable steps to minimize the harm.

1.3. Human Care and Use of Animals in Research

(a) Psychologists acquire, care for, use, and dispose of animals in compliance with current

federal, state, and local laws and regulations, and with professional standards.

(b) Psychologists who are trained in research methods and experienced in the care of

laboratory animals supervise all procedures involving animals and are responsible for

ensuring that the necessary measure are taken for their comfort, health, and human treatment.

(c) Psychologists ensure that all individuals under their supervision who are using animals in

their studies have received appropriate instructions regarding research methods and the

carrying, maintenance, and handling of the species being used, to the extent appropriate to

their role.

(d) Psychologists take actions to minimize the discomfort, infection, illness, and pain of

animal subjects.

(e) Psychologists use a procedure subjecting animals to pain, stress, or privation only when

an alternative procedure is unavailable and the goal is justified by its prospective scientific,

educational, or applied value.

(f) Psychologists perform surgical procedures under appropriate anesthesia and follow

techniques to avoid infection and minimize pain during and after surgery.

(g) When it is appropriate that an animal's life be terminated, psychologists proceed rapidly,

with an effort to minimize pain and in accordance with accepted procedures.

1.4. Reporting Research Results

(a) Psychologists do not fabricate data.

(b) If psychologists discover significant errors in their published research, they take

reasonable actions to correct such errors in a correction, retraction, erratum, or other

appropriate publication means.

Plagiarism

Psychologists do not present portions of another's work or data as their own, even if the other

work or data source is cited occasionally.

Publication Credit

(a) Psychologists take responsibility and credit (e.g. authorship credit), only for work they

have actually performed or to which they have significantly contributed.

(b) Principal authorship and other publication credits accurately correspond to the relative

scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, irrespective of their

relative status. Just the possession of an institutional position (e.g. department chair), does not

justify authorship credit. Minor contributions to the research or to the writing for publications

are acknowledged appropriately, such as in footnotes or in an introductory statement.

(c) With the exception of some exceptional circumstances, a student is listed as the main

author on any multiple-authored article that is considerably based on the student's doctoral

dissertation. Faculty advisors/supervisors discuss publication credit with students at an early

stage and throughout the research and publication process as appropriate.

Duplicate Publication of Data

Psychologists do not publish, as original data, data that have been previously published. This

does not preclude republishing data when they are accompanied by proper acknowledgment.

Sharing Research Data for Verification

(a) After the publication of the results, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their

conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the results

through reanalysis and who intend to use the data only for that purpose, provided that the

confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning

proprietary data preclude their release. This does not preclude psychologists from requiring

that such individuals or groups be responsible for costs associated with the provision of such

information.

(b) Psychologists who request data from other psychologists to verify the substantive claims

through reanalysis may use shared data only for the declared purpose. Requesting

psychologists obtain prior written agreement for all other uses of the data.

Reviewers

Psychologists who review material submitted for presentation, publication, grant, or research

proposal review respect the confidentiality of and the proprietary rights in such information

of those who submitted it.

References

American Psychological Association (2003). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of

Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

The British Psychological Society (2009). Code of Ethics and Conduct Guidance. Retrieved

from https://beta.bps.org.uk/sites/beta.bps.org.uk/files/Policy%20-

%20Files/Code%20of%20Ethics%20and%20Conduct%20%282009%29.pdf

American Psychological Association (2002). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of

conduct. Retrieved https://memforms.apa.org/apa/cli/interest/ethics1.cfm