Week 13 Research Ethics

CHAPTER 3
THE ETHICS AND POLITICS

OF SOCIAL RESEARCH
Chapter Outline
 Introduction
 Ethical Issues in Social Research
 Two Ethical Controversies
 The Politics of Social Research
 Chapter Summary
 Questions
Ethical Issues in Social Research (slide 1 of 7)
 Ethical (Webster’s) – Conforming to the standards

of conduct of a given profession or group.
 Voluntary Participation
 No one should be forced to participate.
 Balance of science and ethics?
 Possible?
 No Harm to the Participants

 People being researched should never be injured
(physically, mentally, emotionally, socially,

psychologically).
 Examples: Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Stanford

Prison Experiment
 Possible to eliminate 100% of risk?

 Informed Consent – A norm in which subjects

based their voluntary participation in research
projects on a full understanding of the possible
risk involved.
 Sources of harm
 Anonymity and Confidentiality

 Anonymity – Guaranteed in a research project
when neither the researchers nor the readers of

the findings can identify a given response with a
given respondent.
 Confidentiality – Guaranteed when the research

can identify a given person’s responses but
promises not to do so publicly.
 Deception
 Deception within social research needs to be
justified by scientific or administrative concerns.
 Debriefing – Interviewing subjects to learn about

their experience of participation in the project.
 Analysis and Reporting

 Ethical obligation to colleagues in the scientific
community.
 All results must be reported (positive and

negative).
 All limitations must be admitted.

 Institutional Review Boards – A panel of faculty who

review all research proposals involving human
subjects so that they can guarantee that the
subjects’ rights and interests will be protected.
 Exceptions
Figure 3-1
Code of Ethics of the American Association for Public Opinion
Research
Source: Material taken from the AAPOR Code of Ethics and Practice. Accessible at
http://www.aapor.org/AAPOR_Code_of_Ethics/4249.htm, May 2010.
Two Ethical Controversies (slide 1 of 2)
 Trouble in the Tearoom – Laud Humphreys

 Studied homosexual activities in public restrooms
in parks
 Researcher became interested in the lives of
participants
 Researcher volunteered to become “watchqueen”
 Researcher collected personal information about
the participants (license numbers of cars)

 Which ethical issues are in question?
Two Ethical Controversies (slide 2 of 2)
 Observing Human Obedience – Stanley Milgram

 Participants imitated a laboratory-based World
War II controversy
 Participants were assigned job of “teacher” – to
teach a list of works to the “pupil.” If the pupil got

the word wrong, the teacher would administer
increasing levels of shocks to the pupil.
 Which ethical issues are in question?

The Politics of Social Research (slide 1 of 5)
 The ethics of social research deal mostly with the

methods employed.
 Political issues tend to center on the substance and
use of research.
 There are no formal codes of acceptable political

conduct, while there are formal codes of conduct for
social research.
 Objectivity and Ideology

 Science achieves objectivity through
intersubjectivity.
 Weber (1925): sociology needs to be

unencumbered by personal values if it is to make
a special contribution to society.
 Race
 Sexual research
 Census
 Politics with a Little “p”

 Social research in relation to contested social
issues cannot remain antiseptically objective.

 Politics in Perspective
1. Science is not untouched by politics.
2. Science does proceed in the midst of political

controversy and hostility.
3. An awareness of ideological considerations
enriches the study and practice of social
research methods.
4. Whereas researchers should not let their own
values interfere with the quality and honesty of
the research, this does not mean that
researchers cannot or should not participate in
public debates.
Chapter Summary
 Be able to identify and describe the key ethical

issues in social research.
 Explain why the research of Laud Humphreys and
Stanly Milgram were so ethically controversial.
 Give examples of how political issues can influence
the conduct of social research.
Questions
Question 1
1. _____ is a norm in which subjects base their

voluntary participation in research projects on a full
understanding of the possible risks involved.
A. Research participation
B. The Hawthorne effect
C. Informed consent
D. The code of ethics

Answer 1
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.
Question 2
2. Though the norm of voluntary participation is

important, it is often
A. justifiably violated
B. not received
C. impossible to follow
D. all of the above

Answer 2
ANSWER: D.
Though the norm of voluntary participation is
important, it is often justifiably violated, not received,
and impossible to follow.
Question 3
3. Ethics are not a consideration in which one of the

following fields of research?
A. natural sciences
B. psychology
C. medicine
D. sociology
E. None of the above – they all require ethical
considerations.
Answer 3
ANSWER: E.
Ethics enters in all of these fields: natural sciences,
psychology, medicine, and sociology.
Question 4
4. The major justification social scientists have for

requesting participation in a study is that
A. it may help the respondent.
B. it may help all humanity.
C. it may help the social scientist.
D. it may help government officials make policy

decisions.
E. it may help improve the educational system.
Answer 4
ANSWER: B.
The major justification the social scientists has for
requesting participation in a study is that it may help
all humanity.
Question 5
5. The controversy surrounding Laud Humphreys’

study of homosexuals suggests that he most violated
which of the following ethical principles?
A. anonymity and confidentiality
B. harm to subjects and data reporting without

identification
C. concealed identify or researcher and anonymity
D. harm to subjects and anonymity

Answer 5
ANSWER: D.
The controversy surrounding Laud Humphrey’s study
of homosexuals suggest that he most violated the
ethical principle of harm to subjects and anonymity.
Question 6
6. Which of the following is not a difference between

ethical and political aspects of social research?
A. Ethical considerations are more objective than
political considerations.
B. Ethical aspects include a professional code of
ethics, whereas political aspects do not.
C. Ethics deal more with methods, whereas political
issues deal with substance.
D. Ethical norms have been established, whereas
political norms have not been established.
Answer 6
ANSWER: A.
The following is not a difference between ethical and
political aspects of social research: Ethical
considerations are more objective than political
considerations.

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CHAPTER 3

THE ETHICS AND POLITICS

 Ethical (Webster’s) – Conforming to the standards

 Balance of science and ethics?

 No Harm to the Participants

(physically, mentally, emotionally, socially,

 Examples: Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Stanford

 Possible to eliminate 100% of risk?

 Informed Consent – A norm in which subjects

 Anonymity and Confidentiality

when neither the researchers nor the readers of

 Confidentiality – Guaranteed when the research

justified by scientific or administrative concerns.

 Debriefing – Interviewing subjects to learn about

 Analysis and Reporting

 All results must be reported (positive and

 All limitations must be admitted.

 Institutional Review Boards – A panel of faculty who

 Trouble in the Tearoom – Laud Humphreys

 Researcher collected personal information about

the participants (license numbers of cars)

 Observing Human Obedience – Stanley Milgram

teach a list of works to the “pupil.” If the pupil got

 Which ethical issues are in question?

 The ethics of social research deal mostly with the

 There are no formal codes of acceptable political

 Objectivity and Ideology

 Weber (1925): sociology needs to be

 Politics with a Little “p”

issues cannot remain antiseptically objective.

2. Science does proceed in the midst of political

 Be able to identify and describe the key ethical

1. _____ is a norm in which subjects base their

B. The Hawthorne effect

D. The code of ethics

2. Though the norm of voluntary participation is

D. all of the above

3. Ethics are not a consideration in which one of the

E. None of the above – they all require ethical

4. The major justification social scientists have for

B. it may help all humanity.

C. it may help the social scientist.

D. it may help government officials make policy

5. The controversy surrounding Laud Humphreys’

B. harm to subjects and data reporting without

D. harm to subjects and anonymity

6. Which of the following is not a difference between

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