Question 1

A researcher is conducting a study using students in their undergraduate class as participants. What potential ethical issues may arise from this, and how can they be ameliorated?

Question 2

Read the following study overview:

Microdosing is the process of consuming very small doses of a substance. While there is mounting anecdotal evidence reporting the utility of microdosing (i.e., enhanced well-being, reduced psychopathology) there are no controlled scientific studies of microdosing psychedelics and thus no scientific understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of this practice. This study aims to characterize potential benefits and drawbacks of microdosing in a community sample. We will examine and report demographics and common practices, personality variables, and creativity scores in order to further understand the microdosing population. We will also use a grounded theory approach to develop a taxonomy of reported benefits and drawbacks.

The researchers proposed recruiting their sample in the following way:

Participants will be recruited online from reddit. Subreddits included will be at least the following: /r/microdosing, /r/Psychonaut, /r/Nootropics, /r/Drugs, /r/SampleSize We may also recruit from additional subreddits as we deem appropriate, such as /r/DMT, /r/shrooms, /r/trees, etc. The final full list of subreddits - as well as a breakdown of participants by subreddit - will be reported.

What are the strengths and potential weaknesses of using this approach to sample recruitment with reference to the original research focus?

Question 3

Considering the study outlined in the previous question, what are some of the ethical issues around conducting research on microdosing psychedelics, and how can they be ameliorated?