I will be interested in other people’s replies to this question. I have supervised several long-distance HS projects. Most of these students were in small towns and were attending some kind of special school (like a private school) that required a project for graduation.
A recent project asked whether chewing gum immediately prior to taking a math test would improve math scores. (There is a supportive literature on this hypothesis but some conspiracy theorists might note that much of the research is sponsored by Wrigley.) I approached the situation as if I was teaching a research methods course, i.e., an educational experience. So the student and I would exchange emails about the hypothesis. I located some easy primary literature for her to review and taught her how to read an empirical article. We discussed design issues (between vs within comparisons) and we discussed ethical issues (deception issues, harm issues). The student was doing the experiment as part of an official class in her high school, and so the teacher was involved at various stages. Typically, the teacher was involved at the beginning and the end of the project. (Sometimes, I have been asked to comment on the quality of work by the student to be used in assigning a grade.) I would work with a student only on a project that is very low-risk because of supervision issues. (I think they did run their studies because there are so many newbie mistakes, like the experimental group participated in a club meeting and the control group participated at the end of a class period.) I did not register these projects with our IRB because they were very low-risk and I was treating them as an educational experience, like projects we might do in class. My HS students have been enthusiastic but very naive. The concept of needing a control group/condition took some convincing. Ken --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Professor Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu <http://www.psych.appstate.edu/> Appalachian State University Boone, NC 28608 USA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > On Jan 30, 2016, at 12:38 PM, Jim Clark <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > Hi > > I’ve had an inquiry from a high school student interested in doing a science > project on a psychological topic. I appreciate rules might be different in > USA and Canada, but does anyone have experience of the ethics involved with > HS students doing psychological studies? > > Thanks > Jim > > Jim Clark > Professor & Chair of Psychology > University of Winnipeg > 204-786-9757 > Room 4L41A (4th Floor Lockhart) > www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark <http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark> > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13524.94845a3ed9806f1cef14973830dd8c39&n=T&l=tips&o=48022 > > <http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13524.94845a3ed9806f1cef14973830dd8c39&n=T&l=tips&o=48022> > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-48022-13524.94845a3ed9806f1cef14973830dd8...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > <mailto:leave-48022-13524.94845a3ed9806f1cef14973830dd8...@fsulist.frostburg.edu> --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=48024 or send a blank email to leave-48024-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
