Making Sense of
the Social World
4th Edition
Chapter 3: Ethics in Research
Outline: The Process and Problems





What is the Question?
What is the Strategy?
What is the Theory?
What is the Design?
Is it Ethical?
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications
Research on Human Subjects Is
Guided by Three Ethical Principles



Respect for persons: Treating persons as
autonomous agents and protecting those with
diminished autonomy
Beneficence: Minimizing possible harms and
maximizing benefits
Justice: Distributing benefits and risks of
research fairly
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications

Federal regulations require that every
institution that seeks federal funding for
biomedical or behavioral research on
human subjects have an institutional
review board (IRB) that reviews research
proposals.
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications
In other words, social scientists planning to conduct
research with human subjects usually must receive IRB
approval and follow professional as well as institutional
ethical guidelines.
This might involve a formal presentation to the IRB
explaining exactly how the research will be conducted
and any possible risks and benefits to the people
involved in the study.
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications
The American Sociological Association (ASA)
Guidelines:





Research should cause no harm to subjects.
Participation in research should be voluntary,
and therefore subjects must give their informed
consent to participate in the research.
Researchers should fully disclose their identity.
Anonymity or confidentiality must be maintained
for individual research participants unless it is
voluntarily and explicitly waived.
Benefits from a research project should outweigh
any foreseeable risks.
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications
How Should “No Harm to Subjects” Be
Interpreted?



Does it mean that subjects should not be at all
harmed psychologically as well as physically?
That they should feel no anxiety or distress
whatever during the study, or only after their
involvement ends?
Should the possibility of any harm, no matter
how remote, deter research?
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications
The Requirement of Informed Consent Is More
Difficult to Define Than It First Appears




Consent must be given by persons who are competent to
consent. Whom might not be included in this group?
Consent must be voluntary. Does this include research
on prisoners? How about research on students? Might
there be an element of coercion?
Participants must be fully informed about the nature of
the research. What if explaining the research affects the
spontaneity of the subjects behavior or answers? Can
you conduct covert or deceptive research?
Not all harm is foreseeable and then can be disclosed to
participants.
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications
Maintaining Confidentiality and Anonymity Is Not
Always Straightforward



Procedures such as locking records and creating special
identifying codes must be created to minimize the risk of
access by unauthorized persons.
Laws allow research records to be subpoenaed and may
require reporting child abuse.
The standard of confidentiality does not apply to
observation in public places and information available in
public records.
Social media and digital technologies blur
lines between public and private behavior.
- Is behavior on websites such as Facebook
and Twitter public or private?

Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications
The evaluation of ethical issues in a research
project should be based on a realistic
assessment of the overall potential for harm and
benefit to research subjects rather than an
apparent inconsistency between any particular
aspect of a research plan and a specific ethical
guideline.
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications
Ultimately, these decisions about ethical
procedures are not just up to you, as a
researcher, to make. Your university’s IRB sets
the human subjects protection standards for
your institution and may even require that you
submit your research proposal to them for
review.
Chambliss/Schutt, Making Sense of the Social World 4th edition
© 2012 SAGE Publications