1. Research Methods
in Psychology
Ethics in Research
Friday, 27 January 2012

2. What are ethics?
Ethics in research ensure the safety of
participants.
Participants may be human or animals, both
of which have guidelines that need to be
met.
Before a research is conducted, it needs to
be seen by the ethics committee before it
gets the go ahead.
Friday, 27 January 2012

3. In a snap shot, research
must .....
For animals ensure they are protected, pain
must be minimised and they must be well
cared for.
For human participants the overriding
principle is that there must be no physical or
psychological harm to participants.
Friday, 27 January 2012

4. Ethics in Human Research
Experimenter Role: The researcher must always act in
a professional manner, making sure that the best
interests of the participants, and of society in general,
are met.
Participant Rights: Researchers must always maintain
respect for the participants. Participants’ rights
include; Confidentiality, Voluntary Participation,
Withdrawal Rights, Informed Consent, Deception in
Research, and Debriefing.
Friday, 27 January 2012

5. Confidentiality
This means that participants must not be identified
in any way in terms of test results, their involvement
in the study or any other confidential data.
Data needs to be stored and disposed of using secure
procedures.
The means by which confidentiality is to be
established and maintained should be described to
the participants at the beginning of the study.
Friday, 27 January 2012

6. Voluntary Participation
Participants have the right to refuse to
take part in a study.
There must not be any pressure to take
part in a study, nor should they be
tricked into taking part by deception
Friday, 27 January 2012

7. Withdrawal Rights
Participants have the right to leave a study
at any stage, regardless of the possible
effects on the results.
They also have the right to withdraw their
results after the study has been completed.
This must be explained to the participants
before beginning the study.
Friday, 27 January 2012

8. Informed Consent
Participants must be given information about
a study before they agree to take part.
For participants who are either too young or
too intellectually disabled to give their
consent, their guardian must be given the
information before giving consent on their
behalf.
Friday, 27 January 2012

9. Deception in Research
This is only permitted if the results would be
confounded if the participants had much
information before taking part in the study.
The researcher must ensure that
participants do not unexpectedly suffer
distress; the study must be stopped
immediately if this occurs.
Participants must be debriefed when the
study is complete.
Friday, 27 January 2012

10. Debriefing
Debriefing occurs after completion of the
study and participants are told the results
and conclusions of the study.
Any erroneous beliefs about the study are
corrected, especially if there was any
deception involved.
Participants are informed of the availability
of, and how to obtain, counselling if they feel
they need it.
Friday, 27 January 2012

11. National Health and Medical
Research Council
Along with the Ethics Committee, there is a Federal
Governing Body, The National Health and Medical
Research Council, that overseas all research conducted
on humans.
They operate around four principles;
1) Research merit and integrity
2) Justice
3) Beneficence
4) Respect for human beings
Friday, 27 January 2012

12. Research merit and integrity
Research that has merit is:
>! justifiable by its potential benefit, including its
contribution to knowledge and understanding, social
welfare and individual well-being
>! designed or developed using methods appropriate
for achieving the aims of the proposal
>! based on a thorough study of the current
literature, as well as previous studies
>! designed to ensure that respect for the
participants is not compromised by the aims of the
research, its procedures or results.
Friday, 27 January 2012

13. Justice
In research that is just:
>! the selection of research participants is fair
>! the process of recruiting participants is fair
>! there is fair distribution of the benefits of
participation in research
>! there is no exploitation of participants in the conduct
of research
>! there is fair access to the benefits of research.
Friday, 27 January 2012

14. Beneficence
The likely benefit of the research must justify any
risks of harm or discomfort to participants. The likely
benefit may be to the participants, to the wider
community, or to both.
Researchers are responsible for:
1) designing the research to minimise the risks of harm
or discomfort to participants
2)!clarifying for participants the potential benefits and
risks of the research
3)!
the welfare of the participants in the research
context.
Friday, 27 January 2012

15. Respect for Human Beings
>! voluntary participation
>!withdrawal rights
>!protection of vulnerable participants
>!consideration of welfare of participants—physical/
social/emotional/cultural.
Friday, 27 January 2012

16. and one more.....................
As can be seen, many
of the different
Text
committees, councils
and principles centre
around the same
ideals. And all aim to
protect the
participant in all
areas.
Friday, 27 January 2012