HOW TO REVIEW THE LITERATURE AND CONDUCT ETHICAL STUDIESweigh potential harm against potential benefits, and
bear the responsibility for the decision.
Deception. Has anyone ever told you a half-truth
or lie to get you to do something? How did you feel
about it? A major ethical tenet is the principle of
voluntary consent: never force anyone to partici-
pate in research. A related ethical rule is do not lie
to research participants unless it is required for legit-
imate research reasons. A very serious ethical stan-
dard is that participants should explicitly agree to
participate in a study. The right not to participate
becomes a critical issue when we use deception, dis-
guise the research, or use covert research methods.^16
Social researchers sometimes deceive or lie to
participants in field and experimental research. We
might misrepresent our actions or true intentions for
legitimate methodological reasons: If participants
knew the true purpose, they would modify their
behavior, making it impossible to learn of their real
behavior or access to a research site might be impos-
sible if the researcher told the truth. Deception is
never preferable if we can accomplish the same
thing without deception.
Deception is acceptable only if it has a specific
methodological purpose, and even then, we can use
it only to the minimal degree necessary. If we use
deception, we should obtain informed consent,
never misrepresent risks, and always debrief the
participants after the study. We can describe the
basic procedures involved and conceal only some
information about the study.
Informed Consent. A fundamental ethical prin-
ciple is: Never coerce anyone into participating; all
research participation mustbe voluntary. It is not
enough to obtain permission; people need to know
what they are being asked to participate in. Only
then can they make an informed decision. Partici-
pants can become aware of their rights and what
they are getting involved in when they read and sign
a statement giving informed consent, a written
agreement to participate given by people after they
have learned some basic details about the research
procedure.
The U.S. federal government does not require
informed consent in all research involving human
subjects. Nevertheless, researchers should obtain
written consent unless there are good reasons for
not doing so (e.g., covert field research, use of sec-
ondary data) as judged by an institutional review
board (IRB)(see the later discussion of IRBs).
Informed consent statements provide specific
information (see Expansion Box 4, Informed Con-
sent).^17 A general statement about the procedures
or questions involved and the uses of the data arePrinciple of voluntary consent An ethical principle
that people should never participate in research unless
they explicitly and freely agree to participate.
Informed consent A statement, usually written, that
explains aspects of a study to participants and asks for
their voluntary agreement to participate before the
study begins.
Institutional review board (IRB) A committee at
U.S. colleges, hospitals, and research institutes required
by federal law to ensure that research involving humans
is conducted in a responsible, ethical manner; exam-
ines study details before the research begins.EXPANSION BOX 4
Informed ConsentInformed consent statements contain the following:- A brief description of the purpose and procedure of
the research, including the expected duration of the
study - A statement of any risks or discomfort associated
with participation - A guarantee of anonymity and the confidentiality of
records - The identification of the researcher and of the loca-
tion of information about participants’ rights or ques-
tions about the study - A statement that participation is completely volun-
tary and can be terminated at any time without
penalty - A statement of alternative procedures that may be
used - A statement of any benefits or compensation provided
to participantsand the number of subjects involved - An offer to provide a summary of findings