Methods in Psychological Research Unit 2

‭➔‬ ‭6 core principles‬‭divided into‬‭belmont report‬‭and‬‭the‬‭Canadian/American Psychology‬
‭Association‬
‭◆ ‬ ‭Belmont Report‬
‭●‬ ‭concern for welfare‬‭:‬‭conduct research that benefit‬‭society and not cause any‬
‭kind of harm (legal, physical, or psychological)‬
‭●‬ ‭respect for persons‬‭:‬‭respect the autonomy, rights,‬‭and informed consent of‬
‭research participants; understand some populations might unable to provide‬
‭autonomous consent‬
‭●‬ ‭justice‬‭:‬‭no group should bear unfair burden of participating‬‭or unfairly‬
‭excluded from the study‬
‭◆ ‬ ‭Canadian/American Psychology Association‬
‭●‬ ‭privacy‬‭:‬‭protect confidentiality‬
‭●‬ ‭responsibility‬‭:‬‭follow rules and standards of society‬‭and work in partnership‬
‭with communities to design and administer research‬
‭●‬ ‭integrity‬‭:‬‭strive to be accurate, truthful, and honest‬‭when reporting [research‬
‭rationale, methods, results, and conclusions]‬


‭Deeper Dive into The 6 Core Principles‬
‭➔‬ ‭beneficence and concern for welfare‬
‭◆‬ ‭beneficence‬‭- research should benefit individuals,‬‭communities, and society‬
‭◆‬ ‭non-maleficence‬‭- seek to minimize potential social,‬‭behavioural, psychological,‬
‭physical, and/or economic risks of harm‬
‭◆‬ ‭closely tied w/ other principals‬
‭●‬ ‭i.e. protect privacy and responsibility to follow society’s rules‬
‭➔‬ ‭respect for persons‬
‭◆‬ ‭requires autonomy of participants (‬‭consent‬‭)‬
‭◆‬ ‭protect those that lack capacity to make own decisions (children, individuals’ w/‬
‭mental disorder)‬
‭◆‬ ‭autonomy‬‭- right to choose/refuse to participate‬‭without coercion/undue influence‬
‭◆‬ ‭consent‬‭- express willingness to participate‬
‭●‬ ‭voluntary‬
‭●‬ ‭ongoing‬‭- most cases granted prior to data collection‬‭and participants are able‬
‭to withdraw their consent at any point in the the study‬
‭●‬ ‭informed‬‭- (see below)‬
‭●‬ ‭accessible‬
‭●‬ ‭documented‬‭- formal consent process; written, verbal,‬‭or implicit‬
‭◆‬ ‭real or perceived threats of coercion and/or presence of undue influence can‬
‭undermine voluntary consent‬
‭●‬ ‭coercion‬‭- compelling someone to act using pressure,‬‭threats, or force‬
‭●‬ ‭undue influence‬‭- compelling someone to act via rewards,‬‭incentives, or‬
‭approval [i.e. large sum of money for participating in a study]‬

, ‭◆‬ ‭informed consent‬‭- fully informed on the benefits and risks, procedures for‬
‭confidentiality, and right to withdraw before agreeing to participate‬
‭●‬ ‭forms provided for this should be < scientific and more written in plain english‬
‭(easy to understand)‬
‭➔‬ ‭justice‬
‭◆‬ ‭fairly distribute benefits and risks‬
‭◆‬ ‭ensure fair inclusion and exclusion for the right reasons‬
‭◆‬ ‭equitable treatment‬‭- participants treated fairly‬‭and equitably, and adequately‬
‭compensated‬
‭◆‬ ‭equitable inclusion‬‭- no unfair share of burdens upon‬‭a group for participating or‬
‭unfairly excluded from benefits of the research‬
‭◆‬ ‭oppressive inclusion practices‬‭- subjecting a minority‬‭group/group to unequal burden of‬
‭research risks‬
‭◆‬ ‭oppressive exclusion practices‬‭- marginalized groups‬‭tend to not reap benefits from‬
‭“mainstream” research findings due to [explicit/implicit] exclusion from “general”‬
‭research goals‬
‭◆‬ ‭ensure equitable research practices‬
‭●‬ ‭match targeted pop. of interest‬
‭●‬ ‭convenience not valid reason for inclusion/exclusion‬
‭●‬ ‭excluding participants for attributes such as culture, language, religion, sex,‬
‭race, disability, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, gender, linguistic proficiency‬
‭is unethical [unless valid reason for exclusion]‬
‭➔‬ ‭importance of privacy‬
‭◆‬ ‭privacy‬‭: individual’s rights to protect what information‬‭is shared w/ and by‬
‭researchers‬
‭◆‬ ‭confidentiality‬‭- obligation to safeguard entrusted‬‭info‬
‭◆‬ ‭linked to concern for welfare and respect for persons‬
‭●‬ ‭releasing private info could put participant at risk (‬‭concern for welfare‬‭)‬
‭●‬ ‭must inform participants how private info would be protected and ensure‬
‭confidentiality (‬‭respect for persons‬‭)‬
‭➔‬ ‭integrity‬
‭◆‬ ‭integrity‬‭- strive to be accurate, truthful, and honest‬‭as a researcher‬
‭◆‬ ‭types of‬‭research misconduct‬‭:‬
‭●‬ ‭data fabrication‬‭:‬‭inventing data to fit hypothesis‬
‭●‬ ‭data falsification‬‭:‬‭manipulate results‬
‭●‬ ‭plagiarism‬‭:‬‭take someone else’s idea(s) and represent‬‭it as one’s own‬
‭◆‬ ‭one form of‬‭data falsification‬‭is “‬‭HARking‬‭”‬
‭●‬ ‭hypothesis after the results are known‬
‭●‬ ‭claiming an unexpected effect was predicted all along‬
‭●‬ ‭to avoid‬‭this, researchers should publicly‬‭register‬‭their hypothesis, research‬
‭design, and data analysis plan‬‭prior‬‭to collecting‬‭and analyzing any data‬
‭➔‬ ‭responsibility to society‬