BHS 204-01 Methods in Behavioral Sciences I

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BHS 204-01Methods in Behavioral Sciences I

• May 28, 2003
• Chapter 14 (Ray)
• Ethics

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Responsibilities of the Researcher

• The world relies on the accuracy of findings.
• Fraud is unethical, obviously, but so are lesser
  sins that distort findings or mislead the public.
• Ethical problems are minimal in real life,
  despite a few highly publicized cases.
• Ethics are regulated by the U.S. government and
  by professional associations (APA).
• There are guidelines but no firm rules.

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Seven Requirements

• Social value
• Scientific validity
• Fair subject selection
• Favorable risk-benefit ratio
• Independent review
• Informed consent
• Respect for human subjects

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When Ethical Questions Arise

• When experiments are unpleasant or have risks or
  negative consequences for subjects.
• When subjects cannot make informed consent, as
  with children, animals, prisoners, mentally ill
  or impaired individuals.
• When deception is involved.

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Guiding Principles

• The subject should leave the experiment as close
  as possible to the state he or she was in before
  entering it.
• Do you tell a subject about something discovered
  during the experiment (e.g., heart problem)?
• The subjects opinion of himself matters.
• The risk to a subject is weighed against the
  value of the findings to society.
• Studies with risks must be on important topics.

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Sample Ethical Controversies

• Should subjects be paid for their participation?
• When is payment coercive?
• How much payment, of what type, is OK?
• Should students be required to be research
  subjects in psychology courses?
• How should privacy be protected who should have
  access to what kinds of data?

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Experimental Protections

• Subjects must be volunteers.
• Someone cannot truly volunteer without making
  informed consent.
• How much information can you provide without
  biasing subjects and undermining your results?
• Subjects have the right to stop at any time.
• They must be informed of this right.
• Subjects must be fully informed of all risks.

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Anticipating Risks

• Memory studies or other unpleasant experiences
  during a study may interact with prior trauma.
• Subjects must be guided to counseling if this
  occurs.
• Follow-up phone calls may be needed.
• Screening of subjects may be important.
• Blood draws, physiological measurements,
  strenuous exercise may affect health, religion.

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Protecting Confidentiality

• A study is not a fishing expedition.
• Do not ask anything beyond what is needed to
  address the research question.
• Subject privacy must be protected.
• Remove identifying information.
• Store data away from casual access.
• Obtain permission for all intended uses.
• Ask ahead of time if the subject wishes to be
  told results, especially about health outcomes.

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Ethical Guidelines of the APA

• Responsibility to be competent dont do
  research without appropriate training.
• Consultants can be approached to remedy deficits.
• Researchers must obtain approval from their
  sponsoring institution before doing a study.
• Subjects must be informed of anticipated sharing
  of data.
• Invasiveness must be minimized.
• Subjects must be informed of study results.

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Institutional Review Board

• Most campuses establish an institutional review
  board to approve research studies.
• Committee members provide oversight to protect
  subjects and weigh anticipated benefits of
  studies
• Risks
• Long-term effects
• Review of procedures planned

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Student Research

• Class exercises do not require human subjects
  approvals or experimental protections.
• Student projects are exempt from IRB approval,
  but student actions are the responsibility of the
  supervising faculty member.
• Students should include human subjects
  protections and procedures as part of learning to
  be competent researchers.
• The project proposal addresses IRB concerns.

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More Information

• NIH webpage for training clinical practitioners
  in ethical research
• http//www.nihtraining.com/cc/crt/indexvideo.html
• Cal Poly Pomonas IRB
• http//www.cismm.csupomona.edu/gcINT1/irb/default
  .asp