Research Methods in Psychology

Ethical Issues in the

Conduct of
Psychological Research
 Ethical Responsibilities
• Ethical Responsibilities
– Competent research
– Accurate Reporting
– Honest resource management
– Acknowledge others contributions
– Consider consequences to society
– Speak out publicly
• All psychologists (including students) must follow the APA
guides for ethical behavior.
– APA Ethics Code
• The five general values or principles for ethical conduct are
– Beneficence and Non-Malfeasance
– Fidelity and Responsibility
– Integrity
– Justice
– Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity
Ethical Issues to Consider Before Beginning Research
• Prior to conducting any study, the proposed research
must be reviewed to determine if it meets ethical
standards.
– Institutional Review Board (IRB):
• Human Subjects Research Committee (HSRC)
– 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.
• Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
– Reviews research to make sure animals are treated humanely.
– In addition to reviewing research procedures, these committees review
the animals’ living quarters and the training procedures for those who
work with animals.
– Include at least one scientist, one veterinarian, and one person not
affiliated with the institution.
 Risk/Benefit Ratio
• The risk/benefit ratio is a subjective evaluation of the
costs and benefits of a research project to:
– participants
– society
– the researcher and institution
• Is the research worth it? Will the study produce valid
and interpretable results? Cost of not doing the
research.
• There are no mathematical answers(not a quantitative
ratio); IRB and IACUC members strive for consensus
of opinion.
• Committee members can require changes to research
procedures before approving a project.
 Risks in Research
• Different types of risk:
– physical injury,
– psychological injury (mental or emotional stress),
– social injury (embarrassment)
• Researchers are ethically obligated to protect
participants from all risk.
• In many psychology studies, emotional or mental
stress may be great — including stress that might
arise from participants’ misconceptions about the
task.
 Minimal Risk
• harm or discomfort participants may experience
– not greater than what they might experience in their daily
lives or during routine physical or psychological tests.
• Take into account the nature of the participant
– Age
– Health
– Any other circumstances?
• If risks are considered more than minimal,
individuals are considered to be “at risk.”
– When research places participants at risk
– should seek alternative methods that have lower risk.
 Confidentiality
• One way to protect participants from social risk is to
keep their responses confidential.
– remove any identifying information
– report results in terms of statistical averages
– “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.
 Informed Consent
• Researchers and participants enter into a social
contract, often using an informed consent
procedure.
– Researchers are ethically obligated to make clear to
participants the nature of the research (what they will do
in the experiment) and any possible risks.
– Written informed consent is essential when participants
are exposed to more than minimal risk.
– Informed consent is not necessary when researchers
observe public behavior.
FIGURE 3.4 The issue of informed consent is especially important when
children participate in research.

– Informed consent must be obtained from legal

guardians when individuals are not able to provide
consent (e.g., children, mentally impaired individuals).
– Individuals unable to provide legal consent must provide
their assent to participation.
 Informed Consent (continued)
– Potential participants must be informed of all aspects of
the research that might influence their decision to
participate.
– Research participants must be allowed to withdraw their
consent at any time without penalties.
– Individuals must not be pressured to participate in
research.
• Payment for participation
• Prisoners

– Obtaining informed consent is a special problem in

Internet research.
 Dispensing With Consent
• In some situations researchers are not required to obtain informed
consent.
• The clearest example is when researchers are observing individuals’
behavior in public places without any intervention. “Naturalistic
Observation”
• Three major dimensions should be considered when
trying to decide whether people’s behavior is public or
private:
– 1. the sensitivity of the information
• more sensitive information is typically regarded as more private
(e.g., sexual practices, religious beliefs)
– 2. the setting of the information
• in public settings, people give up a certain degree of privacy (e.g.,
sporting events, concerts)
– 3. Method of dissemination of the information
• sensitive information should be reported in ways so that specific
individuals cannot be identified (e.g., group averages)
 Deception
• Deception occurs:
– when information is withheld from participants
– when participants are intentionally misinformed about
an aspect of the research.
• Deceiving people for the purpose of getting them
to participate in a research project is always
unethical.
• Box 3.2 A Shocking Deception
– Milgram 1960’s Obedience toAuthority
• Box 3.4 Doing Ethically Questionable Research
– Burger 2009 replication of Milgram’s research
 Pros and Cons of Deception
• Pros: Why do we deceive?
– Deception allows researchers to study individuals’ natural
behavior.
– Deception allows opportunities to investigate behaviors and
mental processes not easily studied using nondeceptive
methods.
• Cons: Why should we not deceive?
– Deception contradicts the principle of informed consent.
– The relationship between researcher and participant is not
open and honest.
– Frequent use of deception may make individuals suspicious
about research and psychology.
 Deception (continued)
• Deception is justified only
– when the study is very important,
– no other methods for conducting research are available,
and
– deception would not influence individuals’ decision to
participate in the research.
• When deception is used, the researcher must
– Inform participants after the experiment the reasons for the
deception,
– discuss any misconceptions they may have, and
– remove any harmful effects of the deception.
• This is called debriefing.
 Research with Animals

• Should animals be used in research?

– The answer to this question is fiercely debated.
• 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.
 Reporting Psychological Research
• Publication credit:
– acknowledge fairly those who have contributed to a
research project.
– authorship should be based on the scholarly importance
of individuals’ contributions.
• Plagiarism
Don’t present substantial portions or elements of another’s
work as your own.
– Ignorance and sloppiness are not legitimate excuses.
– Cite the sources of your ideas when you use the exact words (with
quotation marks and page number) and when you paraphrase.
– Examples
 Steps for Ethical Decision Making
• Permission from authors to use scales in your
research.
• Permission from host institution
• Permission from guest institution
• Written informed consent
• Find out all the facts of the situation (procedure,
who will participate, etc.)
• Identify the ethical issues that are relevant (e.g.,
risk, informed consent, privacy, confidentiality,
deception, debriefing).
• Decide what is at stake for all parties involved
(e.g., participants, researchers, institutions,
society).
• Identify alternative methods or procedures