Ethical Guidelines
For Humans
Fully Informed Consent
· PP’s must know the true aims of the study and know exactly what they are giving consent to do.
· Children and others (e.g. autistic participants) tend to be special cases – e.g. parent and school may need to give consent.
· In some studies fully informed consent is not possible as it may affect the findings. In this case a cost benefit analysis could be taken.
· Researchers could also overcome this by using presumptive consent, where they find a group similar to the target population and ask whether they would feel it is appropriate
· Consent should be through signing a form where pp’s may also be reminded of their rights such as right to withdraw.
· In observations, if the researcher is observing people in a place they would expect to be seen, informed consent is not needed.
Deception
· PP’s should not be deceived as they should have given fully informed consent. If this is not possible, then a full debrief should be given at the end.
· An ethics committee may need to review the study before it can be conducted to consider whether the deception is necessary.
·Presumptive consent could also be given to see whether other people would agree to take part in the research and not find it distressing or morally wrong
Right to Withdraw
· PP’s must be informed of their right to withdraw at the start of the research, and reminded of this right at different stages of the study.
· If a pp is looking distressed the researcher should act responsibly and stop the research, ensuring this right is given.
· PP’s have the right to withdraw their data at the end of the study – a time limit to do so must be given.
· PP’s should also be reassured that there is no negative comebacks if they do wish to withdraw
Debrief
· PP’s must leave an experiment in the same emotional state as they arrived.
· A debrief should outline the purpose of the research
· It should also reassure pp’s about their role, and that their data is confidential. PP’s should not leave feeling embarrassed about how they did and should be reassured their behaviour is normal.
· Contact details for the research team should be made available to the pp so they can contact them at a later stage if they so wish.
· If the topic is of a sensitive nature, details of support organisations may also be given.
Protection from Harm
·PP’s should experience no more harm than they would encounter in everyday life
·An ethics committee may need to give approval for studies that may do this
·An alternative should always be sought
·If there is any reason for concern then support or assistance should be on hand as follow up support
Competence
· A researcher must be appropriately qualified for the task they wish to conduct.
· They should liaise with colleagues who should point out any problems of their research
· This may have applied to Zimbaro in the prison study experiment, where he became too involved in his own study he lost objectivity to stop it
Evaluation of guidelines for humans
You should also select appropriate studies for the guideline you have described
Strengths
Need to maintain societies moral standards
Need to keep people safe
Vulnerable participants need protection
Weaknesses
Limits research
Unable to do covert observations
Unable to fully study aggression
May not be able to report fully (confidentiality)
For Animals
Cost benefit Analysis
· The costs to animals should be weighed against the benefits e.g. improved knowledge, greater understanding of a disorder.
· Bateson’s decision cube could be used to decide whether the benefits are greater than the costs by considering benefit, harm and quality of research
Qualified researchers
·Researchers must have a personal license for working with animals
·They should also only be conducting animal research as part of a licensed project
·The licence is for a specified setting, and the research should only be conducted in that environment
Non animal alternatives
·Researchers must consider alternative options
No endangered species
·Endangered species cannot be used, the only exception is if the research is of benefit to the animal and relevant to their protection and conservation
· A licence is required
Minimal numbers should be used
· Researchers must consider that they use only a small sample size
Suitable environment
·Animals should be kept in housing similar to their natural habitat
·They should be provided with food and water, this should not be withheld from them
·They should be given appropriate space for their needs e.g. lone animals should not be caged with other animals and social animals such as rhesus monkeys should not be kept in isolation
Keep discomfort to a minimum
·Animals should not experience high levels of pain.
·Animals should be anaesthetised if a surgical procedure is carried out
·The research team should have the appropriate experience and licence for use of anaesthetists
Evaluation of guidelines for animals
Strengths
Need for standards to protect animals
Need to justify use of animals so that people are comfortable using animals, reducing moral concerns
Need to ensure quality of research
Able to benefit humans without a high cost
Practical to use animals – handling, gestation periods, aging, similarities to humans
Weaknesses
Cannot use endangered species
Unreliable due to small sample size
Unreliable as cannot replicate
Time consuming – need home office license and qualified researchers required
Cannot generalise to humans – genetic differences; humans complex
Disorder cannot be induced and monitored as a natural occurrence e.g. mental disorders
Two studies in terms of ethics
You can choose any 2 studies we have covered across the course. Milgram; Hofling; Bandura, Ross and Ross, Little Albert and Genie all have a number of ethical issues surrounding them.
