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Based on standard practices for participant confidentiality, diagnose the problem with the lead researcher's plan and recommend an alternative procedure to securely link the Day 1 and Day 2 data.
Case context: A research team is conducting a two-part study on sleep habits. On Day 1, participants fill out a demographic questionnaire. On Day 2, the same participants return to complete a sleep diary response sheet. The lead researcher initially plans to have participants write their full names on both documents so their Day 1 and Day 2 responses can be accurately matched during data entry.
Question: Based on standard practices for participant confidentiality, diagnose the problem with the lead researcher's plan and recommend an alternative procedure to securely link the Day 1 and Day 2 data.
Sample answer: The problem is that requiring participants to write their full names on the questionnaires and response sheets compromises their confidentiality and anonymity. Instead, the researcher should assign a unique participant identification number to each individual as they are tested. This same number should be recorded on both the Day 1 demographic questionnaire and the Day 2 sleep diary, allowing the responses to be securely organized and linked without exposing personal identities.
Key points:
- Writing names on data sheets violates confidentiality and anonymity.
- A unique participant identification number should be assigned to each individual.
- The same identification number must be recorded on both the Day 1 questionnaire and Day 2 response sheet.
- Using identification numbers allows data from multiple sessions to be linked without exposing personal identity.
Rubric: Award points for correctly identifying that using names violates confidentiality and proposing the use of unique participant identification numbers across both documents.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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