Research Methods Learning Activity 4: Ethical Principles

Transcription

1 Research Methods Learning Activity 4: Ethical Principles Intended Learning Outcomes: By completing this activity students should be able to describe the 6 main rights that participants have when participating in an experiment. Furthermore, students should know the role of ethics committees and the documents that have been created as a manual for researchers to follow when conducting experiments. Students should also develop research skills and understand 3 famous unethical experiments conducted by psychologists in the past. Key Skills: Design and conduct investigations using experimental and non experimental methods such as observation studies, case studies and correlation studies Collect, record and summarise both quantitative and qualitative data Analyse and interpret data, and draw conclusions consistent with the research question Work independently and collaboratively as appropriate and within identified research constraints Adhere to current occupational health and safety codes and ethical guidelines for conducting psychological investigations Use research literature to demonstrate how psychological concepts and theories have developed over time Process and interpret information, and make connections between psychological concepts and theories Apply understandings to both familiar and new contexts Analyse issues relating to and implications of scientific and technological developments relevant to psychology Communicate psychological information, ideas and research findings accurately and effectively Use scientific language, conventions and referencing of information sources appropriate to the medium of communication Educative Value: This activity would be used as a general introduction for students to ethical principles and the role of ethics committees and the experimenter in research experiments. This activity can be done without any prior teaching of the theory behind ethics by the teacher, as sufficient information to complete the activity is provided within it or as a means of testing student application of theory following a period of instruction by the teacher. The strategy employed to enhance the learning of Psychology is that of investigation of famous psychological experiments and apply the ethics theory when examining these studies. Sensitivities may arise if students have a history with some of the issues within and concepts behind the studies to be researched.

2 Links to everyday life and society: This activity requires students to develop skills in using ICT to conduct research and to understand how concepts that are present, and in some cases exploited in everyday life, were initially discovered. References Grivas, J., Letch, N., Down, R., & Carter, L. (2010). Psychology VCE Units 3 & 4 (4 th ed.). South Yarra: Macmillan Education Australia. Kendall., K. (2011). VCE Psychology Research Methods Workbook. South Melbourne: Nelson Cengage Learning. Sargent, G., Sundram, S., Bormanis, M., Campara, J., Niklaus, K., Whelan, K., Warner, J., Schnabl., L. (2010). Uncovering Psychology VCE Units 1 and 2 Workbook. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Thomas, N., & Whelen., K. (2004). Units 1 & 2 Psychology Activities and assessment ideas. Melbourne: Psychology Education Conference. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2009). Psychology Victorian Certificate of Education Study Design East Melbourne: Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

3 Research Methods Learning Activity 4: Ethical Principles Ethics refers to the moral principles and codes of behaviour that apply to all psychologists. A Code of Ethics (2007) and Ethical Guidelines (2010) have been developed by the Australian Psychological Society to outline the ethical guidelines that govern psychologists behaviour. Over the years the ethical guidelines that govern psychological research have become much stricter, and subsequently experiments conducted in the past would be considered unethical today. Before any research can commence, a psychologist must submit a research plan to an ethics committee for approval, ensuring participant welfare is considered by a range of professionals. If a participant encounters unexpected distress, the researcher must immediately stop the experiment and provide the participant to access to counselling. The researcher must act professionally and with integrity at all times. There are six main principles researchers and ethics committees must consider when dealing with participants rights, and they are outlined below. Aside from these, at no point in time is it acceptable for a researcher to cause a participant severe physical or psychological harm. Confidentiality is a participant s right to privacy in terms of access, storage and disposal of information collected about them that is related to the research. A participant s involvement in and results from an experiment cannot be disclosed to anyone else unless written consent has been obtained. Voluntary participation ensures that a participant willingly decides to take part in an experiment, and must not experience any pressure or coercion to participate, or be threatened with negative consequences if they decide to not participate. Withdrawal rights refer to the right of the participant to cease their participation in the study at anytime, without negative consequences or pressure to continue. Informed consent refers to the researcher obtaining written, informed permission from each participant in the study, stating that they consent to participate in the study and have been informed of all necessary information. If under the age of 18, a parent or guardian should complete the consent form instead. The consent form must inform participants about their rights, as well as possible physical or psychological harm that may be encountered during the experiment. Where possible and reasonable participants must be informed about the research procedures employed in the study. Deception should not occur unless absolutely necessary, and is only acceptable where certain information given to participants before completing the experiment may influence their behaviour and therefore the accuracy of results. If used in research, thorough debriefing must occur with all participants at the conclusion of the experiment.

4 Debriefing is where participants are informed of the study s true purpose once the experiment has ended. During debriefing, the researcher must correct any mistaken attitudes or beliefs held by the participant and explain all deception related to the experiment. Access to information about the study such as; procedures, results and conclusions must be provided, as is counselling and additional support if required by the participant. Your task is to research three famous experiments in Psychology and report back on any issues with regard to ethics and participant rights contained within them. You are to research; Zimbardo s Stanford Prison Experiment, Watson s Little Albert Experiment and Asch s Conformity Study, using the internet, academic journals and your textbook where appropriate to complete the tables below: Experiment: Participant Right Confidentiality Issues associated with experiment Voluntary Participation Withdrawal Rights Informed Consent Deception Debriefing

5 Experiment: Participant Right Confidentiality Issues associated with experiment Voluntary Participation Withdrawal Rights Informed Consent Deception Debriefing Experiment: Participant Right Confidentiality Issues associated with experiment Voluntary Participation Withdrawal Rights Informed Consent Deception Debriefing

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