For Humans
Fully Informed Consent
· PP’s must know the true aims of the study and know exactly what they are giving consent to do.
· Children and others (e.g. autistic participants) tend to be special cases – e.g. parent and school may need to give consent.
· In some studies fully informed consent is not possible as it may affect the findings. In this case a cost benefit analysis could be taken.
· Researchers could also overcome this by using presumptive consent, where they find a group similar to the target population and ask whether they would feel it is appropriate
· Consent should be through signing a form where pp’s may also be reminded of their rights such as right to withdraw.
· In observations, if the researcher is observing people in a place they would expect to be seen, informed consent is not needed.
Deception
· PP’s should not be deceived as they should have given fully informed consent. If this is not possible, then a full debrief should be given at the end.
· An ethics committee may need to review the study before it can be conducted to consider whether the deception is necessary.
·Presumptive consent could also be given to see whether other people would agree to take part in the research and not find it distressing or morally wrong
Right to Withdraw
· PP’s must be informed of their right to withdraw at the start of the research, and reminded of this right at different stages of the study.
· If a pp is looking distressed the researcher should act responsibly and stop the research, ensuring this right is given.
· PP’s have the right to withdraw their data at the end of the study – a time limit to do so must be given.
· PP’s should also be reassured that there is no negative comebacks if they do wish to withdraw
Debrief
· PP’s must leave an experiment in the same emotional state as they arrived.
· A debrief should outline the purpose of the research
· It should also reassure pp’s about their role, and that their data is confidential. PP’s should not leave feeling embarrassed about how they did and should be reassured their behaviour is normal.
· Contact details for the research team should be made available to the pp so they can contact them at a later stage if they so wish.
· If the topic is of a sensitive nature, details of support organisations may also be given.
Protection from Harm
·PP’s should experience no more harm than they would encounter in everyday life
·An ethics committee may need to give approval for studies that may do this
·An alternative should always be sought
·If there is any reason for concern then support or assistance should be on hand as follow up support
Competence
· A researcher must be appropriately qualified for the task they wish to conduct.
· They should liaise with colleagues who should point out any problems of their research
· This may have applied to Zimbaro in the prison study experiment, where he became too involved in his own study he lost objectivity to stop it
Evaluation of guidelines for humans
You should also select appropriate studies for the guideline you have described
Strengths
Need to maintain societies moral standards
Need to keep people safe
Vulnerable participants need protection
Weaknesses
Limits research
Unable to do covert observations
Unable to fully study aggression
May not be able to report fully (confidentiality)
For Animals
Cost benefit Analysis
· The costs to animals should be weighed against the benefits e.g. improved knowledge, greater understanding of a disorder.
· Bateson’s decision cube could be used to decide whether the benefits are greater than the costs by considering benefit, harm and quality of research
Qualified researchers
·Researchers must have a personal license for working with animals
·They should also only be conducting animal research as part of a licensed project
·The licence is for a specified setting, and the research should only be conducted in that environment
Non animal alternatives
·Researchers must consider alternative options
No endangered species
·Endangered species cannot be used, the only exception is if the research is of benefit to the animal and relevant to their protection and conservation
· A licence is required
Minimal numbers should be used
· Researchers must consider that they use only a small sample size
Suitable environment
·Animals should be kept in housing similar to their natural habitat
·They should be provided with food and water, this should not be withheld from them
·They should be given appropriate space for their needs e.g. lone animals should not be caged with other animals and social animals such as rhesus monkeys should not be kept in isolation
Keep discomfort to a minimum
·Animals should not experience high levels of pain.
·Animals should be anaesthetised if a surgical procedure is carried out
·The research team should have the appropriate experience and licence for use of anaesthetists
Evaluation of guidelines for animals
Strengths
Need for standards to protect animals
Need to justify use of animals so that people are comfortable using animals, reducing moral concerns
Need to ensure quality of research
Able to benefit humans without a high cost
Practical to use animals – handling, gestation periods, aging, similarities to humans
Weaknesses
Cannot use endangered species
Unreliable due to small sample size
Unreliable as cannot replicate
Time consuming – need home office license and qualified researchers required
Cannot generalise to humans – genetic differences; humans complex
Disorder cannot be induced and monitored as a natural occurrence e.g. mental disorders
Two studies in terms of ethics
You can choose any 2 studies we have covered across the course. Milgram; Hofling; Bandura, Ross and Ross, Little Albert and Genie all have a number of ethical issues surrounding them.