What if a study contains deception or concealment?
The board defines three types of deception or concealment in studies: • Concealment of the hypothesis is done in a majority of studies and the board does not take this type of concealment into consideration when reviewing studies. • Concealment of some portion of the purpose or procedures occurs when the consent form or researcher does not tell the participant all of the procedures or the true and whole purpose of the study up front. This method is often used in studies that involve race or other issues in which knowing the purpose would bias participants. • Deception occurs when false information is told or given to participants. If deception or concealment is used in research the following four requirements must be met: • The concealment or deception must be justified. • The participant should be told in the consent form that some information is being withheld. • A debriefing must be completed after the research to give the participant the complete information. • The participant must
