Social and Behavioral Research (SBR) for Biomedical Researchers

Question

A researcher is conducting a written survey about people's attitudes toward walking as an exercise option at the local shopping mall that supports a walking program. The survey is anonymous (without codes, names, or other information) and subjects may complete the survey and place it in a box at the shopping mall exits. Which of the following is the most important issue that the researcher addressed in planning the research?

Answer Confidentiality of the individual subject's

Comment

The most important issue that the researcher addressed in planning the research is the confidentiality of the individual subject's responses. By making the survey anonymous, no one, even the researcher, has knowledge of the individual's identity. While recruitment strategies, minimizing emotional distress, and having a large sample size are important issues to address, the confidentiality of the individual subject responses is the most important in this example.

Question

A researcher wants to invite therapists to participate in small focus groups to discuss their perceptions regarding "troubled" adolescent girls and the relationships they have with their parents. Specific clients of the therapists will not be discussed. Which of the following will be the most important issue for the researcher to consider when planning the research?

Answer Breach of confidentiality from the focus group subjects (therapists)

Comment

Most risks of harm from SBR research results from invasion of privacy and breaches of confidentiality. Researchers should design strategies to minimize the possibility of breaches of confidentiality and inform all subjects about the potential for these breaches especially in a focus group situation. While emotional distress, compensation and recruiting strategies are all important issues for the researcher to consider in this situation, the potential for breach of confidentiality is the most important.

Question

Which of the following most accurately describes the risks associated with SBR?

Answer Less predictable, more variable, and less treatable than physical harms

Comment

It is more difficult to predict how individuals will react to questions and situations in which their behavior is observed or manipulated than to physical data collection methods such as blood draws. The reactions may be of considerable duration. Once those reactions happen, they may be difficult to assess, serious enough to require treatment and may even be untreatable compared to treating physical harms.

Question

Which of the following is considered a SBR data collection method?

Answer Interviews

Comment

Hearing screenings, blood draws, and other physical exams are usually designed to collect physiological data, not information about attitudes and beliefs. Interviews are designed to collect information about attitudes, beliefs, and behavior and are data collection methods typically used by SBR researchers.