Ethical Principles and Standards for Developmental Scientists | Society for Research in Child Development SRCD

4.a. Scientific standards. Developmental scientists ensure their work meets the highest scientific standards for the responsible conduct of research design, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination and that all methods and procedures are reported fully and honestly. Investigators also recognize the potential social impact of their findings on communities and make every effort to obtain community input on the aims, design, and interpretation of data and to ensure that the results of their research is disseminated to participants and the communities they represent.

4.b. Independent Ethics Review. Protecting the rights and welfare of research participants requires ongoing efforts by investigators to eliminate the effect of biases on the design and implementation of ethical procedures. This requires obtaining independent review by submitting accurate information regarding ethical protocols to institutional review boards or other ethics review panels. Investigators conduct the research in accordance with the approved research protocol.

4.c. Data security. Developmental scientists are aware of and institute special confidentiality protections required as new technologies for data collection and storage continue to emerge. Particular attention should be paid to research involving geospatial profiling, automated decision-making, data mining, big-data analytics, and genomics as data breaches that may pose higher social, financial, health, legal, and political risks to participants.

4.d. Debriefing. As soon as feasible, investigators provide an opportunity for participants to obtain additional information about the purpose, nature, results, and dissemination of the research. This may occur immediately following an individual’s participation or at study completion. Debriefing procedures are described during informed consent. When they become aware, investigators take steps to correct or minimize any post-study misconceptions or harms. Investigators are also sensitive to the personal and social impact of their findings and ensure as appropriate that debriefing includes information on the implications both risk and resilience of persons and communities.

4.e. Use of deception. Deception is the intentional provision of false, misleading, or withheld information to purposely mislead research participants. Developmental scientists may consider including deception in the design of a study if disclosing its real purpose would lead participants to modify their behavior, thereby distorting the research objective and if no non-deceptive alternative procedures are feasible. Investigators do not implement deceptive methods if the conditions can be reasonably expected to cause physical pain or emotional distress. Deception is explained to the participant at the end of the study, except in situations in which there is reason to believe that the research participants will be negatively affected by the disclosure.

4.f. Transparency. Developmental scientists ensure the transparency of their work through clear, accurate, and complete reporting of all components of research. Transparency includes, but is not limited to: reporting the aims of and related study hypotheses; participant characteristics, how participants were identified, recruited, and screened, and inclusion and exclusion criteria; research design and procedures; measures, apparatus, equipment, or instruments employed; analytic plans and procedures, including what transformations in measures or observations occurred; and material and financial resources supporting the research, and when appropriate, conflicts of interest.

4.g. Data sharing. Developmental scientists openly share scientific resources, such as methods, measures, and data in order to further scientific advances. Scientific openness ranges from provision of materials to other scientists to the depositing of scientific data in data sharing repositories. Minimizing harm to participants through the protection of their privacy and confidentiality takes precedence over sharing of data. Embracing transparency and openness, does not require that researchers must share all of their information without restrictions. Data sharing obligations need to be based on considerations of reasonable time periods for data analysis and dissemination, investigator financial or other burdens. This standard does not preclude the need to protect researchers from professional harm that can occur when requests for scientific transparency and openness veer into attacks on the integrity of researchers themselves or result in significant, new, or unfunded burdens that limit progress in scholarship.