PSYC 202: CHAPTER 15
51 Cards in this Set
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When do ethical issues in research arise?
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When the researcher's obligations to science and society conflict with obligations to protect the rights and welfare of research participants
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people tend to adopt one of the three general approaches to resolving ethical issues about research:
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1)deontology
2)ethical skepticism
3)utilitarian
these approaches differ in terms of the criteria that people use to decide what is right and wrong
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Deontology
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ethics must be judged in light of a universal moral code
certain actions are inherently unethical and should never be performed regardless of the circumstances
e.g.) lying is immoral in all situations, and deception in research is always unethical
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Ethical Skepticism
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asserts that concrete and inviolate moral codes such as those proclaimed by the deontologist cannot be formulated
does not deny that ethical principles are important but rather insists that ethical rules are arbitrary and relative to culture and time
research ethics cannot be impos…
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Utilitarian
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judgements regarding the ethics of a particular action depend on the consequences of that action
potential benefits of a particular action should be weighed against the potential costs, it the benefits are sufficiently large relative the costs, the action is ethically permissible
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the official guidelines for research enforced by the government and most professional organizations, including APA are essentially:
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utilitarian
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Behavioral researchers are bound by two sets of ethical guidelines:
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1) principles formulated by professional organizations, like the American Psychological Association (APA)
2) regulations set forth by the federal government, as well as by state and local laws
*concerned about rights of participants the surgeon general of the US issued a directive in 1…
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APA's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (1992)
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sets forth ethical standards that psychologists must follow in all areas of professional life, including therapy, evaluation, teaching, and research
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Surgeon general of US laws
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concerned about rights of participants, a directive was issued 1966 that required certain kinds of research to be reviewed to ensure the welfare of human research participants
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offical approach to research ethics is essentially a utilitarian or pragmatic one
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rather than specifying a rigid set of do's and don'ts, these guidelines require that researchers weigh potential benefits of the research against its potential costs and risks
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Cost-Benefit analysis
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weighing the pros and cons of a study
must be done before any research can be done
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Potential Benefits
5 that should be considered when a cost-benefit analysis is conducted:
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1) Basic Knowledge
2) Research Improvements
3) Human/animal welfare (practical outcomes)
4) Benefits for researchers
5) Benefits for research participants
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Potential Costs
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minor- time and resources
serious- participants' mental or physical welfare
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The Institutional Review Board
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committee mandated by federal regulations that must evaluate the ethics of research conducted at institutions that receive federal funding
*developed by the U.S. government after several cases in which welfare of human/nonhuman participants was compromised
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IRB qualifications
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to ensure maximum protection for participants, the members of an institution's IRB must:
--come from a variety of both scientific and nonscientific disciplines
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--at least one member of the board must be a member of the local community who is not associated with the institution in…
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Researchers who use human participants must submit a written proposal to their institution's IRB
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must describe:
-purpose of research
-procedures that will be used
-potential risks to the participants
(studies go back up for review every year)
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Six issues that dominate the discussion of ethical issues involving human participants
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1) informed consent
2) invasion of privacy
3) coercion
4) potential harm
5) deception
6) confidentiality
*studies that us certain vulnerable groups of people as participants--such as children, prisoners, and pregnant women may receive special attention
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The principle of informed consent
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involves informing research participants of the nature of the study and obtaining their explicit agreement to participate
ensures that researchers do not violate people's privacy and that prospective research participants are given enough information about the nature of a study to mak…
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Informed consent principle
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*use language that is reasonably understandable
*inform of the nature of research
*inform that they are free to participate or to decline or to withdraw
* explain foreseeable consequences of declining or withdrawing
*inform participants of factors that may be expecte dto influence the…
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the informed consent principle does not require that researchers divulge everything about the study
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they are just required to inform participants about features that might influence their willingness to participate
may withhold info on hypotheses, but not about pain or discomfort that may be experienced
if researchers choose to withhold info, they are obligated to later inform the…
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Informed Consent Form
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used to document informed consent was obtained
provides required info about study and must be signed by participant
(can consent orally in some cases, but witness must be present)
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Problems with obtaining informed consent
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1)compromising the validity of the study - people act quite differently when they are under observation
2)participants who are unable to give informed consent---->e.g.) children, mentally retarded or out of touch with reality
3) ludicrous cases - when obtaining participants would im…
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Federal guidelines permit certain limited kinds of research to be conducted without obtaining a informed consent:
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1) research involves no more than minimal risk to participants
2) no adverse effect to rights and welfare
3) not feasible to conduct research with consent form
*often used in field research / observations
*must make strong case for these 3 things
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Invasion of privacy
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*tricky component--> hard to draw line
*APA does not offer explicit guidelines, left up to to discretion of researcher and IRB
*public places (shopping in mall, sitting in park) are not considered invasion of privacy
*but, if people are to be observed under circumstances in which t…
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Coercion to participate
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occurs when participants agree to participate because of real OR implied pressure from some individual who has authority or influence over them
implied e.g. an instructor suggests students participate in their own study
*researchers must respect individuals freedom to decline or disc…
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Physical or Mental Harm
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because some topics involve how people/animals respond to unpleasant physical or psychological events, researchers sometimes design studies to investigate the effects of experiences such as stress, failure, fear, and pain
researchers find it difficult to study such topics if they are p…
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How much discomfort may a researcher inflict?
