- 1 Background
- 2 The Principles
- 3 Risk
- 4 Valid consent
- 4.1 INFORMING PARTICIPANTS
- 4.2 CONSENT AND RISK
- 4.3 RISK AND PROPORTIONALITY
- 4.4 ASSURING VALID CONSENT
- 4.5 AGE
- 4.6 INFORMING CONSENT
- 4.7 ASSENT
- 4.8 RESEARCH IN SCHOOLS OR OTHER INSTITUTIONS
- 4.9 ADULTS LACKING CAPACITY
- 4.10 INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL HARM AND OR CUMULATIVE ADVERSITY
- 4.11 DOCUMENTING CONSENT
- 4.12 REIMBURSEMENT, PAYMENT, INCENTIVES AND COERCION
- 4.13 REWARDS
- 4.14 RENEWAL OF CONSENT
- 5 Confidentiality
- 6 Giving advice
- 7 Deception
- 8 Research with individuals in a dependent or unequal relationship
- 9 Research in the NHS and social care settings
- 10 Debriefing
- 11 Positive value of engagement with ethics review
- 12 Independent researchers seeking ethics review
- 13 Principles of best practice in ethics review
- 14 Student research
- Appendix: Sample ethics review application proforma
Abstract
The code, written by the BPS Working Party on Ethical Guidelines for Psychological Research and updated in April 2021, lays out a set of general principles that are applicable to all research contexts and which are intended to cover all research with human participants. It is designed to clarify the conditions under which psychological research involving humans can take place and to inform the professional and ethical judgement of researchers.