Social Sciences Research

Lecture

Ethics in Social Science Research

This lecture has three objectives. The first objective is to define ethics. The second objective is to briefly answer the question why ethics? The third objective is to discuss six ethical issues. After completing this assignment you should understand the importance of ethics for research and be able to apply ethical principles to research situations.

What is Ethics?

Ethics is branch of philosophy and theology that addresses the question what ought to be done; that is, what is good and right? In other words, ethics deal with matters of right and wrong. As applied to social research, ethics is “the set of values, standards, and principles used to determine appropriate and acceptable conduct at all stages of the research process” (Adler and Clark, 2002, p. 41).

Why Ethics?

The establishment of ethical standards by professional associations did not occur after

World War II. It was during the late1950s to the early 1970s that professional organizations begin to establish a code of ethics. The American Sociological Association did not adopt a code of ethics until 1971 and that was only after considerable debate (Adler and Clark, 2003). [For information about the American Sociological Association’s code of ethic see http://www.asanet.org] Some of the questionable or unethical research that caught the attention of researchers and resulted in the establishment of ethical standards include the following:

1. Nazi experiments conducted on civilian and military prisoners during World War.

2. Biomedical research that placed human subjects at risk without their knowledge.

3. Community studies that when published resulted in participants being to able to

identify themselves.

4. Stanley Milgram’s research on authority involving “electric shocks.”

5. Laud Humphrey’s research on homosexuality

6. The Tuskegee syphilis study.

Six Ethical Issues:

I. Informed Consent

For moral and legal reasons,...