Question 1: Ethical issues in research

The Psychology 100 Convenor wants to examine whether participating in a study
group facilitated by a student mentor will improve the academic performance of
psychology students. She also wants to know whether this differs for school leavers
and non–school leavers. She conducts a quasi–experimental design in which
participants are asked to submit an expression of interest in joining the study group
facilitated by a student mentor. Students are allocated to the study group by the
convenor on a “first come first served” basis as there is only a limited number of
positions available for the study group. Those students who are not allocated to the
study group do not receive any additional study support. Students are asked to keep
a weekly reflective journal to document their attendance of the study group sessions
and their experiences of both the study group and the overall Psychology 100 unit.
Students are also asked to provide their names and ID number so that the
convenor/researcher can test whether participating in the study group does improve
students’ performance in Psychology 100. The convenor/researcher wants to publish
the findings if it shows that study groups support academic performance.

Complete the following:
(a) What is/are the independent variable/s? (1 mark)

(b) What is the dependent variable? (1 mark)

(c) What are the ethical considerations in this experiment and how might these
be addressed? (4 marks)

(d) Why is it important for psychology researchers to submit their research
proposals for ethical review before commencing their research projects?
(4 marks)