ETHICAL GUIDELINE

Serkan Adıgüzel
PhD Candidate
COURSE FLOW

Introduction

Ethical Guidelines

Informed Consent

Deception & Debriefing

IRB Application

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INTRODUCTION

NO MATTER WHAT TYPE of claim researchers are

investigating, they are obligated—by law, by morality, and
by today’s social norms—to treat the participants in their
research with kindness, respect, and fairness. In the 21st
century, researchers are expected to follow basic ethical
principles in the treatment of humans and other animals.
Researchers are also expected to produce research that is
meaningful, helpful, and accessible to the public.

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ETHICAL
GUIDELINES
 THE PRINCIPLE OF RESPECT
FOR PERSONS

The principle of respect for persons includes two

provisions.

First , individuals potentially involved in research

should be treated as autonomous agents : they
should be free to make up their own minds about
whether they wish to participate in a research
study.

Applying this principle means that every

participant is entitled to the precaution of
informed consent: Each person learns about
the research project , considers its risks and
benefits, and decides whether to participate.

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The second application of respect for persons
states that some people have less autonomy , so
they are entitled to special protection when it
comes to informed consent .

For example, children, people with intellectual or

developmental disabilities, or prisoners should be
protected.

Children and certain other individuals might be

unable to give informed consent because of not
understanding the procedures involved well
enough to make a responsible decision.

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 THE PRINCIPLE OF
BENEFICENCE

To comply with the principle of beneficence,

researchers must take precautions to protect
participants from harm and to ensure their
wellbeing.
To apply this principle, researchers carefully
assess the risks and benefits of the study they
plan to conduct .

In addition, they must consider how the

community might benefit or be harmed. Will a
community gain something of value from the
knowledge this research is producing? Will there
be costs to a community if this research is not
conducted?

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A potential risk is having people’s personal
information (their behavior, mental health
information, or private reactions) revealed to
others.

To prevent harm, researchers usually make participant

information either anonymous or confidential .

In an anonymous study, researchers do not collect any

potentially identifying information, including names,
birthdays, photos, signatures and so on.

In a confidential study, researchers collect some

identifying information (for contacting people at
a later date if needed) but prevent it from being
disclosed. They may save data in encrypted form or
store people’s names separately from their other data.

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 THE PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE

The principle of justice calls for a fair balance

between the kinds of people who participate in
research and the kinds of people who benefit from
it .

When the principle of justice is applied, it means

that researchers consider the extent to which the
participants involved in a study are representative
of the kinds of people who would also benefit from
its results. If researchers decide to study a sample
from only one ethnic group, they must
demonstrate that the problem they are studying is
especially prevalent in that ethnic group or in
that type of institution.

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For example, it would violate the justice principle
if researchers studied a group of prisoners mainly
because they were convenient .

However, it might be perfectly acceptable to study

only institutionalized people for a study on
tuberculosis because tuberculosis is particularly
prevalent in institutions where people live
together in a confined area.

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INFORMED
CONSENT
Informed consent is the researcher’s obligation to
explain the study to potential participants in
everyday language and give them a chance to
decide whether to participate.

In most studies, informed consent is obtained by

providing a written document .

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In obtaining informed consent , researchers are not
allowed to mislead people about the study’s
risks and benefits.

Nor may they force or influence a person so

hardly into participating, because doing so would
violate the principle of respect for persons.

Forcing is an implicit or explicit suggestion that

those who do not participate will suffer a negative
consequence; for example, a professor implying
that students’ grades will be lower if they don’t
participate in a particular study.

Pushing influence is offering an incentive too

attractive to refuse, such as an irresistible amount
of money in exchange for participating.
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An informed consent outlines
(APA Code of Conduct-2017);

(1) the purpose of the research expected duration,

and procedures;
(2) their right to decline to participate and to
withdraw from the research once participation has
begun;
(3) the foreseeable consequences of declining or
withdrawing;
(4) reasonably foreseeable factors that may be
expected to influence their willingness to
participate such as potential risks, discomfort , or
adverse effects;
(5) any prospective research benefits;
(6) limits of confidentiality;
(7) incentives for participation; and
(8) whom to contact for questions about the
research and research participants’ rights.
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DECEPTION &
DEBRIEFING
 DECEPTION

Deceiving research participants by lying to them

or by withholding information is, in many cases,
necessary in order to obtain meaningful results.

In some cases, researchers withheld some details

of the study from participants, deception
through omission .
In other cases, researchers actively lied to
participants deception through commission .

