Ethical considerations in research As professionals, it is important that psychologists have a code of conduct that guides their everyday activities (including treatment, research, and interactions with other psychologists, the media, students, patients and members of the public). The purpose of a code of conduct is mainly to protect the people within our care (be they patients, students or participants in our research), but ethical guidelines also aim to ensure that we treat our colleagues in an appropriate manner. This section looks specifically at some ethical issues that need to be considered when conducting research.