Sample Case 5

5.  The Internet as a Research Tool:  For Deception!

An undergraduate psychology student has presented a research protocol for her honours thesis which uses an email solicitation to provoke a response to help.  Essential to testing this theory of altruism and group identity was to maintain deception, without debriefing throughout the research.  There would be no debriefing.  The participants would receive an email asking a common question to which they could volunteer an answer or not.  The undergraduate research ethics committee invited the researcher and her thesis supervisor to a meeting to discuss the application.   The committee referred to the Tri-Council Policy Statement for guidance on research that essentially waives the need for consent.   With some tweaking to the possible time needed for respondents to reply to the email, the protocol was judged to be minimal risk and scientifically valid, and was approved.

Question:  When is deception a valid method for research that is ethically approvable?

TCPS: Article 3.7
 

B.  Departures from General Principles of Consent

Alteration of Consent in Minimal Risk Research

Article 3.7  The REB may approve research without requiring that the researcher obtain the participant’s consent in accordance with Articles 3.1 to 3.5 where the REB is satisfied, and documents, that all of the following apply:

(a) the research involves no more than minimal risk to the participants;

(b) the lack of the participant’s consent is unlikely to adversely affect the welfare of the participant;

(c) it is impossible or impracticable to carry out the research and to answer the research question properly, given the research design, if the prior consent of the participant is required;

(d) whenever possible and appropriate, after participation, or at a later time during the study, participants will be debriefed and provided with additional pertinent information in accordance with Articles 3.2 and 3.4, at which point they will have the opportunity to refuse consent in accordance with Article 3.1; and

(e) the research does not involve a therapeutic intervention, or other clinical or diagnostic interventions.