1. Ethical guidelines and voluntary participation
An introduction to conducting social research should include the
four main categories of constraints on research: scientific,
administrative, ethical, and political. Some research study
designs, despite exploring topics and being scientifically sound,
are ethically prohibitive.
Circle Answer:
Many professions operate under ethical (permissions,
constraints). Anyone involved in social science research needs to
(be aware of, purchase) the general agreements shared by
researchers about what is proper and improper in the conduct of
scientific inquiry.
One major tenet of social research ethics is that experimental
participation (need not, must) be voluntary.
Multiple Choice:
Which of the following is a scientific concern that conflicts
with voluntary participation?
a. objectivity
b. internal validity
c. generalizability
d. honest reporting
Madison is interested in the subject of high school drug use.
She convinces the principal at the local high school to have all of
the social studies teachers administer an anonymous questionnaire
she wrote. Madison then analyzes the data, making sure any
information that could possibly identify individual students is not
in her report.
Is there an ethical violation in the study described, and if so,
what is it?
a. there are no apparent ethical violations
b. Madison does not protect the identities of the high school
students she studies.
c. the high school students do not know they are being
studied
d. the high school students know they are being studied but are
in a position where they might expect benefits for participating or
consequences for not participating.