Module: Research Methods in Psychology
Lecture 2: Ethics and Pre-registration
When we submit our ethics application and get considerations back, do we go over
this with our supervisor?
You can do, but you don’t have to. The people looking at your ethics application will
normally include your supervisor. The supervisor will be there to give information
about your study as they know your study better than the panel. The panel will argue
from their positions the decision for the outcome.
If your ethics is approved subject to conditions, they will be spelled out in the
feedback application. In most cases, the conditions will be straightforward. It could
just be a case of there being something missing in the participant information. If
there’s anything more complicated, then it’s recommended that you have a meeting
with your supervisor to see how these issues can be resolved so that the application
can be successful.
The ethics application is a pre-requisite for collecting data in your final year project.
The ethics application is what you need to do before you are allowed to collect any
data. It doesn’t carry a mark. You get either a pass or fail. Pass means you can
collect data. Fail means you can’t.
There is no fixed deadline for the ethics application but it’s recommended you submit
it by the end of December. By then you would have had enough conversations with
your supervisor to feel confident about submitting it. You can submit before or after
December – it just has implications for when you can collect your data.
You will find out who your supervisors are from tomorrow or beginning of next week.
Issues & Examples (1)
How can online surveys be ethical without signed consent forms?
You can get consent from participants when conducting online surveys by
getting them to consent using checkboxes – the person has to tick to agree to
continue.
An online survey has the advantage because the data collection can be done
completely anonymously. Everyone completing the survey would have given
their consent explicitly.
With paper surveys, confidentiality will be more at risk because there will be a
signed consent form where the person has to give their name.
Lecture 2: Ethics and Pre-registration
When we submit our ethics application and get considerations back, do we go over
this with our supervisor?
You can do, but you don’t have to. The people looking at your ethics application will
normally include your supervisor. The supervisor will be there to give information
about your study as they know your study better than the panel. The panel will argue
from their positions the decision for the outcome.
If your ethics is approved subject to conditions, they will be spelled out in the
feedback application. In most cases, the conditions will be straightforward. It could
just be a case of there being something missing in the participant information. If
there’s anything more complicated, then it’s recommended that you have a meeting
with your supervisor to see how these issues can be resolved so that the application
can be successful.
The ethics application is a pre-requisite for collecting data in your final year project.
The ethics application is what you need to do before you are allowed to collect any
data. It doesn’t carry a mark. You get either a pass or fail. Pass means you can
collect data. Fail means you can’t.
There is no fixed deadline for the ethics application but it’s recommended you submit
it by the end of December. By then you would have had enough conversations with
your supervisor to feel confident about submitting it. You can submit before or after
December – it just has implications for when you can collect your data.
You will find out who your supervisors are from tomorrow or beginning of next week.
Issues & Examples (1)
How can online surveys be ethical without signed consent forms?
You can get consent from participants when conducting online surveys by
getting them to consent using checkboxes – the person has to tick to agree to
continue.
An online survey has the advantage because the data collection can be done
completely anonymously. Everyone completing the survey would have given
their consent explicitly.
With paper surveys, confidentiality will be more at risk because there will be a
signed consent form where the person has to give their name.
