THE ETHICS AND POLITICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

1
CHAPTER 3

• THE ETHICS AND POLITICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

2
The Ethics of Social Research

• Consideration of ethics is a primary component of
  social scientific research planning.
• Any member of the VCU community who plans to
  conduct research on human subjects must get the
  approval of the VCU Institutional Review Board.

3
Do we have to submit your survey research
exercise to the VCU IRB?

• Figure it out using information on the VCU IRB
  page and its links!
• Considerations include
• Are human subjects involved?
• Is it research?
• If IRB review is required, which status would be
  appropriate?

4
Ethical principles according to Babbie
5
The Politics of Social Research

• Differences between ethics and politics of social
  research
• 1. Ethics - how the methods of research affect
  human participants. Politics - content and
  potential uses of social research.
• 2. Ethics - professional codes of conduct.
  Politics - no formal codes of acceptable
  political conduct.

6
Controversy - Max Weber "value-free sociology"
(sociologists need to be unencumbered with
personal values when they conduct research).

• Can social scientists be completely objective in
  their choice of research projects and their
  application of findings?

7
Political issues in social research (a personal
example)

• Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey
• 2003 CDC survey form
• 2001 national YRBS report
• Links for YRBS in other states Massachusetts,
  Michigan, Vermont, Wisconsin.

8
Cautionary notes

• There are no formal codes of acceptable political
  conduct in social research.
• When evaluating information from research, always
  be aware of the sponsorship of the research
  project and how that might affect the study
  design and reporting.
• Consider whether the results of the research
  could have political implications.