Ethical Issues and Issues of Sensitivity in Sociological Research
Ethical issues are the considerations that can have an important
influence on the research process. They are moral principles- beliefs
about what is right and wrong, which often guide research.
Sociological associations in many countries have a set of ethical
guidelines for conducting research. There are six main ethical issues;
I will explore them below.
Sensitive issues are issues that need to be dealt with tactfully
because of their subject matter. This could include subjects such as
death, health issues, sex etc. These are potentially sensitive
subjects as the people being researched may have had an unpleasant
situation with them.
The first ethical issue I will investigate is "informed consent". This
is the idea that those the researchers are studying should be given
the opportunity to agree or refuse to participate in the research.
This means covert observation could not take place, as this involves
not letting people know they are being observed. Informed consent
means that the researcher must provide information about the aims of
the research, what the conduct of the research involves and the
purpose to which the research will be put. This issue was raised when
James Patrick did his research on "A Glasgow Gang Observed". This
involved him becoming part of a "gang", only one member of the gang
knew he was a researcher undercover. From spending time with the
group, he gained information about what they did, what their attitudes
were and how far they were willing to go e.g. breaking the law. This
research did not involve informed consent, as the majority of ...
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...o depends on
what sort of person the researcher is, are they highly principled? Or
are they willing to cut a few corners to make their research easier or
more accurate? How strict a researcher is can definitely benefit/ruin
their research. Telling the complete truth to participants about the
research could undermine the research or cause research problems, as
if the participants know they are being observed it could cause them
to act very differently. A lot of issues are not straightforward, some
conflict and often need a great deal of thought put into them. To do
completely accurate and valid research, the balance between respecting
participants' privacy, not deceiving them, being careful not to put
them at risk of harm and making sure the data collected is true has to
be right, and this is a difficult balance to get.
Healthcare ethics is defined as a system of moral principles that guide healthcare workers in making choices regarding medical care. At its core lies our attitudes regarding our personal rights and obligations we have to others. When an unprecedented situation comes into play, we rely on medical ethics to help determine an outcome that would be the best case scenario for all involved. In order to appropriately review this case study, we must first identify the key stakeholders, the ethical principles, policy implications at the federal, state, and local levels, financial implications, and a viable resolution for the situation.
...ects of their study before presenting it to an IBR to be certain it does protect the particpants' rights of respect, beneficience, and justice. Research is an important component of medical advancement; but only if it is performed in an ethical way following all requirements and regulations.
Abortion has been a political, social, and personal topic for many years now. The woman’s right to choose has become a law that is still debated, argued and fought over, even though it has been passed. This paper will examine a specific example where abortion is encouraged, identify the Christian world views beliefs and resolution as well as the consequences of such, and compare them with another option.
... It also makes us believe that multi-agency working are not doing a good job in keeping children safe from harm and that health services need to be more aware and take their responsibility seriously. As if they were more aware then these incident would not have happened.
...s that relies on data from assessment and monitoring activities, surveys and reporting systems, and projection techniques. Then, this data must be transformed into meaningful information to support effective policy decisions (Longest, 2010, pp. 29-57). Health policies should bridge the gaps between the current situation and desired outcomes without the financial influence of lobbyists.
determination as to whether a child is safe or at risk of future harm and assess the need for services. The child welfare worker assigned to investigate the case failed to ensure the above.
Another way to protect practitioners is to report any issues that may arise regarding safeguarding. A child may say something that could raise concerns or the adult may observe something, such as marks or suspicious bruising. Reporting this issue immediately may not only help the child experiencing safeguarding issues but also protect the adult from a child saying they had reported something at a later
Ethical Issues in Social Work I will provide practical help for new social workers to help them understand and deal with ethical issues and dilemmas which they will face. There are many ethical issues which are important to social work, but I feel that these are all covered by the care value base. The care value base Was devised by the care sector consortium in 1992, this was so that the workers in health and social care had a common set of values and principles which they would all adhere to. It is important because for the first time the social care sector had a clear set of guidelines from which ethical judgements could be made. The care value base is divided into 5 elements - The care value base covers - Equality and Diversity - Rights and responsibilities - Confidentiality - Promoting anti Discrimination - Effective communication Equality and Diversity Carers must value diversity themselves before they can effectively care for the different races, religions and differently abled people they will come across in their caring profession.
