Before you can carry out any research, you have to understand ethics. Ethics are a moral code that psychologists follow in order to protect both the participants and researchers.
A useful acronym to help you remember the ethics is PADDI WAC!
- Privacy – Ensuring that participants are aware that they do not have to answer anything that may make them feel uncomfortable, thus protecting their privacy. In addition, you cannot observe people in private environments i.e. peeping through someones window, without their knowledge!
- Assent – Asking children several occasions throughout the study whether they would still like to take part. This is because children can often go along with a study even when they feel uncomfortable.
- Deception – Participants should not be deliberately lied to about the aim of the study and procedure. If participants are not told the true aim of the study, every step should be taken to ensure that there are no harmful effects to the participant. For example, a thorough debrief, counselling sessions, ethics committee there at all times to stop experiment if they feel that it is harming participants etc.
- Debrief – Full explanation of the aims and potential consequences of a study are given to the participants straight after the study has finished.
- Informed consent – Having sufficient knowledge about the study to know whether they want to participate.
- Withdrawal – Participants should be made aware that they can leave at anytime and can remove their data from the study at anytime.
- Avoid harming participants mentally/physically or psychologically – Participants should leave in the same positive state when they finish the study, as when they arrived.
- Confidentiality – Participants results and personal information should be kept safely and not released to anyone outside of the study.
The new specification has now added on the 4 additional ethics so I suppose it will have to be PADDI WAC!
CGS Psychology Blog: Mrs Harris 