ABSTRACT
Conducting research in behavior analysis involves the most complex set of requirements that can be found in these Behavior Analyst Certi—cation Board (BACB)Guidelines. Some are quite broad and include planning your research in such a way that the —ndings will not be misused by others (Guideline 10.0a) and will be ethically acceptable by other researchers and presumably consumers as well (Guideline 10.0e). Others require the behavior analyst researcher to attend to the —ne details of debrie—ng (Guideline 10.11) and paying participants (Guideline 10.15). In the most general sense, this guideline makes it clear that “Do no harm” is certainly the watchword of the applied behavioral researcher (Guideline 10.01b), whether it involves carefully supervising assistants (Guideline 10.0b), obtaining informed consent (Guideline 10.04), or, later in the process, using the —ndings for instructive purposes (Guideline 10.02). Of course, the best protection against harming participants is to always seek advance approval of your local Institutional Review Board (IRB; Guideline 10.0e). Also seek guidance via peer consultation when
designing your study. It goes without saying that behavioral researchers will comply with state and federal law (Guideline 10.03), will obtain informed consent from participants (Guideline 10.04), and will inform them of how the data will be used (Guideline 10.06). It is in the best interest of the behavior analysis researcher and the —eld if participants are not only spared any harm but also treated as well as possible while they are involved in any experiment (or therapy). Because most applied behavioral research is conducted in the participant’s environment, the researcher has an obligation to avoid interfering as much as possible and to collect only necessary data for the study (Guideline 10.07). Participants should be ensured anonymity (Guideline 10.09), should be informed that they can withdraw at any time (Guideline 10.10), and should be debriefed at the conclusion of the study (Guideline 10.11). Most behavioral research does not involve any deception, but, if it is essential for the conduct of the study and there are no alternatives, it is permissible as long it does not involve any physical risk or adverse emotional experience (Guideline 10.05a-10.05c). Behavior analysts using animals in their research must comply with the Federal Animal Welfare Act (1990) and ensure that the animals are treated humanely (Guideline 10.18).
