Ethics Information
Every research project done under the auspices of our Psychology Department using human or animal participants (as opposed, for example, to projects that use already archived data, already published materials, etc.) must undergo a formal review process. This process is to ensure that the research is ethical. To guide our decisions, we follow the ethical guidelines mandated by of the American Psychological Association. In addition, we have particularly stringent standards to protect the integrity of our research participant pool, and because we are adamant in believing that research must be ethical to be good.
Here are two very useful sites for reviewing ethical guidelines for psychological research in general:
APA-Online: Ethical Code
note that much of the information contained on this site concerns ethical practice for therapists, and is not directly relevant to your research
Social Psychology Network: Research Methods and Statistics Links by Suptopic
Though this site is labeled “social psychology, much of the information it contains is relevant to personality research, as well as to research in general.
Our department has developed an ethics review process in which every student research proposal is reviewed by two faculty (in addition to review by your course professor). Both of those reviewers must approve your proposal before you can begin your research. Faculty reviewers may demand that aspects of your project be changed to conform to ethical guidelines. Forms for submission of your research (called Research Approval Forms, or RAFs) are available on:
FirstClass-->Psychology-->Research Studies-->Research Forms
Here is a checklist/table to use as a guide to be sure that your RAF contains all the information necessary for review.