Ethical Concerns

1
Ethical Concerns

• Chapter 3

2
Levels of Ethical Risk

• No Risk Research
• Minimal Risk Research
• Full Review Research

3
No Risk

• Exempt from review by an IRB
• Research studying normal educational practices
• Use of educational tests - cognitive tests such
  as aptitude and achievement measures
• Surveys and observation of public behavior,
  except in cases in which subjects might be
  identified and/or sensitive behavior is being
  studied
• Archival research using existing data

4
Minimal Risk Research

• Standard psychological measures and voice
  recordings that do not involve any danger to
  subjects
• Studies of cognition and perception that do not
  involve stress
• Full informed consent is generally not necessary,
  but debriefing and other ethical concerns are
  important

5
Full Review Research

• Research that may involve
• physical stress
• psychological stress
• invasion of privacy
• measures of sensitive information in which
  subjects might be identified.
• Requires full review by an IRB special ethical
  procedures may be imposed

6
Institutional Review Board
A review committee established to review proposed
research for ethical considerations.
7
Cost Benefit Analysis

• Costs
• Potential risks to the participants
• Benefits
• Direct to participants
• To science
• To society

8
Informed Consent

• Participants agree to participate after being
  informed about
• Purpose of the study
• Potential risks and benefits
• Rights to refuse or terminate participation
• Importance increases with increasing risks to
  participants

9
Deception

• Two possibilities
• Mislead participants about the nature of the
  study
• Fail to fully disclose all aspects of the study
• Methodological reasons

10
Debriefing

• After the study, inform participants about
• The research questions being addressed
• Why deception, if used, was necessary

11
Alternatives to Deception

• Role-playing
• Simulation studies
• Honest experiments
• Participants aware of purpose
• Seek to change behavior
• (Some) Field experiments
• Natural event

12
Other Ethical Issues

• Privacy and confidentiality
• Special populations
• Younger than 18
• Hospitalized
• Incarcerated