Ethical Issues


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	Introduction

	Benefits of the Research

	Responsibility

	Physical and Psychological Risks

	Deception

	Reducing Risk/Minimizing Harm

	Informed Consent

	Privacy

	Summary of Results

	Consent Form

	Summary

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Introduction				1 of 17		next >

	Most psychological research is conducted with human participants. Working with humans requires that we consider their welfare as part of our research planning process. Ethical guidelines such as those developed by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the federal policy outlined in the Federal Register (1991) emphasize sensitive and humane treatment that minimizes risks to research participants. When we begin our ethical decision-making process, we should consider each of the following issues.
	Benefits of the Research Responsibility Physical and Psychological Risks Deception Reducing Risk and/or Minimizing Harm Informed Consent Privacy Summary of Results
Why Is This Important? We do research because we want to make contributions to our profession and to society. Those who agree to be a part of our studies join with us to meet these larger goals. They become partners in research and, as such, deserve to be treated well. Our ethical guidelines help us to think through how we can do high-quality research at the same time that we treat our research participants with respect.