ETHICAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

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ETHICAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL RESEARCH
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Ethical concerns and the individual researcher

• Ethics begin and ends with the researcher. A
  researchers personal moral code is the strongest
  defense against unethical behavior.
• Why be ethical?

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Scientific misconduct

• Research fraud occurs when a researcher fakes or
  invents data that were not really collected, or
  falsifies the report how the research was
  conducted.
• Plagiarism is fraud that occurs when researcher
  steals the idea or writings of another or using
  them without citing the source.

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Ethical issues involving research subjects

• Origins of human subject Protection
• The most notorious violation were medical
  experiment conducted on Jews and others in Nazi
  Germany.
• A symbol of unethical research is Tuskegee
  Syphilis Study, also known as Bad Blood that
  began in 1929. Until 1970s the US Public Health
  Service sponsored a study in which poor, black
  men in Alabama suffered and died of untreated
  syphilis.

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Physical harm, psychological harm, legal, and
other harms

• Physical harm A straightforward ethical
  principle is that researchers should not cause
  physical harm.
• Psychological abuse, Stress, or Loss of
  Self-Esteem Social researchers may place people
  in stressful, embarrassing, anxiety-producing, or
  unpleasant situations.
• Legal Harm A researcher is responsible for
  protecting subjects from increased risk of
  arrest.
• Other forms of harms

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Deception

• Deception is acceptable only if there is a
  specific methodological reason for it, and even
  then, it should be sued to the minimum degree
  necessary.

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Informed consent

• Subjects can become aware of their rights and of
  what they are getting involved in when they read
  and sign a statement giving informed consent, a
  written agreement to participate given by
  subjects after they learn something about
  research procedures.

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Informed Consent Statements contain

• A brief description of the purpose and the
  procedure of research, including the expected
  duration of the study.
• A statement of any risks or discomfort associated
  with a participation
• A guarantee of anonymity and the confidentiality
  of records
• The identification of researcher and of where to
  receive information about subjects rights or
  questions about the study
• A statement that participation is completely
  voluntary and that can be terminated at any time
  without penalty
• A statement of alternative procedures that may be
  used
• A statement of any benefits or compensation
  provided to subjects and the number of subjects
  involved
• An offer to provide a summary of findings

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Privacy, Anonymity, and Confidentiality

• Privacy The ethical researcher violates privacy
  only to the minimum degree necessary and only for
  legitimate research purposes. In addition, she or
  he protects the information about the subjects
  from the public disclosure.
• Anonymity Anonymity means that subjects remain
  nameless or anonymous.
• Confidentiality Confidentiality means that
  information may have names attached to it, but
  the researcher holds it in confidence or keeps in
  secret from the public.

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Ethics and the scientific community

• Professional social science associations have
  codes and ethics. The codes state proper and
  improper behavior and represent a consensus of
  professional on ethics.