Code of Ethics for Research

Baby Talk Child Development Lab respects the rights and welfare of individuals recruited for, or participating in, research conducted by our institution. In order to ethically conduct research, we are guided by the principles set forth in the Belmont Report. The actions of Baby Talk Lab will also conform to all applicable federal and local laws and regulations.

In order to ensure that this mission is fulfilled, we are committed to upholding the following ethical standards:

Recruiting Research Participants

    1. The recruitment process shall be appropriate and free from coercion or undue influence.  Additional protections shall be given to special or vulnerable populations in order to protect the rights and welfare of the participants.

    2. Participants shall be made aware that enrollment in a research study is voluntary, and every participant is allowed to withdraw from a study at any time during the research.  The participant can withdraw for any reason and does not need to provide reason for withdrawal. The researcher may also need to terminate a study session for reasons unrelated to the research or if the participant is not following the terms of the study.

    3. If a participant withdraws during a study procedure or if the researcher terminates the study session, the participant must be given full compensation (as listed in the consent document).  If the participant withdraws before the study session, compensation will not be provided unless otherwise specified in the consent document.

    4. Recruitment materials should contain enough information to give potential participants a sense of the study and the ability to decide whether they are eligible to participate.

Informed Consent and Consent Forms

Participants will be made aware of the purpose, procedures, time involved, compensation, risks, benefits, and information about the de-identification and protection of participants’ data for the research study session. This information will be made available in a consent form in lay language, and a participant signature must be obtained on this form before any research can be conducted with the participant. The participant may ask for the form to be read out to them by the researcher and may have any and all points clarified before signing. For children under the age of 7, adults may consent to participation on behalf of their child.

Risk and Benefit

    1. Research conducted by Baby Talk Lab will pose no identifiable risk to participants. No invasive research may be conducted, and any and all research materials must not be offensive, disturbing, or distressing to participants.

    2. In most cases, there will not be direct benefit to the participant as a result of participating in or completing a research study session. Our research is aimed at benefiting the the broader community and humanity.

Research Data Management

    1. Research data are the concrete data or information another researcher would need to reproduce or evaluate our results.  This data does not include ideas, hypotheses, or physical lab samples.

    2. All researchers and personnel of Baby Talk Lab that have access to research data are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and ensuring the appropriate protection of research data in accordance with established ethics protocols.

    3. Any data that could be used to identify participants will be removed from all materials disseminated from the lab, such as research papers, presentations, or training materials.  Additional measures will be taken to remove identifying data from research data, including personal information, images or media, in order to ensure privacy and confidentiality for all participants. 

    4. All data will be stored in a secure and encrypted digital repository.

Research Education and Training

All research personnel who are engaged in human subjects research are required to have appropriate education and training to protect research participants. Training covers research-related topics that include: research misconduct, rigor and reproducibility, data management and data use, conflict of interest, ethical considerations in human and animal research, and authorship.