Ethical Considerations in Research

Assignment Overview:

Researchers have a fundamental responsibility to ensure ethical practices and research integrity in any study they undertake.  This Includes following the guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA) as codified in the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.  However, ethical practices in research go beyond simply following a code of conduct and include respect for participants and integrity in the research process itself.  Each researcher must ensure that his or her research harms no one and is conducted with the utmost attention to truthfulness, honesty, sincerity, and authenticity.

As a graduate student researcher, you will be required to complete training on the protection of human subjects in your research-planning courses, and you will be bound to follow both the APA guidelines and the research practices outlined in your human subjects’ protection training course.  In addition, you must have a thorough understanding of the kinds of errors that researchers can make, as well as the kinds of shortcuts some researchers decide to take, so that you can avoid such ethical lapses.  The purpose of this assignment is to help you better understand the kinds of challenges that you may face in conducting an ethical research study and learn how to overcome such challenges.