Students should expect to write, revise, and rewrite to produce drafts acceptable to be submitted to the committee. After being reviewed by the committee, the student can expect to make more additions, deletions, and revisions. It is not practical to make the number of changes required without the aid of a computer. The student who does not own a computer and cannot beg or borrow the use of one needs to find a professional to do the word processing and needs to resign themselves to the expense of many revisions.
The margins of the document should be one and 1/2 inches on the left and one inch on the other three margins. Copy should be double-spaced with longer quotes single-spaced and indented. Page numbers belong in the upper right-hand corner with four single space lines between the number and the first line of text.
After the student has made all the revisions requested by the committee, and the committee has reviewed and approved them, the “almost final” draft should be submitted to a proofreader. The proofreader must be well versed in APA style. The expense of the proofreader is the responsibility of the student and varies with the length and complexity of the project or thesis. This proofreader generally combs the document for each and every deviation from AP A style. After the errors found by the proofreader are corrected, the document is ready to be submitted for binding. The final copy that will be bound must be printed on a good, high-quality printer. The committee requires two bound copies printed on 20-pound weight, 100% rag content paper. You will want at least one bound copy for yourself, and it is customary to provide the chair of your committee with a copy as well.
Protection of Human Subjects
Every effort must be made to protect the rights and well being of human subjects in the research conducted. Students must obtain Committee members signatures on the APPROVAL FORM FOR DEALING WITH HUMAN SUBJECTS prior to conducting the research. In weighing ethical principles, there are seldom clear-cut guidelines because one principle way may be pitted against another, e.g., in the case of A.I.D.S. research, the invasion of privacy of subjects may be pitted against the ethics depriving a larger group of people of information that could have the potential to save lives. The benefits and risks of each study should be weighed by the Committee (this is not necessary if no subjects are used of course). See the enclosed sample form.
Informed Consent
Informed consent must be obtained. Subjects must be advised of the general nature of the study (but not necessarily the hypotheses or expected findings). They must be advised of the risks and benefits they can expect to experience as a result.
A copy of the verbal or written information given subjects during the process of obtaining consent must be included in the appendix of the dissertation. AP A does not require that subjects must sign indicating that they have given consent, therefore the faculty recommends but does not require this additional safeguard. See the enclosed sample form.
Informed consent presents a dilemma for observational studies conducted in public places. Subjects in these types of studies typically do not know they are being studied. The subjects would be exposed to minimal risk as the research situation is so similar to everyday life; however, if subjects knew they were being studied, they might object to being a part of research that might reflect unfavourably on the group of which they are a member. This has to be balanced with society’s need to know.
Voluntary Consent
The consent must be voluntarily given by the subject and the parent or guardian when appropriate. Special care must be taken to protect the rights of vulnerable populations such as children or the institutionalized. Inducements to participate cannot be so large as to compromise the subjects ability to say no.
Assessment of Risks and Benefits
Studies should be designed in such a manner that subjects are exposed to no more than a minimal risk such as inconvenience. Studies should avoid the more serious risks in research: invasion of privacy, breach of confidentiality, significant stress and discomfort, loss of self-esteem, negative reactions to being deceived, reactions to committing reprehensible acts and the collective risks that may occur as a result of the publication and interpretation of findings.
In most cases, alterations in the research design will permit the research question to be answered without exposing subjects to more serious risks. Consultation from colleagues and committee members is important during the design stage of the study, especially when subjects are unlike the researcher in significant ways. A small-scale pilot study may assist the researcher in clarifying and eliminating the risks involved.
Should unforeseen negative consequences occur while the study is being conducted, the researcher is expected to recognize and ameliorate these consequences?
Benefits that can occur include the satisfaction at making a contribution to science, enjoyment of the experimental procedure, learning something new and interesting, and the potential that the information will cause future benefits for one’s group. When the researcher weighs the risks to the participant against the benefits to the participant and society at large, it is important not to overestimate the potential benefits.
Confidentiality
It is preferable not to keep the actual identities of the subjects on file since there is typically no reason to obtain the information in the first place. This is especially important as research records can be subpoenaed. An individual’s psychological test results could be of interest in custody hearings, or information about drug use could ruin future politician’s careers, or information about illegal activities could be used for arrests and convictions.
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