Ethical Guidelines for Conducting Experiments and Writing Scientific Reports in Psychology

Abstract

Recently, many cases of scientific malpractice have been reported, and their severity has resulted in the dismissal of those involved, the rescission of academic degrees, expulsion from academic organizations, and even prison sentences. Because it is essential to provide ethical training to people involved in scientific research, the objective of this paper is to describe the ethical guidelines that everyone who conducts experiments in psychology must observe, especially when human participants are involved. These guidelines are also applicable to authors of scientific papers. Our goal is to contribute to ensuring the ethical performance of scientific work. Also, in an effort to eradicate scientific malpractice, we propose implementing a three-pronged strategy: first, working with academic institutions (universities, research centers, etc.) to provide ongoing training in the ethical aspects of the discipline in question to all personnel involved in scientific work (researchers, technicians, professors, students); second, designing strategies for constant, close supervision to guarantee that all scientific activities adhere to the applicable ethical standards; and, third, defining mechanisms to establish and then apply sanctions in the event of scientific malpractice, including the creation of organs entrusted with organizing and implementing these activities.