Ethical Dilemmas
Ethics is concerned with the establishment of a set of moral standards
that govern behaviour in a particular setting or for a particular group.
Ethical research is therefore concerned with ensuring that ethical
principles and values always govern research involving humans (Walter,
2010 p. 90).
This activity focuses on 4 short scenarios from real situations, where the researcher is
faced with ethical dilemmas.
Scenario1: Questionnaire to class of young adults. (Quantitative Study)
As I read through the scenario notes, a number of things immediately occurred to me:
1. Should the class teacher have been a random choice rather than a friend of the
researcher?
2. Should the teacher have influenced the students and the research by making jokes
as the questionnaire was given out?
3. Will the research be flawed due to the teacher offering ‘extra credit for filling
them in well’, and what does ‘filling them in well’ really mean to the students and
the outcome of the research study?
4. As the consent forms are detached from the questionnaire, how does the researcher
know whose is who, and therefore is the data flawed because 2 students didn’t sign
their forms, hence their forms cannot be differentiated from the others?
5. A student complains about the teacher’s remarks and therefore questions whether
free consent was possible?
Based on readings from ‘The Ethics and Politics of Social Research’ (Babbie, p. 65), it
would appear that the data collection was flawed from the outset!
Students should always be told that their participation in the survey is completely
voluntary. Even so, most students will fear that nonparticipation will somehow affect
their grade. The instructor should therefore be especially sensitive to such
implications and make special provisions to eliminate them. For example, the
instructor could insure anonymity by leaving the room while the questionnaires are
being completed (Babbie, 2008 p. 68).
Firstly the researcher could seek assistance from the University Ethics Committee for
guidance. It would appear that the collected data would need to be destroyed and then
the process repeated in a more equitable and ethical manner. Both the class teacher and
the students would need to be informed of the decision, in such a way that neither the
teacher nor students felt they had compromised the study. The class teacher involved in
the next study might be an acquaintance or, even better, perhaps unknown to the
researcher. The class teacher should be carefully guided through the process in detail and
encouraged not to comment on the questionnaire and, if comfortable about it, leave the
room once students are assured they know what is involved, as instructed by the
researcher. The researcher could ask the students prior to them placing their
questionnaire in the box provided, to check they have signed the consent form.
Scenario 2: Interviewing a school principal. (Qualitative Study)
As I read through the scenario notes, a number of things immediately occurred to me:
1. Has the principal been unprofessional asking for the recorder to be turned off, then
making negative anecdotal comments about one of his or her staff, especially to a
person, whom one can only presume they knew very little about.
2. Should the interviewer have politely explained to the principal that only the
recorded interview can be used as data and therefore other anecdotal information
wasn’t necessary, hence steered him back to the initial question.
3. How does the principal know that the ‘off the record’ comments he or she has
made will not be used, or worse, passed on to the teacher concerned.
There is no doubt that numerous ethical issues arise from the above scenario. It would be
my immediate feeling that the whole interview was flawed once the principal went off the
record disclosing personal information and therefore risked both his or hers and the
researcher’s integrity. I presume one would once again need to discuss this with the Ethics
Committee to see where they stood on continuing the research with the school, in relation
to potential harm or benefit to all parties. The researcher would undoubtedly have access
to data, whether used or not, that might alter the research outcomes due to
confidentiality or bias. Perhaps it would also be beneficial for the researcher to modify
their questions to allow general comments from the principal rather than placing them in a
position where trust was broken. A new school and a more professional principal with
greater emphasis on generalised questions, where the process is more clearly outlined
from the outset might be a start to mending these ethical dilemmas.
Scenario 3: Undertaking research with year 9 and 10 students.
As I read through the scenario notes, a number of things immediately occurred to me:
1. What are the ethical issues, and there must be many, relating to using students
under the age of 18 for research purposes?
2. Students at that age are free spirited, and beginning to demand making their own
choices, not governed continually by parental choices, how does the researcher
deal with this ethically?
3. How would the researcher really know if the consent form was actually signed by
the parent, or could it perhaps be forged by the student, as is often the case with
student ID cards of students at the same age?
4. Is the teacher concerned for the students or more worried about the backlash he or
she might receive from any overly concerned parents, or both?
As the National Statement (module 4) indicates, consent must be gained from both
students and parents for full consent, and this can never be altered of watered down if
ethics are to be upheld. I did find the scenario a little difficult to follow in relation to
this, as it appears that full consent from all parties was gained, yet the researcher wanted
the students to make a free and informed decision about participation. I believe that the
researcher has put the teacher in a difficult position here. Both the researcher and
teacher would or should understand the ethics of the situation upfront, yet the researcher
has implicated this by wanting the students to make their own decisions, perhaps
disregarding that of their parents. Perhaps more information is necessary to really address
ethics in this scenario?
Scenario 4: Carrying out a research project with old people in a nursing home.
(Qualitative Study)
As I read through the scenario notes, a number of things immediately occurred to me:
1. Should one lady who is very helpful be more important than the group being
researched?
2. Does the researcher have any rights to remove personal property from the
respondents?
3. Due to the lady’s confusion when ringing the University claiming her photos have
been stolen, should she be involved in the research study in the first place?
4. Most importantly of all does the researcher need to consider whether old age
people in a nursing home are perhaps a vulnerable participation group?
The National Statement outlines that vulnerable groups must be protected at all times,
therefore generally speaking some old age people in a nursing home may not be
dependable respondents who make reliable decisions without confusion or influence from
others. How does the researcher differentiate between the reliability of one old person
and another in this case, and if the respondents were chosen by the people who run the
home, does this create bias? This type of research involves a great deal of ethical
consideration and therefore would need constant guidance from an ethics committee.
References:
Babbie, E. (2008). The Basics of Social Research 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Thomson.
Walter, M. (Ed.) (2010). Social Research Methods 2nd ed. Oxford, Australia.