Three Cases of Ethical Controversy

CHERYL V IERHEIL IG

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX

(9/27/2015)

Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Study•Increasing electric shock levels if the pupil made mistakes in this case is an unjust and unfair treatment in this study.

•Informed consent forms should reveal all the conditions of the study which did not in this case study.

•Researchers must provide certain essential points of information, such as the purpose of the research, a description of what the subject will be asked to do, any foreseeable risks of harm, and that the study is voluntary and subjects are free to withdraw at any time according to the Belmont Report (Bailey, 2014).

•Extreme stress and potential harm were too great in this study. The researcher should not have said to keep going on when the participants were being exposed to extreme stress and harm.

Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Study cont.•This obedience study should have followed the necessary guidelines according to the Office for Human Research Protections that state the meaning of “informed consent”.

•The foreseeable risks of extreme harm were not made prevalent to the participants.

•Voluntariness is an essential component of respect for persons. Research subjects must be free to choose to participate in research. They also must be free to end their participation for any reason, without consequences (Bailey, 2014).

•A choice should have been offered to withdraw from the study and not prolong it with the participants.

Laud Humphrey’s Tearoom Trade Study•Deception was used in this case study and represents violating the principle of voluntary consent. The researcher did not expose his true identity and posed as another person, pretending to be something he was not and a lookout person.

•Principles of voluntary consent is an ethical principle that people should never participate in research unless they explicitly and freely agree to participate (Neuman, 2011).

•The researcher unlawfully recorded license plate numbers which was unethical and against privacy standards.

Laud Humphrey’s Tearoom Study Cont.•The research violated the automony of the individuals.

•This case present an invasion of privacy, lack of informed consent, and failure to protect against deductive disclosure of identity.

•Individuals, in a variety of settings, provide personal information with the expectation that it not be made public according to Hicks, (2014) as showcased in this study.

Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment•Physical and psychological abuse of "prisoners" by "guards" escalated in this case study and several of the subjects experienced psychological and physical distress less than 36 hours after the study began.

•The consent process contained no provisions allowing subjects to withdraw at will, and no risks of harm beyond loss of privacy were addressed.

•According to Zimbardo (2012), the consent form signed by the subjects only allowed them "to be released from participation for reasons of health deemed adequate by the medical advisers to the research project or for other reasons deemed appropriate”.

•Clearly, the study lasted too many days as it caused emotional stress on the participants.

Addressing Ethical Issues Related to The Research Process & Participants.•The Belmont Report outlines three key ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

•In addressing ethical issues, respect for others and automony should be consistent and highly regarded when dealing with subjects of a research study.

•Voluntariness should be incorporated into any research study.

Addressing Ethical Issues Related to The Research Process & Participants Continued.

•Principle of beneficence and what it entails.

•Justice requires that the benefits and burdens of research are equitably distributed.

•Studies focusing on political violence or other illicit activities may expose subjects to legal harms (Bailey, 2014).

•Research fraud and plagiarism can happen in the research process.

Addressing Ethical Issues Related to the Research Site• When addressing ethical issues related to a research site and whether a setting is public, by federal definition, is determined in large part by the potential subjects' expectations of privacy, rather than any absolute distinctions between public and private spaces (Hicks, 2014).

• Researchers who wish to obtain information in a context in which subjects would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, may choose to use covert observation (concealed audio or video recording devices, or using a one-way mirror) or assume a role in the setting or group being studied (Hicks, 2014).

•Such studies raise significant concerns about violation of privacy and require additional protections and safeguards for subjects. Observational studies in quasi-public places, for example, hospital emergency rooms, also may raise such concerns (Hicks, 2014).

Addressing Ethical Issues Related to Data Collection & Data Storage•When addressing ethical issues related to data collection and data storage, interactions may include communication or interpersonal contact between the subject and the researcher.

•Communication may exist entirely on paper or in electronic realms or online surveys.

•Participant observation is a variant of interaction, often including both formal and informal interviews in addition to observation (Hicks, 2014).

•Interventions include physical procedures through which data are gathered, such as (1) measuring brain function to supplement paper and pencil inquiries into the development of language, and (2) behavioral interventions such as experimental education programs or unproven psychosocial therapies (Hicks, 2014).

Data Analyses•A systematic investigation is the opposite of a disorganized, random venture.

•Both qualitative and quantitative researchers use systematic investigation in the course of their research.

•Quantitative researchers may test hypotheses and theories with the data they collect, while qualitative researchers may generate hypotheses or theories based on the data they gather.

•Quantitative researchers may focus on statistical analyses based on precise measurements.

•Large businesses collect, buy, sell, analyze, and exchange information on people everyday (Neuman, 2011).

Conclusion•When conducting research in an ethical manner, it is essential to uphold and defend the principles of the social science approach and to demand ethical conduct by others.

•Research participants should not be exploited.

•Informed consent is highly recommended or required.

•Honor participants with privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity.

•Do not coerce or humiliate research participants.

•Share the details of the study design with the results.

•Do not conduct secret research.

•Use a research method that is appropriate to the topic.

ReferencesBailey, L.R. (2014). Ethical Principles of the Belmont Report. Retrieved from: https://www.citiprogram.org/members/index.cfm?pageID=665&ce=1

Hicks, L.P. (2014). Ethical Principles of the Belmont Report. Retrieved from: https://www.citiprogram.org/members/index.cfm?pageID=665&ce=1

Neuman, W. L. (2011). Social Research Methods. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. 1979. "The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research, The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research."