Participation 2

Chapter 2 Exercise 1: Read about the Code of Federal Regulations at www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/ohrpregulations.pdf. Also read about how the typical IRB formed and why at www.gov/ohrp/assurances/irb/index.html. In your view, what are the advantages and disadvantages of forming an IRB? Please explain each one.

An IRB is extremely important when protecting the rights of human subjects when participating in research. An advantage of forming an IRB would be informing the participant on what is about to occur. It informs you of the risks and benefits of research participation followed by the subjects consent. Participants have the right to decline at any time. Forming an IRB is also advantageous because of its ability to decrease concerns from the general public. A disadvantage to an IRB would be that it is time consuming. The IRB has to be read thoroughly and requires approval before the start of any research activities. This can take important time away from the study.

Chapter 2 Exercise 2: Visit the following websites that focus on ethics, and discuss some possible unforeseen consequences of research.

American Psychological Association
The Society for Research in Child Development
European Commission on Research
Canadian Code of Conduct for Research Involving Humans
Office for Human Research Protections
“OHRP [Office for Human Research Protections] works to ensure that human subjects outside of the United States who participate in research projects conducted or funded by DHHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] receive the same level of protections as research participants inside the United States. To that end, the OHRP International Activities program offers consultation services, disseminates pertinent reports, and provides research ethics training” (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/ international/index.html).
Ethical Issues in Research with Children & Research Involving Persons at Risk for Impaired Decision National Institutes of Health

How might you avoid harm to participants in research? Can you provide examples?

In research, there can be possible unforeseen consequences towards the subjects. Different studies use different techniques that may cause harm to participants. For example, when testing parenting styles towards children. Parents influence their children through specific practices and children pick up on these actions. Testing out authoritarian parenting may be harmful to child if you are usually a permissive parent. It would be out of the norm for them. Ways to avoid harm to participants in research would be to use different tactics or methodologies. I think the fact that participants can back out of an experiment for any reason, such as harm to themselves, helps to bring ease to their minds. Protection for participants is important so that more people feel inclined to participate in future studies.

Chapter 2 Exercise 3: Read “Ethical Standards in Research” at www.srcd.org/about-us/ethical-standards-research. In your view, what are some fair incentives for participating in research?

Theoretically, would you let your own child participate in a research study? Why or why not? Based on your response, what should researchers bear in mind? If your child had a disability, would you let him or her participate in research? Why or why not?

The magnitude of the incentive should resemble the intensity of experience that the child-participant would be experiencing. For a quick (under 1-minute) yes/no questionnaire, a simple incentive such as a candy or small toy may be sufficient. However, if the experiment is one that is multiple hours and/or tedious, larger incentives such as cash rewards for the parents, gift certificates (for either parents or children), experiences (movies, theatre, amusement parks). I would only let my own child participate in a study if I believed that the study would not cause harm to my child physically or mentally. I think that the well-being of my child is more important than a study. Researcher should bear in mind that parents would not want to let their children be involved in studies where there are questions on whether or not their child is safe or if the study isn’t specific to know what exactly is going on.

Chapter 2 Exercise 4: Read “How Many Scientists Fabricate?” at www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0005738 or conduct an Internet search for “data fabrication” and related terms.

What would you do if you suspected that data fraud was being perpetrated on a project you were involved in? Why?

Data fraud is extremely unacceptable so if I suspected that data fraud was being perpetrated on a project I was involved in, I would definitely confront the head of the project. While I believe that everyone makes mistakes and that some people might have just wanted to finish a project as quickly as possible, data fraud is dangerous. I would not be the one qualified enough to determine whether the attempt at data fraud was accidental or on purpose. Had the project been released where data fraud is found, it not only taints the reputation of the person who decided to falsify data, but also the entire team working on the project.

Chapter 8 Exercise 1: Find eight graphs in the news. Present these graphs to your class or your lab. Would you change these graphs—and, if so, in what ways?

“Cost/Benefit Analyses Show Positive Return”

This graph displays “cost/benefits” of early childhood programs. This graph would be more informative if they provided more evidence of the benefits of the program. On the other hand, the “cost” portion of the graph is clear and easy to understand.

“Significant Early Childhood Adversity Impairs Early Development”
-This graph is clear and informative. A clear linear relationship is displayed between childhood adversity and early development. Furthermore, this graph provides specific examples of adversity, which provides a more concrete comprehension of what is causing the developmental delays. One critique I have would be that the graph does not specifically quantify the types of adversity the subjects experienced. It would be helpful to see which specific types of adversity caused more of an impact on the development of the child.

“Ability To Change Brains Decreases With Time While Costs To Change Behavior Increases”

This graph displays a decrease of neural plasticity from birth onwards, while simultaneously displaying the increase of effort needed to psychologically change oneself. This graph is clear and shows a negative correlation between neural plasticity and age, and a positive correlation between effort needed to psychological modify neural connections and age. Although this graph is informative, “effort” seems too vague of a term to quantify.

Chapter 8 Exercise 2: Find three research papers. Examine all the figures and graphs used. Are the graphs labeled properly? Would you change these—and, if so, in what ways?

I think that all the graphs are properly labeled. For graphs that might look like a lot of information, they provide a key on the graph themselves which explains all the symbols or patterns used. I wouldn’t change anything in the graphs because all the graphs are easy to understand so people will be able to interpret the results how they wanted to. Not only did they label the graphs correctly, they provided a summary at the bottom explaining results or symbols.

Learning to Ignore: The Development of Time-Based Visual Attention in Children: