APA Ethical APA Ethical Guidelines!Guidelines!

The APAThe APA – American Psychological – American Psychological Association Association

Responsible for setting the ethical Responsible for setting the ethical guidelines for human and animal guidelines for human and animal research.research.

The IRBThe IRB – Institutional Review Board – Institutional Review Board Part of the APA responsible for Part of the APA responsible for

reviewing research proposals for reviewing research proposals for ethical violations and/or procedural ethical violations and/or procedural errors. errors.

Human ResearchHuman ResearchResearch involving human Research involving human

subjects must meet the subjects must meet the following standards:following standards:

1. Informed 1. Informed ConsentConsent–Participants Participants must know must know that they that they are are involved in involved in research research and give and give their their consent.consent.

2. Coercion2. Coercion–Participation in a Participation in a research study must research study must be voluntary.be voluntary.

3. Anonymity/Confidentiality3. Anonymity/Confidentiality– The participant’s privacy must be The participant’s privacy must be protected. No identities and protected. No identities and actions may be revealed. A actions may be revealed. A researched must not share any researched must not share any results that could match a results that could match a participant and their specific participant and their specific responses. A researcher will not responses. A researcher will not identify the source of any data as identify the source of any data as well. well.

4. Risk4. Risk–ParticipanParticipants cannot ts cannot be placed be placed at any at any significansignificant mental t mental or or physical physical risk.risk.

5. 5. DebriefinDebriefing g ProcedureProceduress

– Participants must be told the Participants must be told the purpose of the study and purpose of the study and provided with ways to contact provided with ways to contact the researcher about the the researcher about the study results.study results.

Animal ResearchAnimal ResearchEthical studies Ethical studies using using laboratory laboratory animals must animals must meet the meet the following following requirements:requirements:

1. Must 1. Must have a clear have a clear scientific scientific purpose.purpose.

–The research must answer a The research must answer a specific, important scientific specific, important scientific question. Animals are chosen question. Animals are chosen based on their ability to help based on their ability to help answer the question proposed.answer the question proposed.

2. The animals must 2. The animals must be cared for and be cared for and housed in a humane housed in a humane way.way.

3. The animal subjects must 3. The animal subjects must be acquired in a legal manner.be acquired in a legal manner.

– must be must be purchased from purchased from accredited accredited companies, and companies, and if trapped in the if trapped in the wild, they must wild, they must be trapped in a be trapped in a humane humane manner.manner.

4. The 4. The experiment experiment must be must be designed with designed with procedures in procedures in place that place that employ the employ the least amount least amount of suffering on of suffering on the part of the the part of the animals.animals.