2032 - Lab 2
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2032
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Health Science
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Apr 3, 2024
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KIN 2032 Lab 2: Read the Research Scenario below. Identify the ethical issue in each scenario and provide suggestions on how this could be corrected or avoided.
a.
A team from Western University is doing a research project to find ways to improve the experience of making the transition to high school. After signing consent forms, a number of students are interviewed. During one of the interviews, a student named Kayley tells Farid, one of the research team members, that her transition to high school was particularly difficult because in grade 9 she realized that she was gay. Farid told his friend Jason about Kayley’s interview and Jason then posted the information on Facebook. Kayley, who was not “out” at school or with her family, is devastated and is very close to dropping out of school.
The ethical issue in this scenario is Farid sharing confidential information with his friend Jason who is not a part of the research team about Kayley who is participating in the study. His actions have caused Kayley to become very uncomfortable in her life after she trusted that none of her personal information would be shared. To avoid this in the future the interviewers should not have access to the name of the individual being interviewed and they also shouldn’t be able to see what the person looks like.
b.
A team from Western University is doing a research project to see how the school might
support healthier eating habits. The principal and parent council knew about the research and were looking forward to hearing the results so that they could support positive changes to support students in improving eating habits. Jocelyn, one of the research team members, interviews a number of students and during one of the interviews, Shoshana, a student, describes some issues that she’s been experiencing for the last few months. Based on what she has heard, Jocelyn worries that Shoshana has an eating disorder and is putting herself at risk. Other than Jocelyn, nobody knows about
what Shoshana is experiencing. Jocelyn is breaching a conflict of interest because it is not her job to share the information with the individuals parents based on what she thinks might be going on. This can be avoided by having the participants submit their responses anonymously and this way the individuals information stays confidential and the interviewer is not put into a tough situation.
c.
A team from Western University is doing a research project about student mental health. After the participants had signed consent forms, the research team gave students a multiple-choice test on their knowledge of the signs and symptoms of mental
health problems or issues. About a week after the tests were written, students began to
wonder what was being done with their test results. Soon, rumors began to circulate that the mental health test results would become part of the students’ Health and Physical Education grade.
The researchers are failing to provide the participants with informed consent because they don’t know where their tests are going or what they’re being used for. This can be corrected by explaining to the interviewers the importance of informed consent so that things like rumors don’t start.
d.
A study was being carried out with a community sample of adults. As part of the informed consent process, the researchers had an information sheet and a consent form, with tick boxes, which potential participants were asked to sign before the research proceeded. On one occasion, the researcher went through the information sheet with a potential participant, who confirmed that he would like to proceed with the
research. The researcher then asked the participant to sign the consent form. At this point, the participant revealed that he could not read, and said that he really wanted to take part in the research but did not want to sign a form that he could not read. He asked if he could be interviewed without signing the form.
The ethical issue in this situation involves informed consent as well as giving everyone the opportunity to participate. In this case since the individual was not able to read the consent form, a possible solution to this could be having someone he trusts read it for him or a video of him and an interviewer going over the consent form together, with appropriate measures taken
into place. This way everyone has the chance to be included and proper consent is given rather than not signing the form which could lead to further issues down the road.
e.
An inexperienced researcher was carrying out a study that involved doing developmental tests with children in schools. By prior arrangement, she would visit the family home, and would seek consent to arrange to visit the child at school. On one occasion, the researcher visited a family for whom English was an additional language. Both parents and their children were at home, and their English was limited, but the researcher judged they had understood, and consented. They signed consent for the school visit and made the researcher very welcome – even insisting that she stayed for lunch. A week or so later, as arranged, the researcher visited the school to see the child. On arrival, the head teacher explained that the child’s older sister had said her parents were very worried about the visit – they didn’t know who the researcher was, and that a
neighbor (who spoke the family’s language) had read the information leaflet and told the parents that the researcher was probably a social worker. It was clear that they hadn’t understood when they consented to the school visit.
The ethical issue here is lack of informed consent, the family did not fully understand what they
were signing and what exactly was going to happen with the school visit. It is important for researchers to make sure the participants are completely aware of what the study consists of. To avoid this in the future, having the information presented in their primary language is an option so that they can give full and clear consent. f.
A study involved video observation of group dynamics during student discussions over the course of tutorials in one academic year. All students who participated in the
discussions had signed consent forms, agreeing to be videoed. Subsequently, one student dropped out of the course and decided that he also wanted to withdraw from the study. He asked for his data to be destroyed. The researcher was very reluctant to do this, as destroying the video recordings would mean that she lost data on all the other students who had been involved in those discussions.
Some ethical issues within this situation include conflict of interest, consent, and confidentiality. The student has the right to withdraw consent at any point throughout the study and even though it causes a personal conflict of interest for the researcher because they lose their data, it is important to respect the students decision. To avoid this in the future, having a better study design so if a student does decide to withdraw it doesn’t affect the other participants. It is also important to be very clear in the consent form with everything that is going to take place this way participants can make a firm decision on whether or not they would like to participate.
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