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C O N F O R M I TY TO S O C I A L N O R M S : A H YP OT H E S I S S U C H A S
" I N D I V I D UA L S W I L L C O N FO R M TO I N C O R R EC T A N S W E R S G I V E N BY A
M A J O R I T Y G R O U P E V E N W H E N T H E C O R R EC T A N S W E R I S O BV I O U S,
D U E TO S O C I A L P R E S S U R E ," C O U L D L E A D TO A ST U DY S I M I L A R TO
T H E A S C H C O N FO R M I T Y E X P E R I M E N TS. D EC E P T I O N I S U S E D H E R E TO
M A K E PA RT I C I PA N TS B E L I E V E T H E Y A R E TA K I N G PA RT I N A V I S I O N
T E ST W I T H A G R O U P O F P E E R S ( W H O A R E A C T UA L LY
C O N F E D E R AT E S) , N OT A ST U DY O N S O C I A L P R E S S U R E A N D
C O N FO R M I T Y.

BYSTA N D E R E F F E C T: A H YP OT H E S I S L I K E " T H E P R E S E N C E O F OT H E R
P EO P L E I N A C R I T I C A L S I T UAT I O N D EC R E A S E S T H E L I K E L I H O O D
T H AT A N I N D I V I D UA L W I L L O F F E R H E L P," C O U L D B E T E ST E D I N A
S C E N A R I O W H E R E PA RT I C I PA N TS A R E M A D E TO B E L I E V E T H E Y A R E
PA RT O F A G R O U P D I S C U S S I O N OV E R A N I N T E R C O M S YST E M .
U N B E K N O W N ST TO T H E M , A STA G E D E M E R G E N CY O C C U R S (O N E O F
T H E " PA RT I C I PA N TS " S E E M I N G LY H A S A H E A LT H C R I S I S) , A N D
R E S E A R C H E R S O B S E RV E I F A N D H O W Q U I C K LY T H E R E A L
PA RT I C I PA N T R E A C TS, N OT K N O W I N G T H E E M E R G E N CY I S STA G E D.

I M P L I C I T B I A S : " I N D I V I D UA L S W I L L D E M O N ST R AT E I M P L I C I T R A C I A L
B I A S I N T H E I R D EC I S I O N - M A K I N G P R O C E S S E S W I T H O U T B E I N G
AWA R E O F I T," M I G H T R EQ U I R E A ST U DY W H E R E PA RT I C I PA N TS
T H I N K T H E Y A R E TA K I N G PA RT I N A D EC I S I O N - M A K I N G TA S K
U N R E L AT E D TO R A C E . T H R O U G H C L E V E R LY D E S I G N E D TA S KS T H AT
M E A S U R E R E A C T I O N T I M E S O R D EC I S I O N O U TC O M E S, R E S E A R C H E R S
C A N A S S E S S I M P L I C I T B I A S E S W H I L E AVO I D I N G T H E I N F LU E N C E O F
S O C I A L D E S I R A B I L I T Y B I A S, W H I C H C O U L D S K E W R E S U LTS I F
PA RT I C I PA N TS W E R E AWA R E O F T H E ST U DY ' S T R U E P U R P O S E . 17
 DEBRIEFING
When researchers have used deception, they must
spend time after the study talking with each
participant in a structured conversation.

In a debriefing session, the researchers describe

the nature of the deception and explain why it
was necessary.

Emphasizing the importance of their research,

they attempt to restore an honest relationship
with the participant .

As part of the debriefing process, the researcher

describes the design of the study, thereby giving
the participant some insight about the nature of
psychological science.

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Nondeceptive studies may include a debriefing
session, too.

At many universities, student participants in

research receive a written description of the
study’s goals and hypotheses, along with
references for further reading.

In debriefing sessions, researchers might also

offer to share results with the participants. Even
months after their participation, people can
request a summary of the study’s results.

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INSTITUTIONAL
REVIEW BOARDS
An institutional review board (IRB) is a committee
responsible for interpreting ethical principles and
ensuring that research using human participants
is conducted ethically .
Most colleges and universities, as well as research
hospitals, have an IRB.

Before conducting a study, researchers must fill

out a detailed application describing their
study, its risks and benefits (to both participants
and society), its procedures for informed consent ,
and its provisions for protecting people’s privacy.

The IRB then reviews each application.

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NEXT WEEK
PRESENTATIONS
I expect you to

.prepare your YU IRB Applications with the

attachments

Attachments
.scales,
.materials (If any),
.allowance declarations,
.Informed Consent
.Debriefing (If any)

Not necessary parts

-Signature
-CV
-Appendix 5,6,7,8,9

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THANK YOU

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