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Exclusion criteria are ethically justified when they have a defensible scientific, safety, methodological, or ethical purpose. Researchers should be able to explain why each important restriction is necessary rather than treating familiar or convenient exclusions as self-justifying.
Read Guide →Unexpected participant distress requires an immediate participant-centered response rather than simply finishing the research procedure. Researchers should pause, assess immediate needs and safety, follow the approved distress protocol, and determine whether further research participation remains appropriate.
Read Guide →Researchers asking about traumatic or highly sensitive experiences should prepare participant support before data collection begins. That preparation may include trained staff, privacy safeguards, verified referral pathways, distress procedures, and clear escalation plans appropriate to the study's actual risks.
Read Guide →Research ethics and data protection often address the same participant data, but they ask different questions. Understanding the distinction helps researchers avoid assuming that ethics approval automatically means their data practices are legally compliant.
Read Guide →A research data breach can involve unauthorized disclosure, loss, alteration, destruction, or loss of access to personal data. Researchers should report suspected breaches immediately so the responsible organization can contain, assess, document, and notify as required.
Read Guide →Deception does not create permission to expose participants to whatever risks a scientifically valuable study requires. Some major frameworks restrict alterations to consent to minimal-risk research, while professional standards may impose additional limits on particular harms.
Read Guide →Archived research data may be scientifically valuable long after the original study ends, but depositing data in an archive does not erase researchers' ethical responsibilities. Secondary users need to understand the data's provenance, authorization, restrictions, privacy risks, and governance before reuse.
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