Anonymity and Confidentiality
A participant’s right to have personal information protected e.g. withholding their name
Participant’s P.O.V on Anonymity and Confidentiality
The Data Protection Act makes confidentiality a legal right
Researcher’s P.O.V on Anonymity and Confidentiality
It may not be possible to keep info anonymous/confidential because some details of a study may lead to an individual’s identification
Deception
Occurs when a participant is not told the true research aims of a study and/or not told what they will be required to do
Participant’s P.O.V on Deception
Prevents being able to give truly informed consent
Researcher’s P.O.V on Deception (1)
If participants know the research aims, this would spoil the study
Researcher’s P.O.V on Deception (2)
It might be argued that some deception is relatively harmless and/or can be compensated with debriefing
Informed Consent
Participants are given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of a study and its role in it
Participant’s P.O.V on Informed Consent (1)
Is necessary in order that participants can make a decision about whether to participate
Participant’s P.O.V on Informed Consent (2)
Certain participants are unable to give informed consent e.g. young children
Researcher’s P.O.V on Informed Consent
Giving informed consent may reduce the meaningfulness of the research because such info would reveal the study’s aims and affect participants’ behaviour
Privacy
Refers to a person’s right to control the flow of information about themselves
Participant’s P.O.V on Privacy
People expect to be observed by others in a public place, but there isn’t a universal agreement on what constitutes a public place
Researcher’s P.O.V on Privacy
They don’t want to alert participants on the fact that they’re being observed as that’ll affect their behaviour
Right to Withdraw
Participants should be told that they can stop participating in a study if they are uncomfortable
Participant’s P.O.V on the Right to Withdraw
Consent isn’t solid, participants can withdraw their consent to be part of a study when they feel like the study is different from what they thought
Researcher’s P.O.V on the Right to Withdraw
The loss of participants may bias the study’s results as the ones left may be highly motivated or less emotionally sensitive
Protection from Harm
Participants should not experience negative physical effects or psychological effects
Participant’s P.O.V on Protection from Harm
It’s reasonable for a participant to expect, at the end of any study, to be in the same ‘state’ they were in at the beginning
Researcher’s P.O.V on Protection from Harm
It may not be possible to estimate harm before conducting a study
BPS code of ethics and conducting (2009)
- Respect (informed consent, confidentiality, privacy and right to withdraw)
- Competence (awareness of professional ethics and making ethical decisions)
- Responsibility (protection from harm and debriefing)
- Integrity (honesty and addressing misconduct)
Debriefing
- A post-research interview designed to inform participants about the true nature of the study
- Aims to restore participants to the state they were in at the start of the study
- Participants should also have the right to refuse permission for the researcher to use the data they produced
Ethics Committee
- A group of people within a research institution approve a study before it begins
- The group may consist of both professional and laypeople
- The committee looks at all possible ethical issues and at how the researchers plan to deal with these, weighing up the value of the research against the possible costs in ethical terms
Presumptive Consent
- A method of dealing with lack of informed consent or deception
- Ask a group of people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take in a study and if they agree to it, it’s presumed that the real participants would agree as well
