Research Ethics Please read Chapters 4 and 5 in Martin.

Issues in Research Ethics Coercion – $$$, extra credit, social pressures Privacy Deception – Physiology of cheating Discomfort or Harm Right to Service – Experimental group gets beneficial treatment, control group does not.

Reducing Ethical Problems Institutional Review Boards Preserve participants’ anonymity Obtain informed consent – This might contaminate the data – And even create harm (medical students’ syndrome) Reduce risk of harm when possible

Dehumanizing Language “Subjects” or “Participants” “Males & Females” or “Men and Women” Words used to describe ethnic identity or sexual preference – What was appropriate yesterday might not be appropriate today

Demand Characteristics Martin discusses this topic under ethics. I think of it as a threat to validity. Circumstances in the research situation may have unintended effects on the subjects’ behavior Good Guy Effect Screw You Effect Rosenthal & Fode – read this article, please.

Plagiarism Theft of another’s words Paraphrase and cite – Do not quote frequently “Self-Plagiarism” Theft of another’s ideas – My research with male & female deer mice

Other Problems Fabricating Data – Rare but potentially very destructive – Simulation does have a role in science and in pedagogy. Falsifying Credentials