Ethics in the conduct of research is important. It is very
important. Research can directly or indirectly cause psychological, cultural or
physical harm to a person, community or culture. As someone conducting
research, you are responsible for ensuring that you conduct your research
ethically, and that you yourself behave in an ethical manner. In this
endeavour, you share that responsibility with your dissertation supervisor.
Therefore, you must consult with your supervisor on the conduct of your research
before you recruit participants, run your study and collect your data.
There is a host of guidelines
for ethical research practice within the research community. Most, however,
cover the same ground, and we will be following those laid down by the British
Psychological Society (BPS). A copy of their guidelines for conducting ethical
research with human participants is given in Appendix 1: BPS Ethical Guidelines.
You should make sure that you read these and familiarise yourself with them. If
you are unsure about an ethical aspect of your research, then you should
consult these guidelines and your supervisor.
Before approval is given to
your research proposal, you must satisfy the unit coordinator that you have
considered the ethical implications of your research and are working within
these guidelines.
The BPS guidelines cover 9 different aspects of ethics that
relate to research with human participants:
- Consent.
When someone consents to participate in your research, his or her consent
must be informed. Before obtaining consent, the objectives of your
research should be made clear. In addition, anything that may influence
their willingness to participate must be disclosed. When consent is
obtained, this should be written. You should prepare a sheet of paper for
each participant, which they sign and date to indicate their consent.
Where the research involves children under the age of 16 years, then (a)
consent must be obtained from parents or those acting as guardians of the
child, and (b) the research procedure must be approved by the unit leader
for the Dissertation option. If working with Deaf people, then the
information for consent should be presented clearly in BSL.
- Deception.
Information must not be withheld from participants, nor should they be
mislead, if they are likely to object when debriefed at the end of the
procedure (see Debriefing below). If you are in any doubt, then you
should consult with an independent person with the appropriate
socio-cultural knowledge. If you feel that your research requires
withholding information from participants until after the procedure, then
you must demonstrate that alternative procedures that do not require
withholding consent are not appropriate for your research. Where they are
appropriate, such procedures should be used instead.
- Debriefing.
Following an investigation, participants should be fully informed about
the nature of the research. The participants’ experiences of the research
should also be discussed. Debriefing following an investigation does not
justify the use of an unethical procedure.
- Withdrawal
from investigation. Your participants have the right to withdraw at
any time, regardless of whether or not they were paid for their
participation. They should be informed of this prior to commencement of
the study. When conducting research with children, discomfort or avoidance
of the research situation should be taken as indicative of the desire to
withdraw. Participants can also withdraw at a later stage, after the study
has been conducted. In this case, you are required to destroy and data or
information collected from those who have elected to withdraw.
- Confidentiality.
Participants have the right to confidentiality. Indeed, unless agreed in
advance, confidentiality is assumed. If confidentiality cannot be assured,
then this must be disclosed to participants before they consent to
participate in the research. The Data Protection Act requires you to
maintain the confidentiality of those people about whom you have collected
information. If someone exerts pressure upon you to break confidentiality,
then you should inform him or her of this. If you are unsure what to do in
this situation, you should consult with your supervisor or the Unit
leader.
- Protection
of participants. You have a responsibility for protecting your
participants from physical or mental harm, including undue stress. The
risk of harm to a participant must not be greater than that to which they
are exposed in everyday life. Contact information should be provided to
participants, so that they can contact you if problems arise at a later
stage. Great care must be taken when discussing with parents or teachers
the results of research involving children. Any evaluative statements you
make may carry more weight than you intended.
- Observational
research. Observational studies must protect the privacy and
psychological well-being of those observed. Where consent for observation
has not been obtained, privacy is an important issue. Participants should
not be observed in situations where they would not normally expect others
to observe their behaviour. Particular care should be taken not to violate
cultural values.
- Giving
advice. Sometimes during the course of research (a) physical or
psychological problems are identified by the researcher, and/or (b)
participants solicit advice from the research. Great care must be taken in
these situations. Where the problem may be serious, and you are
unqualified to advise or help, then an appropriate source of professional
advice should be suggested. If you are unsure about what such a source may
be, then you should say so and not be tempted to offer any advice yourself.
- Colleagues.
You are responsible for the ethical conduct of your own research, and that
of your colleagues. Where you feel a colleague may be following an
unethical procedure, then you should raise your concern with them and
encourage them to re-evaluate what they are doing.
If you are unsure about any
ethical aspect of your research, then ask your supervisor. If your
supervisor is unavailable, then you can also ask the Unit coordinator. Don’t
carry on if you are not fully satisfied that you are researching in an ethical
manner.
Ethical Procedures http://www.bps.org.uk/about/rules5.cfm