Review the section on Ethical Issues in Social Research. For this activity, you will be creating an example of an experiment that violates one of these ethical issues. Yes, you read that right…. an unethical research project.
For example:
What if a psychology instructor asks students in an introductory class to complete questionnaires that the instructor will analyze and use in preparing a journal article for publication? The research could potentially be on students that take a Political Science 50 course in Los Angeles. However, why would this survey method violate ethical standards?
Or…. If after a field study of deviant behavior during a riot, law enforcement officials demand that the researcher identify those persons who were observed looting. Rather than risk arrest as an accomplice after the fact, the researcher complies. What are the potential ways this could violate ethics? Is there more than one violation? The research could be examining why youth riot after sports games, important research, however in what ways is the researcher in violation of ethical standards?
These are only two examples. Now let’s create one of our own. Create a research project that violated ethical standards. Include the purpose of the research, why it’s necessary, and who will be researched. This will be our topic in the discussion. Discuss with your classmates your example of an unethical research project. (please keep them at least pg13 rated and collegial!!) Discuss your research project’s purpose and what problem it’s trying to solve. Argue for your unethical practice and explain why it’s necessary to conduct the research in the manner you’ve chosen.