Comprehension exam

Question: Ethics How will you be an ethical psychologist researcher? The APA Code of Ethics requires that reasonable steps are taken by someone practicing psychology to minimize and avoid undue harm to students, research participants, clients, and any other individual or group with whom the psychologist may conduct research. In addition, your course work at NCU has exposed you to ethical considerations as applied in a variety of psychological areas as well as continuously emphasized academic integrity overall. Books and Resources American Psychological Association Code of Ethics. Cervo, S., Rovina, J., Talamini, R., Perin, T., Canzonieri, V., De Paoli, P., & Steffan, A. (2013). An effective multisource informed consent procedure for research and clinical practice: an observational study of patient understanding and awareness of their roles as research stakeholders in a cancer biobank. BMC Medical Ethics, 1430. doi:10.1186/1472-6939-14-30 Illes, J., & Kirschen, M.P. (2014, March). Ethically speaking: Unexpected findings. APA Monitor, 45 (3): 54-56 Nagy, T. F. (2011). Ethics in research and publication. In T.F. Nagy, Essential ethics for psychologists: A primer for understanding and mastering core issues (pp. 199-216). American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/12345-011 Nagy, T. F. (2011). Privacy and confidentiality. In T.F. Nagy, Essential ethics for psychologists: A primer for understanding and mastering core issues (pp. 105-126). American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/12345-006 Nagy, T. F. (2011). Thinking critically about ethics. In T.F. Nagy,Essential ethics for psychologists: A primer for understanding and mastering core issues (pp. 9-28). American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/12345-001 NCU IRB approval information Assignment: Part One Using the scenario you were provided for Question Three of this comprehensive exam, discuss and justify how you will ensure that all aspects of the mock research project you discussed in the previous question will adhere to the ethical standards outlined by the APA and by the NCU Institutional Review Board. Your discussion will need to go beyond just recapping standard best practices and stated ethical guidelines. Specifically, you will need to explain your ethical responsibilities specific to the mock research project as well as the steps you will take to ensure the ethical integrity of the project. Your explanation should include discussion of the following elements as well:

• What type (s) of risk assessment will you conduct to ensure you have identified any perceived challenges your research might present for selecting, locating, and engaging participants?

• Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) pay particular attention to protecting research participants, particularly those identified as vulnerable populations. Vulnerable populations include children and minors, prisoners, pregnant women and fetuses, the elderly, economically disadvantaged individuals, and mentally challenged individuals. Reviewing your mock research project, identify what, if any, vulnerable populations could potentially be involved and explain how you would address their needs.

• What steps will you take to ensure the rights of participants, including confidentiality of data, and the principle of doing no harm?

• How will you know that a research participant understands the informed consent? What will be critical parts of your informed consent?

• What safeguards will you have in place to ensure you are presenting all information - from your literature review through reporting of your own data - accurately and ethically? Explain how inaccurate reporting might occur in a literature review and the impact this has upon the public and upon the field.

In this first part, it would be useful, and appropriate, to relate each of the above bullet points to the Principles of the Ethics Code. This will show that you understand how human subjects protection matches our general ethical code for the profession. Assignment: Part Two The APA Code of Ethics also includes five general principles of ethics, which are intended to guide all psychologists toward the highest level of ethical professional behavior. They are: Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility Principle C: Integrity Principle D: Justice Principle E: Respect for People's Rights and Dignity Books and Resources: Cotterill, S. T., & Symes, R. (2014). Integrating social media and new technologies into your practice as a sport psychology consultant. Sport & Exercise Psychology Review, 10(1), 55-64. Hanson, S. L., & Kerkhoff, T. R. (2011). The APA Ethical Principles as a foundational competency: Application to rehabilitation psychology. Rehabilitation Psychology, 56(3), 219-230. doi:10.1037/a0024206 Stark, C. (2011). The application of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists to teaching: Mandatory self-disclosure and alternatives in psychology courses. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne,52(3), 192-197. doi:10.1037/a0024546 Assignment: Part Two Consider the area(s) of psychology, e.g. mental health care, teaching, consulting, etc., in which you plan to become involved following completion of your Ph.D. program. For this section of Question Four, you are to: 1. Explain how your doctoral studies have prepared you to behave in an ethical manner professionally in this area. Specifically, discuss how your role as a professional in the area of psychology will allow you to uphold each of the five general principles of ethics espoused by the APA. 2. Finally, your comprehensive exam serves as an assessment of your readiness to begin your dissertation process. Completion of your dissertation represents the culmination of your academic career and solidifies your standing as an academic scholar. However, anyone who has navigated the dissertation process will acknowledge a variety of challenges will occur during this journey. The challenges include the dissertation being an unfamiliar and new process, deadlines, writer's block and student-faculty communication/support. Reviewing the tenets of ethical behavior and reflecting upon faculty mentorship, conclude Question Four Part Two by addressing the following question:

• How will you approach working with your dissertation chair and committee member? How would you handle conflict with your chair in a professional manner?

Length: 10-15 pages

Your Topic for Question 3 is:Teenagers who use mobile and hand held devices are more physically fit than teenagers who spend equal time at desktop or laptop computers.