research design methods and ethics in psychology

Although ethical values and principles guide all of the American Psychological Association’s (APA, 2017) ethical codes, there are different ways of interpreting and applying those ethical principles depending on the situation. Clinical and counseling psychologists have different ethical guidelines for their profession. For example, there are different ethical principles related to clients being treated by psychologists in counseling sessions versus the standards for conducting psychological research with human participants. Both human subjects and clients in counseling should be guaranteed confidentiality and anonymity, and both clients and participants in research should receive informed consent related to the terms of their relationship with the counselor/researcher. However, due to the unique circumstances surrounding the relationship between counselor and client, the APA (2017) offers much more extensive guidelines for sexual misconduct and other abuses of power in the client-counselor relationship. The ethical guidelines for research cover some issues that might not be relevant to counselors such as the need to maintain ethical standards for publishing research and reporting results.
My future career as a research psychologist will take into account the APA’s (2017) evolving code of ethics. Section 8 on research and publication covers issues related to informed consent of participants but also to honesty in reporting results. Whereas honesty is of course expected of counselors, there is a difference between the work that a researcher does and that of a counselor. For example, Section 8.14 covers the ethical parameters of sharing results of research. I cannot withhold information because it might reflect poorly on me or invalidate my hypotheses. We as research psychologists are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the profession by contributing to the growing body of research, validating existing studies, and conducting studies using valid and ethical methodologies.
References
American Psychological Association (APA, 2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved online: http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Unit 2 Discussion
In this scenario, the null hypothesis would be that the students’ motivation level, measured by numbers of responses to the forum, would neither increase nor decrease as a result of any of the different interventions. The research hypothesis A would be that the experimental group that receives digital badges for contributing posts of three or more lines will yield more overall posts to the forums in general versus the participants in the control group. Using a true experimental design as Skidmore (2008) describes it, there would be a control group and an experimental group as suggested by the case study. Random assignment and double-blindness would also need to be present, meaning that neither the researchers nor the participants would know who was being assigned to which group. Unfortunately, in the experiment described in the case study, the researchers decided to not achieve double-blindness, with threats to internal validity. It would be preferable to have a true random assignment and double-blindness. To achieve random assignment and double-blindness, the researchers would enter each student’s name into a database, then assign a numerical value to each name. Deleting all the names would then ensure anonymity. After that, the researchers would ask the software to randomly assign each participant to either the control or experimental group. If there is more than one intervention being tested, such as badges as well as instructional changes, the same random assignment objectives can be met.
To measure the dependent variable while preserving the anonymity of students, it would also be important to ask each participant to re-register with the forum using a string of letters and numbers that was randomized. This way, each username would correspond to each participants’ number in the experiment and link to their group assignment. To truly maximize the validity and reliability of the experiment, the experiment would be conducted over a long period of time, using a greater number of students from different classrooms and different schools.

References
Skidmore, S. (2008). Experimental design and some threats to experimental validity. Retrieved online: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED499991.pdf


Unit 3 Discussion
Appropriate research designs maximize the validity of the study. In this situation, the instructors’ additional questions related to student perceptions of the intervention and its efficacy inside and outside of the classroom would best be conducted using a survey. A survey can become a useful and valuable quantitative tool when it is designed well, and particularly if it relies on previously established survey tools. Unfortunately, the instructors in this case will not be able to use a previously designed survey instrument because they are measuring unique variables. Therefore, they can use a combination of research methods including both a survey and an interview. An interview is a qualitative research method but one that has a substantial degree of relevance in this case. Using open-ended interview questions allows the researchers to avoid potential biases in anticipating what they believe student perceptions might be, instead allowing the students to phrase their opinions more realistically.
If the instructors were to combine the open-ended or semi-structured interview with a survey instrument, they would need to set aside their assumptions of what the students might say about the intervention. The only ethical issues that may apply to the research include standard ones like informed consent, protecting privacy, and ensuring the anonymity of all the participants. When interviewing the students, they might need to rely on a third party to administer the interview to avoid potential interference, as the students might give different answers when speaking directly to the instructor versus an independent research assistant. Finally, the quantitative approach and paradigm offers the benefits of statistical analyses that can be used to measure specific outcomes over time, such as grade improvements. Qualitative approaches and paradigms offer more nuanced responses that are not as narrowly focused.

References

Frost. Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology (e-book).