Practical advice for conducting ethical online experiments and questionnaires for United States psychologists

Abstract

It is increasingly easy and, therefore, increasingly common to conduct experiments and questionnaire studies in online environments. However, the online environment is not a data collection medium that is familiar to many researchers or to many research methods instructors. Because of this, researchers have received little information about how to address ethical issues when conducting online research. Researchers need practical suggestions on how to translate federal and professional ethics codes into this new data collection medium. This article assists United States psychologists in designing online studies that meet accepted standards for informed consent, deception, debriefing, the right to withdraw, security of test materials, copyright of participants' materials, confidentiality and anonymity, and avoiding harm.