Ethics in Research
In addition to following the scientific method, psychologists agree that good research is ethical in nature and is guided by a basic respect for human dignity and safety (though this wasn’t always the case). Modern researchers must demonstrate that the research they perform is ethically sound.
Research Involving Human Participants
When human subjects are involved in research, strict guidelines are in place to prevent harm. Institutions that receive federal funding for research involving human subjects must have an Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is a committee of individuals often made up of members of the institution’s administration, scientists, and community members. The purpose of the IRB is to review proposals for research that involve human participants. The IRB reviews these proposals with the principles mentioned above in mind, and generally, approval from the IRB is required for the experiment to proceed.
An institution’s IRB requires several components in any experiment it approves.
For one, each participant must sign an informed consent form before they can participate in the experiment. An informed consent form provides a written description of what participants can expect during the experiment, including potential risks and implications of the research (you can see a sample consent form here). In cases where research participants are under the age of 18, the parents or legal guardians are required to sign the informed consent form. The form also explains what, if any, compensation is included as part of participation in the study.
Furthermore, the informed consent guarantees that any data collected in the experiment will remain completely confidential and their privacy will be respected.
While the informed consent form should be as honest as possible in describing exactly what participants will be doing, sometimes deception is necessary to prevent participants’ knowledge of the exact research question from affecting the results of the study. Deception involves purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment, but not to the point where the deception could be considered harmful. For example, if we are interested in how our opinion of someone is affected by their attire, we might use deception in describing the experiment to prevent that knowledge from affecting participants’ responses. In cases where deception is involved, participants must receive a full debriefing upon conclusion of the study—complete, honest information about the purpose of the experiment, how the data collected will be used, the reasons why deception was necessary, and information about how to obtain additional information about the study.
Research Involving Animal Subjects
Many psychologists conduct research involving animal subjects. Often, these researchers use rodents or birds as the subjects of their experiments—the APA estimates that 90% of all animal research in psychology uses these species. Because many basic processes in animals are sufficiently similar to those in humans, these animals are acceptable substitutes for research that would be considered unethical in human participants.
This does not mean that animal researchers are immune to ethical concerns. Indeed, the humane and ethical treatment of animal research subjects is a critical aspect of this type of research. Researchers must design their experiments to minimize any pain or distress experienced by animals serving as research subjects.
Whereas IRBs review research proposals that involve human participants, animal experimental proposals are reviewed by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). An IACUC consists of institutional administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members. This committee is charged with ensuring that all experimental proposals require the humane treatment of animal research subjects. It also conducts semi-annual inspections of all animal facilities to ensure that research protocols are being followed. No animal research project can proceed without the committee’s approval.