ANIMAL ETHICS =
Animal scientific procedures act 1986)
The 3Rs:
- Replace: the use of animals with different techniques, virtual simulations or studying
videos of past research are recommended
- Reduce: the number of animals used to a minimum. In a well designed study, the
maximum data can be retracted from the minimal number of animals
- Refine: the way experiments are carried out, to make sure animals suffer as little as
possible. This includes better housing and improvements which minimize pain and
suffering.
Specific ethical guidelines:
- Choice of species: species bred in captivity are ethically preferable to creatures taken
from the wild; research should be minimized
- Disposal: when the research is over, animals should be disposed of humanely; ideally
kept alive for breeding or as pets
- Procedures: animals must be treated humanely during research
- Animal care: when not being studied, animals must be housed, fed, and watered in a
sustainable way as well as being given space and companionship
- Legal requirements: research must not break the law regarding endangered and
protected species.
- Replacement: where possible, live animals should be replaced with research
alternatives, like videos and computer simulations.
- Reduction: the number of animals should be minimized as much as possible; this
involves carefully designed experiments and good use of statistics to get the maximum
amount of data from the smallest number of animals.
Practical issues in animal research:
- Cost: animals don't have to be paid, unlike human participants. However, the cost of
buying lab animals from a home office approved supplier can be considerable.
- Danger: animals can bite and scratch and even lab-raised animals can carry diseases.
This can be dangerous to human researchers.
, - Space: animals are typically small and take up less space than human participants.
However, if they are able to be given the space suitable to the needs of their species,
they can maintain territory and feel secure.
- Supervision: researchers can go home for the weekend and human participants can
have time off but animals need to be cared for continuously.
VARIABLES
1) Operationalizing variables
- Refers to how you will define and measure a specific variable as it is used in your study
2) Situational variables
- These are aspects of the environment that might affect the participant’s behavior, eg:
noise, temperature, lighting conditions, etc.
- Situational variables should be controlled so they are the same for all participants.
3) Participant variables
- This refers to the ways in which each participant varies from the other, and how this
could affect the results, eg: mood, intelligence, anxiety, nerves, etc.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
Order effects
- The order of the 2 conditions may influence performance
- These are confounding variables that should be minimized
1) Practice effects: they may learn how to complete task in condition 1 and do better in
condition 2
2) Boredom or fatigue: more time completing different conditions may cause boredom
Reducing order effects: counterbalancing
- Divide large groups into 2
- One of the groups will complete condition 1 first and then complete condition 2
- The second group will do both the conditions the other way around (condition 2 followed
by condition 1)
- This is done because it is always the second condition that is affected by order effects,
so doing this can equally affect all conditions in an experiment. This should cancel each
other order effects across conditions.
Participant Effects
- When the participants in each condition are significantly different which can affect the
findings, eg: age, sex, level of education, etc.
Animal scientific procedures act 1986)
The 3Rs:
- Replace: the use of animals with different techniques, virtual simulations or studying
videos of past research are recommended
- Reduce: the number of animals used to a minimum. In a well designed study, the
maximum data can be retracted from the minimal number of animals
- Refine: the way experiments are carried out, to make sure animals suffer as little as
possible. This includes better housing and improvements which minimize pain and
suffering.
Specific ethical guidelines:
- Choice of species: species bred in captivity are ethically preferable to creatures taken
from the wild; research should be minimized
- Disposal: when the research is over, animals should be disposed of humanely; ideally
kept alive for breeding or as pets
- Procedures: animals must be treated humanely during research
- Animal care: when not being studied, animals must be housed, fed, and watered in a
sustainable way as well as being given space and companionship
- Legal requirements: research must not break the law regarding endangered and
protected species.
- Replacement: where possible, live animals should be replaced with research
alternatives, like videos and computer simulations.
- Reduction: the number of animals should be minimized as much as possible; this
involves carefully designed experiments and good use of statistics to get the maximum
amount of data from the smallest number of animals.
Practical issues in animal research:
- Cost: animals don't have to be paid, unlike human participants. However, the cost of
buying lab animals from a home office approved supplier can be considerable.
- Danger: animals can bite and scratch and even lab-raised animals can carry diseases.
This can be dangerous to human researchers.
, - Space: animals are typically small and take up less space than human participants.
However, if they are able to be given the space suitable to the needs of their species,
they can maintain territory and feel secure.
- Supervision: researchers can go home for the weekend and human participants can
have time off but animals need to be cared for continuously.
VARIABLES
1) Operationalizing variables
- Refers to how you will define and measure a specific variable as it is used in your study
2) Situational variables
- These are aspects of the environment that might affect the participant’s behavior, eg:
noise, temperature, lighting conditions, etc.
- Situational variables should be controlled so they are the same for all participants.
3) Participant variables
- This refers to the ways in which each participant varies from the other, and how this
could affect the results, eg: mood, intelligence, anxiety, nerves, etc.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
Order effects
- The order of the 2 conditions may influence performance
- These are confounding variables that should be minimized
1) Practice effects: they may learn how to complete task in condition 1 and do better in
condition 2
2) Boredom or fatigue: more time completing different conditions may cause boredom
Reducing order effects: counterbalancing
- Divide large groups into 2
- One of the groups will complete condition 1 first and then complete condition 2
- The second group will do both the conditions the other way around (condition 2 followed
by condition 1)
- This is done because it is always the second condition that is affected by order effects,
so doing this can equally affect all conditions in an experiment. This should cancel each
other order effects across conditions.
Participant Effects
- When the participants in each condition are significantly different which can affect the
findings, eg: age, sex, level of education, etc.
