UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Debriefing is conducted after participants have completed a study, particularly when deception or incomplete disclosure was involved. During debriefing, the researcher reveals the true purpose, clarifies any misleading information and checks for adverse reactions. This process helps restore trust, educates participants about the research and permits them to withdraw their data if they feel distressed. Therefore, the post-study explanation described in the stem is correctly called debriefing.

Option A:
Option A, debriefing, is an important ethical safeguard that demonstrates respect for participants and mitigates potential harm caused by deception. It is distinct from initial information-giving, which is covered by informed consent, and clearly fits the stem’s context.

Option B:
Briefing refers to providing initial instructions or information before the study begins and does not involve correcting deceptive elements afterwards. Thus, briefing is not the right answer for a post-participation explanation.

Option C:
Anonymising is the process of removing or encoding identifying information in data so that individuals cannot be recognised. It is related to privacy protection but not to explaining the true purpose after deception.

Option D:
Sampling is a methodological step concerning the selection of participants and has nothing to do with post-study ethical communication, so it is not appropriate here.