Beyond Ethics…
From the black and white to the grey!
Assessing Risk
• When a researcher asks individuals to participate in research or
observes individuals without their awareness, a number of ethical
issues arise:
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Will participants be harmed by the research?
What are the benefits of the research?
How will individuals privacy be protected?
Will information provided by them be confidential?
• Deciding on the cost/benefit of proposed research.
– Is entirely subjective; what one REC says is ok, another may not.
– Different views of ethical behaviour:
• Consequentialism- what’s right/wrong depends on outcome
• Deontological – argues that there are just things that are right and wrong
– Study design is also important: will valid results be produced?
– If risk is involved, need to explore all other low-risk options first.
Assessing the Risk / Benefit Ratio
Everyday life has risks and benefits
…but what do we have to consider in research?
Toxins and Mental Function
• Anecdotal accounts of toxins and their effects chronicled for
centuries – lead, asbestos, cigarettes etc…
• Toxic substances affect the nervous system & that includes the
CNS… the brain.
• 1000 new compounds developed
- 3-5% neurotoxic
• Production of new chemicals
outstrips research
• They are EVERYWHERE!
every year
RESULTS - Cognitive function
Impaired
General Intellectual Ability
Response Speed
x
Working Memory
x
Visual Memory
x
Auditory Memory
Verbal Abilities
Mental Flexibility & Inhibition
x
Strategy Making
x
Verbal & Visual Reasoning Ability
Visio-Spatial Abilities
Controversial Research Issues
Moral Dilemmas
• What is the researcher’s responsibility when potential harm
has been done to participants?
• What is the researcher's responsibility if a problem is found in
active pilots?
• What are the legal implications?
Beyond OPs
• Can you think of other areas in research where ethical, moral
and legal issues may create issues?
Controversial Research:
Beyond BPS Guidelines
Clinical Studies
• Where you have promised anonymity/confidentiality:
– what do you do if you identify someone with serious ill health or
suicidal ideation in a study?
Crime in Action
• What are your obligations to the participants when
researching illegal behaviours?
– what happens with issues of anonymity/confidentiality?
• What are your obligations when research may involve you
being involved in (or at the edge of) illegal behaviour?
Complex Ethical Dilemmas
• "One of my interviewees in prison has told me about getting
away with various offences. He told me he is in prison for
three burglaries, but there are several other offences that the
police don't know about. What should I do?“
• It should have been made clear to participants in the research
at the outset what the limits of confidentiality for those
involved in the study were. Research in sensitive settings such
as prisons is particularly likely to throw up issues of this kind.
Complex Ethical Dilemmas
• “When running focus group discussions with primary school
children as part of my research, they started talking about a
man called John who gives them sweets at the gate of the
school. There was a lot of hushing and shushing and it
became clear that I was being told something I wasn't meant
to hear because of their parents. What should I do?“
• The welfare of vulnerable participants in research overrides
other concerns. If research uncovers suspected child abuse,
this must be disclosed to the proper authorities. In this case,
the suspicion is vague but valid: the researcher should inform
a senior staff member at the school of what was said.
Assessing Risk
• College students complete a Likert scale assessment describing their
current mood. The researcher seeks to identify depressed students so that
they can be included in a study examining cognitive deficits associated
with depression.
• A psychologist administers a battery of achievement tests to elderly adults
in the dayroom at their nursing home. The psychologist seeks to
determine if there is a decline in mental functioning with advancing age.
• A researcher recruits students to take part in a study looking at the effects
of alcohol on cognitive functioning. The experiment requires that some
students drink 4 units of alcohol before performing a computer game.
• A researcher is interested in the vividness of autobiographical memories
either neutral or positive words elicit. They give a list of words containing
both to people and ask them to recall an associated memory – and to
judge the vividness of it.
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Informed Consent not necessarily needed in studies involving observing
naturalistic public behaviour… deciding what counts as public can be challenging.