1. Ethical issues in research

2. Learning objectives

3. The rights of participants- Privacy and Confidentiality.
Research should be anonymised.
Where possible you should tell participants what you are doing and why you are doing it.
Participants should be told that they can withdraw at any stage if they wish.
Class discussion of points and what action they can do to meet the points.

4. Questions that are not appropriate
Have you committed a crime?
Do you take illegal drugs?
Do you drink alcohol under age?
Do you sell cigarettes to underage children?
What is your phone number?
What is your home address?
Class discussion of each question. What are the issues with the questions? What might be the effect on the research?

5. Honesty and integrity
Class discussion what the words mean, how do they impact on research?

6. But…..
You are doing an observation of students behaviour in the common room. You want to see how many times students from Year 12 and Year 13 talk to each other as part of your research on the development of friendships in teen years.
If you are honest with the students what impact might it have on the outcome?
If you are not honest are you meeting the guideline of the research?
Class discussion looking at conflicts of the needs of the research against the ethical requirements. How can they be overcome?

7. Progress Check- Applying your knowledge
The clip below is a replication of a piece of real psychology research. Use your knowledge as a group to decide if this research meets the criteria of `ethical research` we have discussed, and say why you think this.
Students could be asked:
How would the participant feel at the end?
How could this study be done in an ethical way?
Were the ethical issues worth breaking for the good of the study?