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Diagnose the ethical limitation in this researcher's debriefing method. Explain why providing only the written document is insufficient and how implementing a debriefing script would improve the communication of the study's true purpose and design.
Case context: A psychology researcher conducts an experiment involving mild deception, where participants are told they are playing a cooperative game but are actually testing conformity to peers. At the end of the session, the researcher hand-delivers a detailed, two-page written debriefing document to each participant and tells them they are free to leave, without speaking to them about the study's true goals.
Question: Diagnose the ethical limitation in this researcher's debriefing method. Explain why providing only the written document is insufficient and how implementing a debriefing script would improve the communication of the study's true purpose and design.
Sample answer: The ethical limitation is that participants may not fully read or comprehend the written debriefing document, leaving them unaware of the study's true purpose and the deception used. By implementing a debriefing script, the researcher can verbally explain the study's true purpose and peer-conformity design in simple, everyday language. This oral explanation ensures clear communication and guarantees that participants actually understand the research question and why deception was necessary.
Key points:
- Identify that participants may not read or comprehend written debriefing documents.
- Explain that relying solely on written documents creates an ethical risk of unclear communication.
- Describe how a debriefing script provides verbal explanation in simple, everyday language.
- Explain that this oral communication ensures participants understand the research question and deception.
Rubric: The response should diagnose that the written-only method is ethically insufficient because participants might not read or comprehend the document. It must explain that a debriefing script would allow the researcher to orally explain the study in simple, everyday language, thereby ensuring clear communication about the true purpose and the deception that occurred.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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