The Ethics and Politics of Social Research

1
Chapter 3

• The Ethics and Politics of Social Research

2
Chapter Outline

• Introduction
• Ethical Issues in Social Research
• Two Ethical Controversies
• The Politics of Social Research

3
Ethical Issues in Social Research

• Voluntary participation
• No harm to participants
• Anonymity and confidentiality

4
Ethical Issues in Social Research

• Deception must be justified by compelling
  scientific concerns.
• Researchers must be honest about their findings
  and research.

5
Question

• Which constraints must be placed on social
  research for it to be considered realistic?
• scientific constraints
• administrative constraints
• ethical constraints
• all of these choices

6
Answer D

• Scientific, administrative and ethical
  constraints must be placed on social research for
  it to be considered realistic.

7
Informed Consent

• Subjects in a study must base their voluntary
  participation on a full understanding of the
  possible risks involved.

8
Anonymity

• The researcher cannot identify a given response
  with a given respondent.

9
Confidentiality

• Researcher can identify a given person's
  responses but promises not to do so publicly.

10
Question

• ______________ is a norm in which subjects base
  their voluntary participation in research
  projects on a full understanding of the possible
  risks involved.
• research participation
• the Hawthorne effect
• informed consent
• the code of ethics
• none of these choices

11
Answer C

• Informed consent is a norm in which subjects base
  their voluntary participation in research
  projects on a full understanding of the possible
  risks involved.

12
Question

• Though the norm of voluntary participation is
  important, it is often
• justifiably violated
• not received
• impossible to follow
• all of these choices

13
Answer D

• Though the norm of voluntary participation is
  important, it is often justifiably violated, not
  received, and impossible to follow.

14
Debriefing

• Interviews to discover any problems generated by
  the research experience so they can be corrected.

15
Ethical Issues in Social Research

• Institutional Review Boards
• Review research proposals involving humans so
  they can guarantee the rights and interests are
  protected.

16
Ethical Issues in Social Research

• Professional Codes of Ethics
• Most professional associations have formal codes
  of conduct that describe acceptable and
  unacceptable professional behavior.

17
Ethical ControversyLaud Humphreys

• Study of homosexual behavior in public restrooms.
• Lied to participants by telling them he was a
  voyeur-participant.
• Traced participants to their home and interviewed
  them under false pretenses.

18
Ethical Controversy Stanley Milgram

• Study of human obedience.
• Subjects had role of "teacher" and administered a
  shock to "pupils".
• Pupils were actually part of the experiment.

19
Ethics and Politics of Social Research

• Ethics deals mostly with methods used in
  research.
• Politics deals with the substance and use of
  research.
• There are no formal codes of accepted political
  conduct.

20
Politics in Perspective

• Science is not untouched by politics.
• Science proceeds in the midst of political
  controversy and hostility.

21
Politics in Perspective

• Awareness of ideologies enriches the study and
  practice of social research methods.
• While researchers should not let their values
  interfere with their research, this does not mean
  that researchers should not express both their
  scientific expertise and personal values.

22
Question

• Both ethics and politics hinge on
• idiographic research
• power and resources
• manifest research
• ideological points of view

23
Answer D

• Both ethics and politics hinge on ideological
  points of view.

24
Quick Quiz
25

• 1. Ethics are not a consideration in which one
  of the following fields of research? Or do ethics
  enter in all of these fields?
• natural sciences
• psychology
• medical
• sociology
• ethics enter in all of them

26
Answer E

• Ethics enter in all of these fields natural
  sciences, psychology, medical and sociology.

27

• 2. The major justification the social scientist
  has for requesting participation in a study is
  that
• it may help the respondent.
• it may help all humanity.
• it may help the social scientist.
• it may help government officials make policy
  decisions.
• it may help improve the educational system.

28
Answer B

• The major justification the social scientist has
  for requesting participation in a study is that
  it may help all humanity.

29

• 3. The controversy surrounding Laud Humphreys
  study of homosexuals suggests he most violated
  which of the following ethical principles?
• anonymity and confidentiality
• harm to subjects and data reporting without
  identification
• concealed identity of researcher and anonymity
• value-free inquiry and concealed identity of
  researcher
• harm to subjects and anonymity

30
Answer E

• The controversy surrounding Laud Humphreys study
  of homosexuals suggests he most violated the
  ethical principle of harm to subjects and
  anonymity.

31

• 4. Which of the following is not a difference
  between ethical and political aspects of social
  research? Or are they all differences?
• Ethical considerations are more objective than
  political considerations.
• Ethical aspects include a professional code of
  ethics, whereas political aspects do not.
• Ethics deal more with methods, whereas political
  issues deal with substance.
• Ethical norms have been established, whereas
  political norms, for the most part, have not been
  established.
• All are differences.

32
Answer A

• The following is not a difference between ethical
  and political aspects of social research Ethical
  considerations are more objective than political
  considerations.