16 Jan Ms. Rosen, the principal of

MPS620 Applied Research Methods and Statistics

Module 5 Discussion

DQ1 Historical and Philosophical context of research ethics

1a. After reading the assigned article, identify and explain at least 3 historical or philosophical reasons why ethical considerations are needed when conducting research in the field of psychology.

1b. Describe and explain what additional (social, cultural, legal) considerations do you think psychology researchers should include when conducting ethical research studies in the field of psychology

Be sure to provide specific examples and respond to another student. Please make sure to cite your sources.

DQ2 Case Study: Ethics

Case study: (Adopted from Muriel J. Bebeau, et al., Moral Reasoning in Scientific Research: Cases for Teaching and Assessment. Bloomington, Indiana: Poynter Center, 1995.)

Dr. Judy Brewster, long interested in the effects of exposure to maladaptive environments on development, plans to design a study to examine resilience. To learn more about the characteristics associated with resilience to environmental insult, Jane will study fourth, sixth and eighth graders who have been exposed to violence within their communities.

Youths will be assessed at six-month intervals for a period of four years. Assessments will be conducted in school through group-administered written surveys and individual interviews of approximately one to two hours in length. The amount and frequency of exposure to community violence will be measured, as well as short- and long-term psychological (anxiety, depression, perception of social support), behavioral (academic achievement, risk engagement) and coping responses.

Ms. Rosen, the principal of a private religious school, has agreed to allow her school to participate in the study. She is eager to assist her students and suggests that Judy begin at once. When Judy asks for advice on how to approach parents for their permission, the principal says it would be difficult to obtaining responses from every parent in the fourth, sixth, and eighth grades; Ms. Rosen suggests that a letter be sent to parents advising them that the study will be conducted and asking them to return the permission form if they do not want their child to participate.

Approximately two years into her study, Judy notices two distinct patterns of adaptation. Some of the children exhibit signs of distress, anxiety and depression, and report that they have begun to engage in multiple risk behaviors such as substance use, delinquency, violence and sexual promiscuity. Other children show no signs of distress, or have outgrown and discontinued such behaviors. Judy is concerned about the acting-out youth, but she notes that many children have engaged in such behaviors and later discontinued engagement.

2a. Based on the case study presented above, identify and explain at least one ethical concern in this study. Furthermore, please explain how the researcher can address this concern in order to ensure the ethical guidelines to participating in the research studies are being followed.