Ethics in Research
Informed Consent Participants must be informed about nature of the study. Need to know what will happen Children need parental consent
Deception Should be avoided Need a valid justification in order to decieve Slight deception is ok if justified Cannot cause harm
Protection of Participants No physical or psychological harm Avoid invasion of privacy in covert, observational unless justified
Debriefing Researchers must inform participants about results Assurance that no harm was caused
Right to Withdraw Participants have the right to withdraw at any moment. Participants have the right to withdraw their data if not satisfied.
Confidentiality Researchers must assure all data and participants are anonymous.
Ethics in Animal Research Stress and Pain: Take measures to minimize stress and pain Consider alternatives: Are there alternatives to animal research Approval: Must be approved by ethical committee Researcher Competence: Must have skills and experience working with animals
Questions to ask Did the researchers get informed consent? Were the participants harmed? Was the study justified? Were there ethical guidelines when the study was conducted? Were the results important and have they benefited humans? Could the study have been conducted alternative ways?