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Key ideas & terms

Prefer to read? Here's the lesson at a glance.

Key ideas

  • Research with human participants must be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), which can approve studies or ask for revisions.
  • Participation must be a genuine choice, so offering extra credit requires an alternative way to earn it.
  • Participants must give informed consent; for minors, parents give informed consent and the child gives informed assent.
  • Deception may be used if knowing the purpose would change behavior, but participants must be debriefed afterward.
  • Researchers must protect privacy, allow withdrawal at any time without penalty, and minimize distress.
  • Animal research is reviewed by the IACUC, which requires a clear scientific purpose, legally obtained animals, humane housing and veterinary care, and minimized, justified pain.

Key terms

Institutional Review Board (IRB)
A committee that reviews research involving human participants to make sure it is conducted ethically.
voluntary participation
Taking part in a study must be a genuine choice, without pressure or lost benefits for declining.
informed consent
Agreement to participate after being told the study's purpose, procedures, and risks, to the extent possible.
informed assent
A child's agreement to participate, obtained along with a parent's or guardian's informed consent.
deception
Misleading participants about a study's true purpose, used when knowing it would change their behavior.
debriefing
Explaining the study and any deception to participants afterward, and making sure no one leaves distressed.
confidentiality
Protecting participants' identities, such as replacing names with ID numbers, even when the researcher knows who they are.
anonymity
When even the researcher doesn't know who the participants are.
right to withdraw
Participants must be free to leave a study at any time without penalty.
confederate
A person secretly working with the researchers who acts as if they are a participant.
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
The committee that reviews research involving animals.

Watch out

Confidential is not anonymous: if the researcher knows who participants are, the study isn't anonymous, but protecting identities keeps it confidential.