4:48pm Jul 22 at 4:48pm
Hello Dr. McCoy and Class,
The American Psychological Association (APA) provides general principles and Ethical standards which provides guidance for professional working in the psychological field to better equip them with knowledge of how to behave when encountered with moral and/or ethical dilemmas with the hopes that these principles and values are aspiring and upheld. The principles, codes, and guidelines are established to protect human and non-human study participants, along with the researcher(s). (APA, 2017). The general principles are Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence; B: Fidelity and Responsibility; C: Integrity; D: Justice; and E: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity. The General Principles, in contrast to Ethical Standards, do not represent obligations. The eight sections of Ethical Standards which must be adhered are Section 1: Resolving Ethical Issus; 2: Competence; 3: Human Relations; 4: Privacy and Confidentiality; 5: Advertising and Other Public Statements; 6: Record Keeping and Fees; 7: Education and Training; 8: Research and Publication; 9: Assessment; and 10: Therapy. (APA, 2017).
For the purpose of this discussion as it relates to my topic of interest research paper, the following section: Research and Publication; Section 8 ethical principle will be conferred. Section 8; Research and Publications focuses on the ethical guidelines and standards for the research process and research publication from approval, process, participants, and publication. Research and Publication Section 8 consists of fifteen subsections stated as 8.01: Institutional Approval; 8.02: Informed Consent to Research; 8.03: Informed Consent for Recording Voices and Images in Research; 8.04: Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate Research Participants; 8.05: Dispensing with Informed Consent for Research; 8.06: Offering Inducements for Research Participation; 8.07: Deception in Research; 8.08: Debriefing; 8.09: Humane Care and Use of Animals in Research; 8.10: Reporting Research Results: 8.11: Plagiarism: 8.12: Publication Credit; 8.13: Duplicate Publication Data; 8.14: Sharing Research Data; and 8.15: Reviewers. (APA, 2017). Section 8: Research and Publication provides guidelines when performing a research study. When conducting research with human participants it is vital to obtain the proper consent, protect the participants’ psychological and physical well-being by upholding the General Principles, and sustain ethical standards.
Relevant to my specific topic of domestic violence and mental health, informed consent to research is vital as a form of permission to retain and gather information from the participants. Informed consent provides the researcher with permission to ask questions and receive answers. To alleviate and misunderstandings or deceptions, 8.07; Deception in Research and 8.08 Debriefing are performed to maintain a trusting and open rapport keeping an open level of communication throughout the study. Depending on the type of research study, deception may be necessary to gather the data needed.
To conduct a research study on domestic violence and mental health I would perform a qualitative study by gathering data by survey and observations from several selected domestic violence survivors. (Maschke, 2008). Gathered information would be, but not limited to, factors, participation in therapy, counseling, or self-medicating; along with a display of symptoms such as depression and or anxiety. (Colnerud, 2013). Conducting this research study, I would apply 8.01; Institutional Approval by the IRB; 8.02; informed consent, acknowledgment, and confidentiality is included in this step, 8.04; Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate Research Participants, as the material and questions may cause triggers necessary steps are taken to provide care to prevent harm for the participants. To maintain a level of safety and control from the participants, 8.08; Debriefing is conducted to eliminate any re-victimization the participants may feel is taking place.
References
American Psychological Association (APA). (2017). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Section 8: Research and Publication.
https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/(Links to an external site.)
Colnerud, G. (2013). Brief Report: Ethical Problems in Research Practice.
Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics. (8)4; 37-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/jer.2013.8.4.37
Maschke, K. (2008), Human Research Protections: Time for Regulatory Reform?
The Hastings Center Report,38(2), 19. https://www.thehastingscenter.org/publications-resources/hastings-center-report/
9:03am Jul 22 at 9:03am
Hi Dr. McCoy and Class,
Research and experiments are essential to understanding human behavior. However, there are ethical principles, codes, and rules set in place to protect human and nonhuman animals. The Institutional Review Board, according to Newman (2016), is common rule mandated and is “tasked with determining whether a study is consistent with ethical principles, and it has the authority to approve, reject, or require modification of any research proposal” (1.5, para. 13). Section 8 of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct has 15 subsections, but not all of the subsections apply to the study idea I presented for my final assignment. Overall, though, section 8 of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct is to protect research participants, human or animal.
One section 8 ethical principle in place to protect research and experiment participants is informed consent. Informed consent, according to the American Psychological Association (2011)., is an ethical principle that is set in place to ensure all research participants are made aware or informed of all aspects of the study. Additionally, according to the American Psychological Association (2011), “When psychologists conduct research with clients/patients, students or subordinates as participants, psychologists take steps to protect the prospective participants from adverse consequences of declining or withdrawing from participation” (Standard 8: Research & Publication, 8.04
Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate Research Participants).
Another ethical principle set in place to protect participants is confidentiality. Confidentiality, according to Newman (2016), is an ethical principle that states, “All personal information collected during the research study must be protected and prevented from being released to anyone not authorized to view it” (1.5, para. 22). However, also important to note, participants must be made aware of the limitations of confidentiality, as there are often limitations based on case and type of study (American Psychological Association, 2011).
Yet another ethical principle set in place to protect participants is a debriefing. Debriefing is an Ethical Principle stating that participants must be informed of the purpose of the study at the close of a study or experiment (American Psychological Association, 2011). Sometimes deception is involved in research studies and experiments. Deception, according to Newman (2016), “involves deceiving participants about the purpose of the research—at least until the study is finished” (1.5, para. 9). However, per Newman (2016), deception, in some cases, can be considered a threat if abused or if there is a possibility of causing extreme emotional distress and/or humiliation. This is precisely why the IRB review and approval is necessary. The IRB considers deception in a study and determines if it is ethical, reasonable, and important to the quality of the study or unethical, unreasonable, and could cause harm.
A study topic I am interested in is stereotype threat and the media’s role thereof. I would use a mixed-method approach combing archival (descriptive), survey (predictive), and experimental approaches. I would do this to reduce any possible biases as well as to get the most accurate comprehensive findings because, with experiments alone, there are always going to be extraneous variables that are out of the researcher’s control. When using a mixed-method or triangulation approach, the limits or drawbacks of one approach are countered by one of the other approaches. However, for the sake of the final assignment of this course, I will hypothetically use the experimental approach to the topic.
If I were to conduct an experiment about stereotype-threat and the role of the media’s influence thereof, deception would most likely be necessary and need to be approved by the IRB. Deception might present a challenge for this type of research because it could cause emotional distress as stereotype threat alone leads to emotional distress, and part of the study would measure stereotype-threat. I do not think any of the other principles in section 8 would cause a challenge for this study, though, as long as the study is IRB approved the study and particpants receive informed consent, confidentiality is explained, and are thoroughly debriefed.
References
American Psychological Association. (2011).
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct(Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx(Links to an external site.)
Newman, M. (2016).
Research methods in psychology(Links to an external site.)
(2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.