Ethics for conducting a usability test

An ethical usability test should have the following:

• Minimal risk
• Informed consent
• Minimize deception (generally is not needed)
• Participant may withdraw at any time
• Participant's data is kept confidential
• Participant may withdraw his or her data from the study or test

The informed consent process should provide the following information:

• Purpose of the study
• What the participants will be doing
• That the participant may withdraw at any time
• How the results will be used and how the participant's data will remain confidential
• That the participant may decide that his or her results will not be used

Items for discussion

• Ways of ensuring informed consent
• Difference between confidential data and anonymous data
• Note that Rubin does not provide any process for ensuring informed consent

Oliver Burmeister's article provides a good review of these issues.

Also see Article IV in the Human Factors and Egonomics Society (HFES) code of ethics. Depaul's Institutional Review Board (IRB) for research involving human participants has a website.