1G Ethical considerations

• Beneficence 
• Integrity 
• Justice 
• Non-maleficence 
• Respect

Beneficence: the commitment to maximising benefits and minimising the risks and harms involved in taking a particular position or course of action

• Integrity: the commitment to searching for knowledge and understanding
• and the honest reporting of all sources of information and results

• Justice: fair consideration of competing claims, no unfair burden on a
• particular group, and fair access to benefits of an action

Non-maleficence: the principle of avoiding causing harm

• Respect: consideration of the value of living things, giving due regard,
• and consideration of the capacity of living things to make their own decisions

• Confidentiality 
• Informed consent 
• Use of deception 
• Debriefing 
• Voluntary participation 
• Withdrawal rights

Confidentiality refers to the privacy, protection and security of a participant’s personal information in terms of personal details and the anonymity of individual results, including the removal of identifying elements

Informed consent procedures are processes that ensure participants understand the nature and purpose of the experiment, including potential risks, before agreeing to participate in the study

• Deception refers to the act of intentionally misleading participants about the true nature of a study or procedure. It is only permissible when participants’ knowledge of the true purpose of the experiment
• may affect their behaviour while participating in the study.

Debriefing is a procedure that ensures that, at the end of the experiment, the participant leaves understanding the experimental aim, results and conclusions.

Debriefing must be conducted at the end of every study.

Voluntary participation ensures there is no coercion or pressure put on the participant to partake in an experiment, and they freely choose to be involved.

Withdrawal rights refer to the right of participants to be able to discontinue their involvement in an experiment at any time during, or after the conclusion of, an experiment without penalty.