Ethics in Social Science Research
Scholars Must Follow a Code of Ethics to Maintain Integrity
Researchers must uniformly follow standards of professional conduct to ensure the welfare of research participants and the integrity of social science research.
Social science scholars encounter many ethical conundrums when studying human behavior. Different governing bodies have developed dynamic standards to guide researchers’ conduct in their field, but there are some general moral principles that most researchers would agree on. Consider the following ethical breaches, listed from least to most flagrant.
Deception
Classifying deception as an ethical breach reflects society’s general contempt for lying. Yet, researchers use deception regularly, so scholars have developed language and methods for making this practice more palatable.
An example of deception researchers commonly engage involves intentionally misleading subjects about the nature of the study in which they’re participating. For instance, researchers conducting a study about how students of different races interact may conceal the purpose of the study, so that the participants won’t act unnaturally.
Researchers shouldn’t design a study that incorporates deception unless they have determined that there’s no other way to conduct the research, and that the deceptive techniques are justified by the study’s potential value. Researchers shouldn’t deceive participants about any aspects of the study that would cause them physical harm or excessive emotional discomfort.
If the researchers use deception, they must reveal this to the study participants at some point, no later than the conclusion of the research. These guidelines still have an element of ambiguity, but provide a starting point for discussion with the institutional review board.
Informed Consent
Ethical guidelines require that researchers inform participants of the general nature of the research, so they can make an informed decision about whether or not to participate in the research. For example, researchers might decide to circulate a questionnaire as part of a registration packet to students. The hope that students might perceive the questionnaire as a part of the registration packet is a form of implicit coercion. Conscientious students may feel that they have to complete the questionnaire, or else compromise their enrollment in some way. The researchers are cashing in on this fear to reduce attrition rates in the study.
Falsified Data
One of the most serious ethical breaches a researcher can commit is publishing falsified data. Sound, reliable research progresses only to the degree that the researchers are honest. If researchers knowingly published a project using falsified data, they might be permanently banished from the academic community.
Falsifying data not only compromises the researcher’s professional status; it may also reduce the public’s trust in research and jeopardize future study in the area of interest. Furthermore, researchers are responsible for the ethical conduct of others under their supervision, so the onus is on the researcher to correct interviewers’ errors. If falsification is discovered, the researcher must take steps to correct the error through a correction, retraction, or other acceptable means.
Source:
Verdugo, E.D. (1998). Practical Problems in Research Methods. Pyrczak Publishing: Los Angeles.
