Ethical Guidelines

Ethical Guidelines

1. Withdrawal from the investigation

   • investigators should make plain to participants their right to withdraw from the research

2. Debriefing

   • the investigator should provide the participants with any necessary information to complete their understanding of the nature of the research.

3. Deception

   • withholding of information or the misleading of participants is unacceptable

4. Consent

   • Prior to obtaining ‘informed consent’, the investigator should inform all participants of the objectives of the investigation

5. General

   • investigators must consider the ethical implications and psychological consequences for the participants

6. Confidentiality

   • information obtained about a participant during an investigation is confidential unless otherwise agreed in advance and, if published, will not be identifiable as theirs

7. Protection of participants

   • Investigators have a primary responsibility to protect participants from physical and mental harm during the investigation.

8. Observational research

   • Studies based upon observation must respect the privacy and psychological well-being of the individuals studied.

9. Colleagues

   • Investigators share responsibility for the ethical treatment of research participants with their collaborators, assistants, students and employees.

10. Giving advice

    • an investigator may obtain evidence of psychological or physical problems of which a participant is unaware if the issue is serious