- Voluntary Involvement:
- Researchers must secure informed agreement from all study participants.
- Participants should feel no pressure, coercion, or intimidation to join in.
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This holds particular importance when interacting with students or inmates who might be reluctant to decline participation.
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Informed Agreement:
- Researchers must communicate true and thorough details regarding the study's motive, methods, prospective risks, and rewards to prospective participants.
- Agreement should be granted unrestrainedly, in writing, and recorded.
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In circumstances where concealment proves necessary due to the study's design, researchers must fully explain the study's purpose to participants afterward.
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Participant Confidentiality:
- Confidentiality is the cornerstone of ethical psychological research.
- Researchers must assure participants that their identities, specific responses, and identifying information will be kept secret and will not be shared with any third party outside the research team.
- Sensitive data should be securely stored and anonymized where feasible.