ASSIGNMENT 3



Assignment 3



Assignment 3

Part I

Ethical role of the researcher in Social Scientific investigation

Role is characterized by both descriptive and prescriptive aspects. One can choose to affirm or deny role responsibility. Particularly when the occupant of a position is an engineer, researcher, or professional, it might be expected that the requisite knowledge and skills encumbent in these esteemed positions would be sufficient to guarantee research integrity except in a few extraordinary cases.

So, what might explain why scientists and other professionals do not live up to their highest ideals? Professionalism entails a multiplicity of tasks and a variety of new roles; not all individuals occupying these roles of trust have been adequately prepared for and socialized to them. Society is characterized by autonomous spheres of endeavor within which only some roles are realized, and therefore accountability may be weak or lacking. Conversely, actions are often collective, i.e., via team approaches to problem posing and problem solving, which can undermine individual responsibility(Chalk Frankel Chafer 1980 pp. 101, 102).

Indeed, the importance of recognizing the role of the “system” in contributing to incidences of research misconduct was noted during conference discussions. All of these potentially conflicting factors may make it difficult for a researcher to know with confidence what is ethically expected of him or her. Further, what constitutes integrity is, itself, subject to varying interpretations. So what is right and true, ethical and fair may not be readily definable.

Although the federal government has in recent years moved to implement greater oversight of the conduct of federally-funded research, focusing on the government definition of research misconduct is too narrow to address the range of behaviors that could threaten the integrity of research.7 Other questionable practices, while not covered by federal regulations, often are far more prevalent than instances of misconduct, and must be confronted in order to avoid the “normalization of deviance.” Social science scholars encounter many ethical conundrums when studying human behavior. Different governing bodies have developed dynamic standards to guide researchers' conduct in their field, but there are some general moral principles that most researchers would agree on. Consider the following ethical breaches, listed from least to most flagrant. (Teich Frankel 1992 p. 19)

Deception

Classifying deception as an ethical breach reflects society's general contempt for lying. Yet, researchers use deception regularly, so scholars have developed language and methods for making this practice more palatable.

An example of deception researchers commonly engage involves intentionally misleading subjects about the nature of the study in which they're participating. For instance, researchers conducting a study about how students of different races interact may conceal the purpose of the study, so that the participants won't act unnaturally.

Researchers shouldn't design a study that incorporates deception unless they have determined that there's no other way to conduct the research, and that the deceptive techniques are justified by the study's potential value. Researchers shouldn't deceive participants about any aspects of the study that would cause them physical harm or excessive emotional discomfort.

If the researchers use deception, they must reveal this to the study participants at some point, no later than the conclusion of the ...