One of the tasks i set out for myself in My Inquiry plan was to read through the Code of Human Research Ethics on 'The British Psychological Society' website. Doing this has really helped me to get all the permission i need and to get underway with my interviews and questionnaires whilst ensuring the safety of everyone involved.
Reading through
the Code of Human Research Ethics on
‘The British Psychological Society’ website has really opened by eyes in
how I should approach ethics during my inquiry. I had thought about this in my
plan and laid out how I would include ethics, however now I am about to begin
my Inquiry I have delved deeper into this subject.
I am about to
begin commencing my interviews with my participates and I realized that, ‘Good psychological
research is only possible if there is mutual respect and trust between
investigator and participants’ (P.4 The British psychological society, 2010)
I knew that I
would have to create a consent form for my participates to sign however reading
though the guidelines on The BPS website it made me realize that I need to be
very clear that the safety of my participates is my main concern.
‘In accordance
with the Code of Ethics and conduct, researches should ensure that every person
whom data are gathered for the purpose of research consents freely to the
process on the basis of adequate information’ (p15 The British psychological
society, 2010)
This made me
realize that I will have to make it clear to the participate and the article
gave me guidelines to do this via my consent forms. I made sure I included
these following points:
·
2
copies of the consent form should be signed by researcher and the consenting
participant.
·
Contact
details left if they have any queries
·
They
are aware they can pull out of the inquiry at any time
·
They
are aware of the time scale of the project
·
They
understand what the inquiry aims to do and how they will be participating
·
Make
them feel safe and comfortable and aware that their safety is my main concern.
·
Method
of collecting data
·
Confidentially
and anoylamity conditions
‘This is because
subject to requirements and legislation, including the data protection act,
information obtained from and about a particpatant during an investigation s
confidential unless otherwise agreed in advance’ (p 22 The British
psychological society, 2010)
This also made me
realize I will have to assess all possible risks, ‘ Risk can be defined as the
potential physical or psychological harm, discomfort or stress to human
participates that a research project may generate’ (p 13 The British
psychological society, 2010)
As my inquiry is
a sensitive topic I will have to use my instinct and be in tune with how my
participates are feeling as I do not want to cause anxiety, psychological
stress or humiliation. ‘Sensitivity is therefore essential and caution is
usually necessary’ (page 12 The British psychological society, 2010) this is
because it may cause them to remember and discuss painful memories or moments,
which are fragile, to them as well as happy memories.
The BPS article
outlined 4 main principles, which have been really helpful when considering
Ethics for my Inquiry. I have displayed some quotes that stood out to me:
1.
Respect for the Autonomy and dignity of
persons
‘…Rights
to privacy, self-determination, personal liberty and natural justice are of
particular importance to psychologists’ (P 8 The British psychological society,
2010)
‘Valid consent,
confidentially, anonymity, fair treatment’ (P 8 The British psychological
society, 2010)
2.
Scientific Value
‘Psychologists are committed to ensuring that the
scientific and scholarly standards of their research are accountable and of
sufficiently high quality and robustness’ (p 9 The British psychological
society, 2010)
3. Social responsibility
‘Psychological
knowledge must be generated and used for beneficial purposes’ (page10 The
British psychological society, 2010)
‘In whatever
social context they work, psychologists should acknowledge the evolution of
social structures in relation to societal need and be respectful of such
structures. (Page10 The British psychological society, 2010)
This point made
me realize that during my Inquiry I need to be ‘Self-reflective and be open to
challenges that question the contributions of psychological knowledge to
society’ (page 10 The British psychological society, 2010)
4.
Maximizing Benefit and minimizing Harm.
‘Harm to research
participates must be avoided’ (page 11 The British psychological society, 2010)
The last
principle stood out to me as this is mainly what I wish to achieve with my
Inquiry and with it being a sensitive subject I will have to be considerate of
the feelings and wellbeing of my participates.
‘Psychologists
need to be sensitivities to the potential impact of their interventions for
example to the possibility of individual distress that may be caused
unwittingly’
I will debrief my
participates afterwards. Making sure I don’t tell them what to do, sharing my findings
and results and discussing them with my participates.
I have produced a
questionnaire that I have produced and published on survey monkey. I made sure
I explained why I was carrying out the survey and again that all the answers
will remain confidential and participates who complete the questionnaire will
remain anoylamous. Without making people feel at ease people will be less
likely to want to take part.
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