Human medical experiments are also known as human subject research. The Department of Health and Human Services describes a human research subject as a living person whom a researcher obtains data from. Human subject research is basically an experiment that is conducted to be used as research or clinically oriented that involves the use of humans for the experimentation. It involves both the gathering and evaluation of the information collected to answer a specific question. Some examples of clinically oriented studies include the analysis of biological specimens, epidemiological and behavioral studies. Some examples of research oriented studies include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires. Human subject studies are used in various fields, including research on basic biology, clinical medicine, nursing, psychology, sociology, political science, and anthropology.
Ethics, though sometimes overlooked, are an integral part in conducting proper research. Though the primary goal of the researcher may be to find answers that support his hypothesis—particularly, positive results that successfully can apply to the general population—maintaining ethical conditions is also just as important, if not more. Some of the most infamous studies that have occurred in the social sciences field throughout the years were ones that raised ethical concerns. One such study is known as the Landis Facial Expression Study that was conducted in 1924 by Carney Landis, who was a graduate student in psychology at the University of Minnesota at the time.
Also an advantage of participant observation is that the participant’s social behaviour is seen in their natural environment so there is higher external validity. However participant observation can be seen as unethical as the sociologist has a risk of possibly misrepresenting themselves gain information if they are using covert observation, nevertheless Barker used an overt approach. However it could be argued that due to the overt experiment that participants and in this case the Moonies have a high risk of the hawthorn effect which happens ‘when subjects’ [are] awareness of their participation in an experiment [so it] affects
However on the other hand, for all advantages; there are disadvantages. In some instances when people utilize and manipulate data, they may knowingly falsify data so that it may adhere to ones beliefs or theories. In addition there are people who may deliberately tamper with information as well. When collecting information, there must be neutrality when assessing and collecting data. In addition, professional competence and integrity must be superior and finally, all research subjects or respondents must be safeguarded from potential harm and sabotage.
Within this paper, it will be exploring the descriptive ethical implications of using ethnographic research when studying criminal gangs. In order to proceed to do this, this paper will explain the difference between descriptive and normative ethics, as well as what ethnographic research is and why it is a method used to provide information on criminal gangs. Thus, this paper will analyze the importance of this topic and try to provide further explanation of why there are descriptive ethical implications and also the importance of studying criminal gangs using ethnographic research. To inquire more in-depth research on how descriptive ethics impact the use of ethnographic research, this paper will be an informant on what descriptive ethics
In this case, the psychologist is presented with several ethical issues which could cause harm to the client. The first ethical issue that arose in this case is the potential for a role conflict. The psychologist and Mr. Hartwig had contact prior to the development of a therapeutic relationship when the psychologist bought a car from Mr. Hartwig. It may not be enough that the brief, informal relationship ended. The psychologist must assess the dimensions of the previous relationship from the viewpoint of the client as well as his/her own personal feelings (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2008). For example, the client could feel that he gave the psychologist a good deal and that the psychologist was indebted to him. This could leave the psychologist vulnerable to being manipulated by the client. Or, what if the car broke down? This could leave the psychologist feeling cheated and resulted in hostile feelings toward the client. The psychologist has an ethical responsibility to examine both relationships for role incompatibility prior to forming a therapeutic relationship. The psychologist seemed to be aware that there was the potential role conflict resulting from their initial meeting, and he acted ethically by attempting to refer Mr. Hartwig to a Psychology Registry.
Social psychology has been defined as the study of thought processes and the events that go on in the mind of an individual as a result of some form of social interaction. (Catherine J Kelly, 2013). According to the free dictionary ethics is the study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral, choices to be made by a person, moral philosophy.