LESSON 2: RESEARCH ETHICS

RESEARCH ETHICS

What is research ethics?

 Research ethics are a framework of values within which we conduct research.
 Ethics help researchers identify actions we consider good and bad, and explain
the principles by which we make responsible decisions in actual situations.

What is an institutional review boards (irb)?

 Institutional review boards (IRBs), which are composed of laypeople and
researchers, evaluate research proposals to make sure that they follow ethical
standards.

What its purpose?

o IRBs protect the safety of research participants.
o Their first task is to decide whether a proposed study increases
participants' risk of injury since psychological research can cause
physical and/or psychological discomfort.
o As researchers, we must accurately estimate the degree of risk in our
research. We typically do this by reading the literature and consulting
with colleagues.
o IRBs will also help researchers estimate the degree of risk involved in
their studies.

What do “at risk” or at “minimal risk” mean?

o Studies that place subjects at risk increase the chance of harm
compared with not participating in the study.
o Minimal risk studies do not increase the likelihood of injury.

When should an IRB approve an “at risk” study?

o IRBs should approve an "at risk" study when a risk/benefit analysis
determines that risks to participants are outweighed by gains in
knowledge.

Which three principles did the belmont report (1979) emphasize?

The Belmont Report proposed three principles:
1. Respect for persons: individuals have the right of self-
determination (basis of informed consent).
2. Beneficence: minimize harm and maximize potential benefits
(basis of risk/benefit analysis).
3. Justice: fairness in both the burdens and benefits of research.

THE APA GUIDELINES

What is informed consent?

 A subject or guardian agrees in writing to the subject's participation after relevant
details of the experiment have been explained.
 This description may include risks and benefits, but does not extend to deception
or the hypothesis.
  Perhaps the most important principle built into ethics codes is the right of a
participant to refuse to be in the study or discontinue participation.
 Ethical researchers, therefore, cannot coerce participants to agree to be in the
study or prevent participants from discontinuing the study.

Aspects of Informed Consent

1. Individuals must give their consent freely, without the use of force, duress, or
coercion.
2. They must be free to drop out of the experiment at any time.
3. Researchers must give subjects a full explanation of the procedures to be
followed and offer to answer any questions about them.
4. Researches must make clear the potential risks and benefits of the experiment. If
there is any possibility of pain or injury, researchers must explain this in advance
so that subjects know what they are getting into before they agree to participate.
5. Researchers must provide assurances that all data will remain private and
confidential.
6. According to federal guidelines (45CFR 46.115), subjects may not be asked to
release the researchers (or study sponsors, institutions, or other agents) from
liability or to waive their legal rights in the case of injury.

Who targeted by APA ethical guidelines?

 APA ethical guidelines apply to psychologists and students when they assume
the role of psychologists during research or practice.

Explain APA guidelines on deception.

 Deception may be used when it is the best way to obtain information.
 Deception may not be used to minimize the participants' perception of risk or
exaggerate their perception of potential benefits.

Which steps must researchers take if deception is used?

 Subjects must be allowed to withdraw from the experiment at any time and should
never face coercion to remain.
 The experimenter should provide debriefing (full disclosure) after either their
personal participation or the completion of the entire study.

What does debriefing involve and when is it required?

 Debriefing involves explaining the true nature and purpose of the experiment.
 Debriefing is an essential component of good experimental research. We must
offer our participants a full explanation of our study any time that we use
deception.

What is a confederate? Why is the use of a confederate deceptive?

 A confederate is an experimenter's accomplice. Use of a confederate is deceptive
because subjects are led to believe that the confederate is another subject,
experimenter, or bystander, when he or she is actually part of the experimental
manipulation.

What is the principle of full disclosure?

 Full disclosure means explaining the true nature and purpose of the study to the
subject at the end of their participation or at the completion of the entire
experiment.

How does debriefing accomplish this?

  In debriefing, an experimenter discloses the true nature and purpose of the study
to the subject and solicits subjects' questions at the end of the experiment.

Explain the difference between anonymity and confidentiality.

 Anonymity means that subjects are not identified by name.
 Confidentiality means that data are securely stored and only used for the purpose
explained to the subject.

How do researchers achieve these goals?

 Researchers achieve anonymity by collecting data without names and assigning
code numbers.
 They achieve confidentiality by storing data in a locked safe and only using the
data for the purposes explained to the participants.

PROTECTING THE WELFARE OF ANIMAL SUBJECTS

How do psychologists protect the welfare of animal subjects?

 Animal welfare is the humane care and treatment of animals.
 Institutions that conduct animal research must establish an Institutional Animal
Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to evaluate animal research before it is
conducted.
 The IACUC must determine that the researchers have explored all alternatives
and have documented that there are no other feasible alternatives.

What does animal right mean?

 Animal right is the position that sensate species (those that can feel pain and
suffer) have equal value and rights to humans.

FRAUD IN SCIENCE

What is scientific fraud? What motivates fraud?

 Scientific fraud involves falsifying or fabricating data.
 A researcher's graduation, tenure, promotion, funding, or reputation may motivate
researchers to commit fraud.

What are the main lines of defense against fraud?

 The peer review process filters submitted manuscripts so that only 15-20% of
articles are printed.
 Replication, where researchers attempt to reproduce the findings of others, is the
second line of defense.
 Competition by colleagues for scarce resources, while a cause of fraud, is the
third line of defense.

PLAGARISM

What is plagiarism? Why is it wrong?

 Plagiarism is misrepresenting someone's "ideas, words, or written work" as your
own.
  Plagiarism is a form of fraud, in which an individual claims false credit for
another's ideas, words, or written work.

ETHICAL REPORTS

Which ethical issues may be involved in research reports?

 Authorship credit should only be given to those who made a major contribution to
the research or writing.
 Researchers should not take credit for the same research more than once.
 The ethical solution is to cite original publications when republishing data in a
journal article or republishing journal articles in an edited volume.