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*minimal risk
*any grey areas are left up to IRBs, and are usually based on a cost-benefit analysis:
stress or pain may be allowed only if the potential benefits are extensive & the participant agrees to participate after being informed of the possible risks
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Minimal Risk
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risk that is no greater in probability and severity than that ordinarily encountered in daily life
we all experience mildly negative events in our daily lives- annoyances, awkward interactions, frustration, mild fears- so exposing participants to these kinds of events is generally not…
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when a study is deemed to involve more than minimal risk to participants, certain additional safeguards are often used:
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*monitor participants more closely
*follow-up with the participants after study is over
*make ongoing reports to IRB
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Deception
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misleading or lying to participants for research purposes
*most controversial among researchers
some areas rarely use deception, while it is common in others; number one reason for use is to prevent participants form learning true purpose of study so their behavior is not effected
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deception may involve
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--presenting participants with false purpose of study
--using an experimental confederate who poses as another participant or bystander
--providing false feedback to participants
--presenting two related studies as unrelated
--giving incorrect info regarding stimulus materials
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Objections to Deception:
can be classified into tow basic categories
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1) strictly ethical objection- lying and deceit are immoral and reprehensible acts always
2) pragmatic objection- even if decepation can be justified on grounds that it leads to positive outcomes (utilitarian), it may lead to undesirable consequences
e.g.) distrust of behavioral sci…
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researchers are typically more concerned about the dangers of deception than are research participants themselves
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participants do not seem to regard deception in research settings in the same way they view lying in everyday life, instead they view it as a necessary aspect of certain kinds of research
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APA and federal guidelines state that researchers should not use deception unless:
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*they have determined that the use of deception is justified by the research's possible scientific, educational, or applied value
* research could not be feasibly conduction without it
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Confidentiality
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the data that participants provide may be used only for purposes of the research and may not be divulged to others
easiest way to eliminate concerns is to ensure that participants responses are anonymous
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anonymous
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data is anonymous if the include no information that could be used to identify a particular participant
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practices used to protect confidentiality when researcher MUST know which participants data are which
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*participants are given codes
*names may be taken if data is in no way potentially sensitive, but researchers must remove all info after it is no longer needed
* when descriptions of real people (e.g. in conferences) are used researchers must change details, or get written permission fo…
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Debriefing
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procedure through which research participants are told about the nature of the study after it is completed
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A good debriefing accomplishes four goals:
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1) clarifies the nature of the study for participants ---- informed on anything withheld at beginning or deception used
2) remove any stress or other negative consequences that the study may have induced---- false feedback explained
3) obtain participants reactions to the study itself-…
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aside form formal guidelines, ethical research requires a large dose of ...
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common courtesy
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vulnerable populations
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federal regulations require that IRBs give special consideration to protecting the welfare of certain protected groups, such as:
children, prisoners, people with impaired decisional capacity, people at risk for suicide, pregnant women, fetuses, and newborns
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permission form a parent or legal guardian
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even though an adults permission is required, minors who are over the age of 12 should be given the right to assent or decline to participate
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scientific misconduct
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unethical behaviors involving the conduct of scientific research, such as dishonesty, data fabrication, and plagiarism
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The National Academy of Sciences identifies three major categories of scientific misconduct
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1) most serious and blatant forms of scientific dishonesty---> fabrication, falsification, plagiarism
2)questionable research practices that although not constituting scientific misconduct, are problematic---> "ownership", failing to report data
3)unethical behavior that is not unique t…
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is it okay to "massage" data to make it look better......
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depends on whether the researchers treatment of the data increases or decreases the validity of the results:
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sometimes it is essential to disregard certain participants data
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if they didn't follow instructions, was under the influence of drugs/alcohol, purposefully responded bizarrely
in these cases the researchers goal is to ensure that the data are not contaminated by extraneous factors
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a researcher is never allowed to discard data or disregard results simply because they are contrary to his or her hypotheses
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when one confronts these kinds of gray areas in research ethics, one rule of thumb is to ask yourself, would I hesitate to tell other researchers what I did to my data?
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Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Animals
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APA's detailed discussion of standards regardign the ethical treatment of animals
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these guidelines stipulate that all reseach that uses nonhuman animals must:
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*be monitored closely by a person who is experienced in the care and use lab animals
*vet must be available for consultation
*all personnel who are involved in animal research, including students, must be familiar with these guidelines and adequately trained regarding the use and care…
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facilities in which laboratory animals are housed are closely regulated by the National Institutes of Health, as well as federal, state, and local laws
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these facilities should be inspected by a vet at least twice a year
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when it comes to procedures to which animals are subjected to the APA guidelines direct researchers to
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"make reasonable efforts to minimize discomfort, infection, illness, and pain of animal participants"
and also require that the investigator to justify the use of all procedures that involve more than momentary or slight pain to the animal
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PSYC 202: FINAL 1