Ethics Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology.

Ethics

Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

Announcements

Exam 1: on Monday

Univ college writing help: http://www.ucollege.ilstu.edu/tutoring/writing/

APA style: Parts of a research report

• Abstract• Body

• Introduction• Methods

• Participants• Materials/Apparatus• Design• Procedure

• Results• Discussion

• References• The rest

• Authors Notes, Footnotes, Tables, Figure Captions, Figures

Body

Results Verbal statement of results: Describe the results but don’t

interpret them here (that’s for the discussion)

• Statistical Outcomes• Means, standard deviations, t-tests, ANOVAs, correlations, etc.• Relate the analyses to the specific hypotheses

• Tables and figures • These get referred to in the text, but actually get put into their own

sections at the end of the manuscript

Body

Results Reading checklist

• Did the author get unexpected results?

• How does the author interpret the results?

• How would YOU interpret the results?

• What implications would YOU draw from these results?

• Writing checklist• Is it clear how the hypotheses are tested by the analyses?• Would a graph or table help clarify the results?• What questions might the reader still have, and how could

I answer them in this section?

Body

Discussion (interpret the results) Relationship between purpose and results Theoretical (or methodological) contribution Implications Future directions (optional)

Reading checklist• Does YOUR interpretation or the authors' interpretation best

represent the data?

• Do you or the author draw the most sensible implications and conclusions?

• Writing checklist• Have you stated your most convincing argument?

• Do the conclusions follow straightforwardly from the results?

The references

References Author’s name Year Title of work Publication information

• Journal• Issue• Pages

Adolescent Depression 29 References

Barnett, P. A., & Gotlib, I. H. (1988). Psychosocial functioning and depression: Distinguishing among antecedents, concomitants, and consequences. Psychological Bulletin, 104. Beck, A. T. (1978). Beck Depression Inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation. Benoit, D., Vidovic, D., & Roman, J. (1991, April). Transmission of attachment across three generations. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development. Benoit, D., Zeanah, C. H., & Barton, M. L. (1989). Maternal attachment disturbances in failure to thrive. Infant Mental Health Journal, 3, 185-202. Benoit, D., Zeanah, C. H., Boucher, C., & Minde, K. (1989). Sleep disorders in early childhood: Association with insecure maternal attachment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 86-93.

When something odd comes up, don’t guess. Look it up!

The rest

Authors Notes Footnotes Tables Figure Captions Figures

Figures and tables

These are used to supplement the text.

To make a point clearer for the reader.

Typically used for: The design Examples of stimuli Patterns of results

Ethics

Ethics – people should be treated as ends not means

Ethical Responsibilities in Research

Two basic categories of ethical concerns: Need to consider the rights of our participants in our

research Need to behave ethically as scientists and

practitioners

CITI ethics training https://www.citiprogram.org/

Can take short “courses” on ethics Starting in Jan. most 290, 390s (and probably some

PSY 331 classes) will require it (lasts for 3 years) Social/Behavioral Research Course, Basic Course Students conducting no more than minimal risk research

Using humans in research

For the most part the researcher has the power• You know what is going to be

done to the participants• Participants may feel like

they have to do it

Consider ethics at each step How are participants selected? What methods may be used on the participant population? What measurement techniques will be used? What design is appropriate? How are the data analyzed? How are the results reported?

Ethical Responsibilities in Research

Respect for persons Basic courtesy Informed consent Debriefing Avoid deception

Beneficence Protection from harm Cost/Benefits analysis Confidentiality

Justice Freedom from coercion Equal chances of participation

APA’s code of ethicshttp://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Informed consent

Information to allow a person to decide if they want to participate Basic purpose of the study Participation is voluntary Risks involved Benefits involved Rights to refuse or terminate participation

Assent - guardians if participants are not competent• e.g., children, developmentally disabled people

Using deception in research

Types Passive deception

• Withholding information about the study Active deception

• Deliberately misleading participants

Avoid it when possible Alternative to deception

• Role-playing

When not possible to avoid Make sure that you are up front with all possible risks Potential results must be worth it Must debrief participants as soon as possible (either right after

participation or as soon as project is over)

Costs/Benefits analysis

Costs: all potential risks to the participants Physical harm Psychological harm Loss of confidentiality

Benefits: the “good” outcomes Direct benefits to participants Benefits to knowledge base Benefits to world at large

Institutional Review Board IRB Criteria

• Minimize risk• Benefits > Risks• Equal opportunity sampling• Informed consent• Documentation of consent• Data monitoring• Privacy & Confidentiality

Monitoring of ethics

Scientific Integrity

Fraud prevention Replication – repeat a research study to validate results Peer Review – critical analysis of research by peers in the

same area Plagiarism – taking credit for another’s work or ideas

• Avoided by citing the ideas or words of others

Exam 1

Exam 1: 15% of final grade Short answer & multiple choice Covers – lectures, textbook, lab material

Textbook Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 8