Protection for Participants
In general, protection from risks may be achieved by
(a) ensuring the confidentiality of information obtained about participants,
(b) providing access to or information about resources for coping with psychosocial stress caused by the research procedures, and
(c) ensuring that the procedures meet the principles of voluntary participation and informed consent.
Guidelines for achieving this protection include:
(a) ensuring the confidentiality of information obtained about participants,
(b) providing access to or information about resources for coping with psychosocial stress caused by the research procedures, and
(c) ensuring that the procedures meet the principles of voluntary participation and informed consent.
Guidelines for achieving this protection include:
- Confidentiality and Anonymity: Information is considered confidential when only the investigator has access to the identity of the individual about whom information is obtained. Information obtained from individual participants must be kept confidential from public scrutiny, from parents and peers, and from legal and school authorities. This is most easily accomplished by collecting data in a manner that insures anonymity. Information is considered anonymous when names or other identifying information about individual participants can at no point be associated with observations or with responses to a survey or other data collection instruments. However, anonymity is not always compatible with research goals (for example, when data collected from the same individual at different times must be linked for analysis). In these cases, procedures for protecting confidentiality must be fully spelled out. When information that might put participants at legal risk is to be collected, it is the investigator's responsibility to obtain and document specific legal protection (e.g., by Certificate of Confidentiality obtained from a governmental agency).
- Psychosocial Stress: The procedures needed to help participants cope with psychosocial stress that may arise from participating in research will vary depending on the exact nature of the research. If such procedures are required, it will typically be sufficient to provide participants with information about resources (e.g., counselors) available to them. In cases in which more severe stress seems likely, it may be necessary to ensure that someone qualified to handle such stress be present during data collection.
- Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent: These are basic ethical principles for conducting research with human participants. Participants must be informed that participation is voluntary, that answers to specific questions may be withheld without penalty, and that they may withdraw from the research at any time. Because research of this type is often conducted in an institutional setting where participant's presence is mandatory (e.g., the school classroom), it is especially important that procedures for meeting this requirement be made explicit in the proposal.
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