Lecture Notes
Field Research Methods
Psyc 311

Lecture 1 | Lecture 2 | Lecture 3 | Lecture 4 | Lecture 5 | Lecture 6 | Lecture 7| Lecture 8 | Lecture 9 |
Lecture 10 | Lecture 11 | Lecture 12 | Lecture 13 | Lecture 14 | Lecture 15 | Lecture 16 | Lecture 17

---

Lecture Notes:
Field Research Methods (PSYC 311)
LECTURE 17: Applied Research Ethics

What are Ethics?

1. Normative Ethics
   Fundamental concern = development and justification of systems of moral rules which guide conduct
   Statements of ought

2. Descriptive Ethics
   Fundamental concern = accurate identification of moral rules which guide conduct
   Statements of fact

   What are Research Ethics?
   Set of principles to assist community of experimenters in deciding which goals are most important in reconciling conflicting values
   Ethical concerns divided into three areas (Diener & Crandall, 1978):
   1. Relationship between society and science
      
   2. Professional issues
      
   3. Treatment of subjects

1. Relationship between society and science
   Extent to which societal concerns and cultural values should and do direct the course of scientific investigation
   How much autonomy? How much responsibility to societal needs?
   1. Direct social influence = research incentives, grants, requests for proposals (RFPs)

   2. Indirect social influence = culturally based interests

2. Professional issues
   Scientific misconduct as specified and regulated by professional organizations and groups
   1. Fraudulent activity = presentation or publication of forged, falsified, or manipulated data
      Cyril Burt
      Between 1950 and 1979 had 14 documented cases
      Between 1980 and 1987 had 26 documented cases

   2. Research Publication
      Plagiarism = present substantial portions or elements of another's work or data as their own
      Publication Credit = Authorship and publication credit for only work actually performed
      Partial Publication = publication of several articles based on one large set of data
      Dual Publication = publishing the same data and results in more than one journal or publication

   3. Financial Conflict of Interest = fiducial interest of investigator confounded with production of research
      Development of APA Ethical Principles in the Conduct of Research with Human Participants

   
   
   History

   Committee on Ethical Standards in Psychological Research (1953)
   Questionnaire: 9,000 + psychologists
   Interview: 35 researchers written on topic of research ethics
   Dissemination of draft
   City, state, regional and national meetings
   Published in Monitor
   Revised draft gained acceptance in 1973 by general membership of APA
   Proposed revision every five years
   Latest revision: December, 1992

   
   
   Ethical Principles
   Principle A: In planning a study, investigator has responsibility to make a careful evaluation of its ethical acceptability.
   Principle B: Determine degree of risk to subject (deception, stressful conditions, or take medication).
   Principle C: Investigator always retains responsibility for ethical practice.
   Principle D: Prior to conducting research, investigator must disclose obligations and responsibilities of both subject and investigator (influence willingness to participate). Not for: anonymous surveys or naturalistic observation.
   Principle E: If deception is going to be used:
   1. determine if justified;

   2. identify alternatives to deception, if any;

   3. ensure participants provided with sufficient explanation as immediate as possible.

   Principle F: Investigator respects individual's freedom to decline at any time during course of experiment.
   Principle G: Investigator protects participant from physical and mental discomfort, harm, and danger that may arise from research procedures.
   Principle H: After collection of data, researcher provides participant with information about the nature of the study (debriefing).
   Principle I: If research procedures result in undesirable consequences for individual participant, investigator has responsibility to detect and remove or correct these consequences (long-term).
   Principle J: Information obtained about research participant during the course of an investigation is confidential unless otherwise agreed upon in advance.
   
   
   Lecture 1 | Lecture 2 | Lecture 3 | Lecture 4 | Lecture 5 | Lecture 6 | Lecture 7| Lecture 8 | Lecture 9 |
   Lecture 10 | Lecture 11 | Lecture 12 | Lecture 13 | Lecture 14 | Lecture 15 | Lecture 16 | Lecture 17
   Course Outline | Syllabus | Back to index