When it comes to the field of social and behavioral sciences, risks of harm typically fall into three categories. The first category is the potential for direct harm to participants, the second is potential for indirect harm to participants and/or others, and the third is the risk of poor quality research.
Direct harm occurs when participants experience negative effects as a result of their involvement in a study. This can include things like psychological or physical stress or injury, loss of property, financial damage, or other such problems.
Indirect harm can occur when flawed research is used in making decisions that have significant consequences. This can include things like social policies being ineffective or even harmful as a result of research that is flawed. It can also include things like false convictions in criminal cases due to evidence that was gathered in research that was flawed.
The risk of poor quality research refers to the fact that there are many factors that can lead to research being considered ‘poor quality’. This can include bias, inadequate design or execution of the study, and lack of transparency.
Risk of psychological harm
Unfortunately, in many cases, people who are participating in a study may experience some sort of negative effect as a result of their participation.
This can include feeling uncomfortable or even experiencing psychological harm as a result of the research process. For example, if participants are asked to recount a negative experience, this can be emotionally taxing for them.
In some cases, people may also feel some kind of stigma or shame as a result of the research they are involved in. This is especially true in cases where the research involves sensitive topics such as mental health or sexuality.
As researchers, it is important to be aware of the potential for psychological harm and take precautions to prevent this when possible. For example, allowing participants to remain anonymous can help prevent any feelings of shame or stigma associated with the research.
Risk of methodological bias
Methodological bias can occur when the design or execution of a study influences the results. This can be in the form of asking questions that favor one outcome over another, selecting participants or samples in a biased way, or failing to adopt adequate controls.
For example, if a researcher asked questions that implied a certain outcome was favorable, this could influence the responses and ultimately the results.
The most common way methodological bias occurs is by selection bias. Selection bias occurs when some factor about a participant affects their eligibility to participate in a study or affects whether they receive a certain treatment or outcome.
For example, letting only those who attend an intervention session on nutrition receive free lunch at work is likely to only attract people who care about nutrition, which may influence the results of a study on nutrition.
The first risk regards physical harm
Physical harm is defined as risk of injury, trauma, or death. This includes risks associated with physical, psychological, and social well-being.
Physical well-being refers to safety and health. Safety refers to safety from threats and hazards, such as environmental hazards or terrorism. Health refers to overall fitness and wellness.
Psychological well-being refers to one’s emotional and mental stability. Emotional well-being refers to feelings of happiness, joy, love, anger, etc. Mental well-being refers to mental fitness and wellness.
Social well-ber relates to the ability of an individual to function within a society or group setting. This includes the ability to function in relationships, at work, in education settings, etc.
This category of risk of harm is perhaps the most obvious but often overlooked due to lack of knowledge regarding health issues that fall into this category.
The second risk regards psychological harm
Psychological harm includes things like anxiety, fear, worry, and distress.
These can be experienced by someone directly or indirectly affected by a research study. They can also be felt by the researcher themselves while conducting research.
For example, a researcher may feel stress or anxiety while designing and executing their research project. This could be because of the pressure to obtain valid and reliable results.
The public perception of psychology (and other social and behavioral sciences) can also play a role in how they conducts research. For example, if someone is conducting a study on gun control, they may feel pressured to find results that support gun control in order to seem “valid”. This kind of bias can lead to psychological harm for people who are involved in the research.
Clearly defining what qualifies as psychological harm is important in preventing this from happening.
The third risk regards methodological bias
The third risk regards methodological bias. This is the risk of producing research that is not truly representative of reality due to the way in which the research is conducted.
There are many ways in which research can be conducted in a biased way. These include selecting a sample that is not representative of a larger group, asking biased questions, and/or having skewed methods of gathering data.
For example, if researchers were to ask only people who had negative experiences with a social or behavioral phenomenon under study, their results would likely be very one-sided.
Similarly, if researchers were to only select individuals from a specific background for their sample, then again, their results would likely be very one-sided. Finally, if researchers used only certain methods to gather data (i.e., only one method of interviewing) then again, the results may be skewed.
Recognizing these risks is the first step to reducing them
As researchers in the social and behavioral sciences, we recognize that there are many risks of harm associated with our work.
Unfortunately, this awareness is not always present among the general public, let alone other groups that may be interested in our findings.
The general public may include journalists, policymakers, and the average person on the street. All of these groups can be affected by research in the social and behavioral sciences, which can put us at risk.
For example, if we do not communicate our findings clearly and concisely, then misinformation may spread. Or if our research does not take into account appropriate ethical guidelines and regulations, then harm may be done to individuals or groups.
Furthermore, if our research is not communicated clearly enough or is misunderstood by others, then it may lead to inappropriate actions or policies that cause harm.
Understanding your subject matter is the next step to taking care of your subjects
Knowing your subject matter is crucial to conducting ethical research. In order to design and implement a study that yields valid results, you have to understand the phenomenon you’re studying.
For example, if you were planning to do a study on weight loss strategies, you would need to have a good understanding of nutrition and exercise in order to design an effective experiment.
In addition, you would need to understand how other scientists have studied these factors and what their findings have been. You would need to be able to integrate other studies into your own so that your experiment is well-designed.
This category also includes understanding the implications and consequences of the results of your study. If you are doing a study on the effects of a new medication, for example, you must understand how the medication works and what the potential effects are.
Get permission from your subjects before conducting research on them
Researchers must get permission from their subjects to conduct research on them. This is called obtaining consent from research participants.
Consent is an expression of agreement between the researcher and the subject(s) being researched. The researcher shares details about the research and asks for the subject’s approval to take part in the study.
The researcher also explains how information about the subject will be handled and shared. In some cases, this may require total confidentiality. Consent can also include a clause for whether or not the subject takes part in the study, or whether or not information about them is disclosed.
When conducting social science research, it is important to get consent from your subjects before conducting any studies on them. This prevents possible harm that may come to them as a result of the research.
