Teresa Swain

Topic 2 DQ 2

Drawing on your knowledge from "PSY-815: Ethical Issues in Psychology," studies and literature research you have completed, and the readings and lecture for this topic, reflect on the role of ethics in the research process.

Discuss strategies a doctoral learner or researcher might employ to protect participants and the institutions (GCU/data collection site) in a study.

Ethical considerations for any study using human subjects must include consideration for consequences of conducting the research. Ideas such as "do no harm" and reflecting on who will benefit from this research study are of paramount consideration. The problem conceptualized should be viable and one that once solved could benefit stakeholders without disempowering others (Frost, 2011). Also there are important logistics of informed consent and confidentiality of participants.

The individual giving informed consent should be of sound mind/body in order to understand the nature of what giving consent means. Limits of confidentiality need to be considered by those handling data as well as by participants so that any unnecessary exposure or handling of sensitive/confidential material is minimized.

Guidelines for ethical considerations are given by APA(2010) and include 5 major principles: (1) beneficence and non-maleficence, (2)fidelity and responsibility, (3) integrity, (4) justice and (5) respect people's rights and dignity.

Explain any concerns/uncertainties you have regarding ethical conduct during dissertation research.

Some potential concerns might be in the welfare of participants once a study has concluded. It could be that during a study, participants build a rapport with the researcher and as a by-product of creating narratives receive some stress reduction from expressing feelings, thoughts and behaviors with an "objective" party. There might need to be a resource that is available for referral if individuals participating uncover problematic feelings or events that are discovered or uncovered during the process.

Other concerns could include the problem with the researcher(s) presence might influence results and observable behaviors. Concerns with cultural differences, gender, age and other demographic variables may also unintentionally bias data collection and ultimately results.

Finally, qualitative data collection might be unpredictable as it is a dynamic system that unfolds in the field with various sources, contexts and situations. Therefore, consideration must be made for handling dubious scenarios that might arise during this open and continuous process.

References

APA (2010).Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Including 2010 and 2016 amendments. Retrieved from

http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

Frost, N. (Ed.). (2011). Qualitative research methods in psychology: Combining core approaches. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13:

9780335241514

http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/mcgraw-hill/2011/qualitative-research-methods-in-psychology_from-core-to-combined-approaches_ebook_1e.php

Benjamin Garrison

Topic 2 DQ 1

Critics of qualitative research often posit that it is subjective due to the fact that the researcher collects the data. Therefore, the researcher's own prior experiences, prejudices, and attitudes may bias the data, and therefore, the results of the study. How would you respond to someone who presents this criticism to you?

I would agree with them on some level. All data that is analyzed by a person has some subjectivity despite its use in a qualitative or quantitative research project. Humans have to manipulate data sets in both types of research. In quantitative analysis they have to decide what to do with outliers, they have to decide what to do with illegible or incomplete surveys, and they have to decide on the level of significance for the hypothesis testing. These are all subjective decisions. However, the researcher uses guidance and standard practices to reduce the chance of introducing their personal bias into the project. The same is done with qualitative analysis. Researchers follow the standards set by their community. This helps reduce the researcher's influence on the project.

Weuve et al. (2015) noted that there were a lack of consensus on how to report methodological problems in dementia research and established guidelines for their research community. They reported that this has also been done with several other fields increasing the "transparency, reproducibility, and methodological rigor" in their research (p. 1108). Following guidelines will help standardize research and reduce the chance of a researcher adding in their personal bias. It also has the added benefit of increasing the data's use in meta-analysis. The data can be combined to build larger data sets.

Other researchers should be able to review the raw data. All research projects should also have a data management plan. According to this week's lecture, the plan will determine how long the data is kept and when and how it is destroyed (Grand Canyon University, 2016). The researcher should keep the data long enough to let the dissertation committee and possibly other researchers to review the data. They will be able to review the data to determine if biases have been introduced into the research project.

Grand Canyon University. (2016). PSY-850 Lecture 2. Retrieved from

https://lc-grad2.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html?token=vw1JFmeOZneAS7gj7wUQV24IkxAxzH8AMePV0w9Mo9CklzIdx8QGmv6pRZNBgAZPH1hsiFiE9ppYoksXrZl3UQ%3d%3d&operation=home&classId=1986869#/learningPlatform/loudBooks/loudbooks.html?viewPage=current&operation=innerPage¤tTopicname=Designing%20Qualitative%20Studies;%20Relationships%20Among%20Researchers,%20Subjectscc3541363537&contentId=9a385a4a-2a38-4b6f-9e66-cfcc6d0ec09e&

Weuve, J., Proust-Lima, C., Power, M. C., Gross, A. L., Hofer, S. M., Thiébaut, R., Chêneb, G., Glymourh, M. &Dufouil, C. (2015).Guidelines for reporting methodological challenges and evaluating potential bias in dementia research.Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 11(9), 1098-1109. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.06.1885

Teresa Swain

Topic 2 DQ 1

Critics of qualitative research often posit that it is subjective due to the fact that the researcher collects the data. Therefore, the researcher's own prior experiences, prejudices, and attitudes may bias the data, and therefore, the results of the study.
How would you respond to someone who presents this criticism to you?

Unfortunately all research is subject to bias because each researcher brings their own experiences, prejudices and attitudes. Additionally, qualitative method is subjective in nature due to inquiry as one of its's hallmarks; that is, inquisition. Author Tracy (2010), suggests that quality quantitative research has 8 essential characteristics: (1) worthy topic, (2) rich rigor, (3) sincerity, (4) credibility, (5) resonance, (6) significant contribution, (7) ethics, and (8) meaningful coherence.

Tracy defends the need for a model with rules and criteria in order for scientists to learn from one another in this best practice and to strive to craft perfection. Learning needs a path as a guide and by setting specific standards of practice one has a way to reflect upon that which was done at or above standard and that which needs improvement. Therefore, perhaps one of the ways to address the criticism is to create pedagogical standards that demonstrate rigor in order to defend credibility concerns.

References

Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight "Big-tent" criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837-851.doi:10.1177/1077800410383121