Issues and debates: ethical and practical issues in research

Ethical issues across the course

The debate

• Ethics limit research: some questions cannot be studied ethically (for example, causing obedience to lethal harm), so findings may come from less valid designs.
• Ethics protect participants and psychology's reputation, and guidelines (BPS 2009, UNCRC, HCPC, ASPA) have developed over time.
• Vulnerable groups (children, clinical patients) can be researched ethically with assent, guardian consent and careful risk management, but extra caution may limit sample sizes.
• Cross-topic link: therapies in Topic D (systematic desensitisation) and Topic H can be judged against HCPC standards.

Practical issues (9.3.2)

• Qualitative vs quantitative data: depth and validity (Becker's interviews) vs objectivity and statistical testing (Suzuki's blood tests).
• Validity vs control: laboratory control (Reichel's startle paradigm) gives reliability and cause and effect but lowers ecological validity; field studies (Rosenhan) do the opposite.
• Control of variables: counterbalancing, standardisation, matching.
• Sampling and access: clinical populations are hard to reach; volunteer and student samples limit generalisability (Ma, Quan and Liu).
• Cost and time: longitudinal studies, scans and RCTs are expensive.

Worked example

Plan two AO3 paragraphs for 'Evaluate the extent to which ethical guidelines limit psychological research.'

1. Paragraph 1: Milgram could not be repeated today because of distress and deception, so Burger (2009) had to stop at 150 V. This limits what we can learn about obedience at high levels. Judgement: guidelines narrow the research, but Burger still found 70% continued, so useful knowledge remains possible.
2. Paragraph 2: Clinical research such as Suzuki et al. gained written informed consent and used non-harmful measures, showing vulnerable groups can be studied ethically. Judgement: guidelines shape methods more than they prevent research.

Answer: Each paragraph: study evidence, link to the debate, judgement.

Check yourself

1. How did Burger (2009) make his replication of Milgram more ethical?
   • He used children
   • He gave larger shocks
   • He did not debrief anyone
   • He stopped the procedure at 150 volts and screened participants
   Show answer

   He stopped the procedure at 150 volts and screened participants. Stopping at 150 V avoided the most distressing part of the procedure, and screening excluded people who might be harmed.

2. In Milgram (1963), 65% of 40 participants went to 450 V. How many participants is that?
   Show answer

   26 participants. 0.65 x 40 = 26.

3. Which study involved a vulnerable clinical group and required guardian consent for minors?
   • Asch (1951)
   • Bartlett (1932)
   • Moscovici et al. (1969)
   • Reichel et al. (2014)
   Show answer

   Reichel et al. (2014). Participants were 14 to 21 with or without anorexia.

4. Which is a practical issue rather than an ethical issue?
   • A laboratory setting reduces ecological validity
   • Participants were deceived
   • A child was distressed
   • Animals suffered
   Show answer

   A laboratory setting reduces ecological validity. Practical issues concern design and validity.

5. Explain one way ethical guidelines limit psychological research.
   Show answer

   Studies that cause distress or use deception, such as Milgram's, cannot be repeated fully, so researchers like Burger had to stop at 150 volts and some questions cannot be fully answered.. Some designs cannot be used, restricting what can be learned.

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Sources

• Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced Level in Psychology specification (issue January 2026)
• Pearson IAL Psychology component guide: WPS04 (Issue 2, November 2024)
• British Psychological Society, Code of Ethics and Conduct (August 2009)
• GOV.UK: Research and testing using animals, licences and compliance
• Pearson IAL Psychology summary of studies: WPS04

Last updated 8 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.