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CHAPTER 3: Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Psychological Research 69who have limited ability to understand the nature of research and the possiblerisks (see Figure 3.4). In these cases formal informed consent must be obtainedfrom the participants’ parents or legal guardians. Whenever possible, however,“assent,” that is, an expressed willingness to participate, should always be obtainedfrom the participants themselves.Online research poses particular ethical problems for obtaining informedconsent. Consider that in most cases online participants typically click on theircomputer mouse to indicate that they have read and understood the consentstatement. But does this constitute a legally binding “signature” of the researchparticipant? How does a researcher know if participants are the required age orthat they fully understood the informed consent statement? One suggestion fordetermining whether participants have understood the informed consent statementis to administer short quizzes about its content; procedures to distinguishchildren from adults might include requiring information that is generallyavailable only to adults (Kraut et al., 2004). Whenever such ethical dilemmasarise, it is wise to seek advice from knowledgeable professionals, but the finalresponsibility for conducting ethical research always rests with the investigator.It is not always easy to decide what constitutes undue inducement or pressureto participate. Paying college students $9 an hour to take part in a psychologyexperiment would not generally be considered improper coercion.Recruiting very poor or disadvantaged persons from the streets with a $9 offermay be more coercive and less acceptable (Kelman, 1972). Prisoners may believethat any refusal on their part to participate in a psychology experimentwill be viewed by the authorities as evidence of uncooperativeness and willtherefore make it more difficult for them to be paroled.When college students are asked to fulfill a class requirement by serving asparticipants in psychology experiments (an experience that presumably hassome educational value), an alternative method of fulfilling the class requirementmust be made available to those who do not wish to participate in psychologicalresearch. The time and effort required for these alternative optionsshould be equivalent to that required for research participation. Alternative assignmentsthat are used frequently include reading and summarizing journalarticles describing research, making informal field observations of behavior, attendingpresentations of research findings by graduate students or faculty, anddoing volunteer community service (see Kimmel, 1996).IRBs require investigators to document that the proper informed consentprocedure has been followed for any research involving human participants.However, it is important to recognize that, as guidelines from the federal Officefor Human Research Protections state, “informed consent is a process, not just aform.” One IRB chairperson told us that she tells investigators to imagine theyare sitting down with the person and explaining the project. In Box 3.1 we providesome tips on the process of obtaining proper informed consent rather thanproviding a sample form that may imply “one form fits all.” Proper consentprocedures and written documentation will vary somewhat across situationsand populations. Members of an IRB are a good source for advice on how toobtain and document informed consent in a way that meets ethical guidelinesand protects the rights of participants.