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CHAPTER 3: Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Psychological Research 63an investigator is obliged to seek to do research that meets the highest standards ofscientific excellence.When there is potential risk, a researcher must make sure there are no alternative,low-risk procedures that could be substituted. The researcher mustalso be sure that previous research has not already successfully addressed theresearch question being asked. Without careful prior review of the psychologicalliterature, a researcher might carry out research that has already been done,thus exposing individuals to needless risk.Determining Risk• Potential risks in psychological research include risk of physical injury,social injury, and mental or emotional stress.• Risks must be evaluated in terms of potential participants’ everydayactivities, their physical and mental health, and capabilities.Determining whether research participants are “at risk” illustrates the difficultiesinvolved in ethical decision making. Life itself is risky. Commuting towork or school, crossing streets, and riding elevators have an element of risk.Simply showing up for a psychology experiment has some degree of risk. Tosay that human participants in psychological research can never face any riskswould bring all research to a halt. Decisions about what constitutes risk musttake into consideration those risks that are part of everyday life.Researchers must also consider the characteristics of the participants whenthey determine risk. Certain activities might pose a serious risk for someindividuals but not for others. Running up a flight of stairs may increase therisk of a heart attack for an elderly person, but the same task would probablynot be risky for most young adults. Similarly, individuals who are exceptionallydepressed or anxious might show more severe reactions to certain psychologicaltasks than would other people. Thus, when considering risk, researchersmust consider the specific populations or individuals who are likely to participatein the study.We often think of risk in terms of the possibility of physical injury. Frequently,however, participants in social science research risk social or psychologicalinjury. For example, if participants’ personal information were revealedto others, a potential for social risk such as embarrassment exists. Personalinformation collected during psychological research may include facts aboutintelligence; personality traits; political, social, or religious beliefs; and particularbehaviors. A research participant probably does not want this informationrevealed to teachers, employers, or peers. Failure to protect the confidentialityof participants’ responses may increase the possibility of social injury.The greatest risk to participants in Internet-based research is the possibledisclosure of identifiable personal information outside the research situation(Kraut et al., 2004). Other researchers suggest that although the Internet affordsa “perception of anonymity” (Nosek et al., 2002, p. 165), in some circumstancesthat perception is false, and investigators must consider ways to protect confidentialityin data transmission, data storage, and poststudy interactions withparticipants.