Deck 4: Ethics on the Ground: A Moral Compass

Question 1

In Canada, ethical considerations for researchers working with human participants are laid out in the ________.

A) RCMP's Guideline of Ethics for All Canadians
B) Tri-Council Policy Statement
C) Government of Canada's Ethics Board Research Guidelines
D) Senate of Canada's ethical guidelines

Answer 1

Tri-Council Policy Statement

Question 2

According to the Tri-Council Policy Statement, the ethical principles that stand at the core of all research projects involving human participants are ________.

A) respect for persons, concern for human welfare, and justice
B) respect for persons and concern for human welfare
C) concern for human welfare and justice
D) respect for persons, concern for human welfare, and transparency

Answer 2

respect for persons, concern for human welfare, and justice

Question 3

The document containing the rules for ethical research involving humans in Canada has been jointly created by ________.

A) the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences Council, and the Social Sciences Research Council
B) the Natural Sciences Council, the Social Sciences Research Council, and the Humanities Research Council
C) the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
D) the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Humanities and Liberal Arts Research Council

Answer 3

the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Question 4

A research ethics board ________.

A) is an international board overseeing research that stems from the United Nations
B) is the board at the university level that has the ability to accept or reject any potential human-related research predicated upon its ethical implications
C) only operates in the purview of the university or college at which the research takes place
D) does not need to review work involving researchers from outside Canada

Question 5

In order to conduct ethical research, it is essential that the researcher ________.

A) spend equal time with all respondents
B) find a remedy for the problem he or she is investigating
C) find the absolute truth
D) is able to step out of his or her own immediate cultural and social worlds in order to understand the research participants

Question 6

Asking someone how something happened rather than why they did something encourages that person to discuss his or her motives in context and to create ________.

A) resentment in the research relationship
B) accounts in which the criminal courts are typically interested
C) a vocabulary of motives
D) the feeling of "reliving" the experience

Question 7

Anik is planning his fieldwork in rural British Columbia where he will be conducting fieldwork with a group of older tree planters. Anik is going into the field with an open mind, preparing to ask "how" questions instead of "why" questions, and preparing to forego a remedial attitude. He is also trying to prepare for how he will get his participants to open up candidly about their management but he knows that the geography and social setting of his field research involve close confines where management camp alongside the tree planters. By taking all of this into consideration prior to entering the field, Anik is trying to ________.

A) build his hierarchy of credibility
B) build his build moral compass
C) improve his bias
D) improve his interviewing skills

Question 8

According to the textbook, one barrier to developing an open-minded research question is ________.

A) trying too hard to support your initial ideas and impressions
B) sharing too much in common with your respondents
C) failing to consider the ethical implications of the project
D) getting "tunnel vision" and focusing too closely on one issue or angle only

Question 9

The example in the textbook of how, during her study of maternity homes, the administrators wanted Merlinda Weinberg's reports and field notes for the purpose of complying with an external funder's requirement demonstrates ________.

A) the ethical dilemma of "ratting out" your sources
B) the barriers that can arise when there is a conflict of interest
C) the limits of confidentiality and anonymity
D) why it is important to make arrangements with gatekeepers prior to starting your research

Question 10

Elliott Leyton's work on the Workmen's Compensation Board in Newfoundland demonstrates that ________.

A) researchers can resist the temptation to align themselves with the agency under study
B) doing research within a government agency poses complex ethical issues that may hinder the study
C) covert research is possible even within a government agency or corporation
D) publishing an unfavourable report on a large agency can have negative career consequences

Question 11

It is of critical importance that, regardless of how you collect your data, you must ________.

A) be aware of the effect your presence has on the community you study
B) always align your behaviour to that of the group you are studying
C) be sure to draw a firm line between "researcher" and "friend"
D) show respect for the participants by sharing your results

Question 12

An ethical dilemma that arises out of gaining increasing access to a given group as time goes by is ________.

A) you might lose sight of the fact that the research needs to be wrapped up in a given time frame
B) accumulating too much data and becoming saturated
C) participants may attempt to get the researcher to reveal information about others
D) participants are more open with the researcher

Question 13

According to the author, the key difference between deception in research and covert research is that ________.

A) deception requires consent forms to be signed, while covert research does not
B) deception is usually implemented in small groups, while covert research is best for large organizations or groups
C) deception is always unethical whereas covert research can be ethical
D) deception involves lying, whereas covert research implies the need for protection from potential danger

Question 14

The ethics of covert research are always closely tied to the ________.

A) gender of the researcher
B) intent of the researcher
C) group being studied
D) research ethics board, which reviews the application

Question 15

You complete a report in which you criticize the lack of knowledge about sterilization in medical practice in the early twentieth century. You have just committed the error of ________.

A) moralizing
B) failing to achieve verstehen
C) moral judgment
D) presentism

Question 16

When it comes to ethics in the digital age and using web information for your study, Heather Kitchin argues that ________.

A) there is still too much ambiguity to have a finite answer on how best to pursue online research
B) ethical considerations should apply in a similar way to all web sources irrespective of public accessibility
C) the level of ethical consideration should vary according to the relative accessibility of the information
D) since there is no sure way to know who you talk to on a given occasion, asking for the permission of a gatekeeper is pointless

Question 17

When spending time in the field and interacting with participants, it is important to do all of the following except ________.

A) keep confidential what other respondents have shared with you
B) refrain from putting in your notes what might upset your main informant
C) recognize that keeping participants anonymous might not be possible
D) try to ensure that close relationships with participants do not interfere with your ethical obligations to the other participants

Question 18

Many consider ________ to be an unethical study.

A) Humphreys's research on homosexual behaviour in public washrooms
B) Festinger et al.'s study of a doomsday cult
C) Smellers's study on the Alberta tar sands
D) Wright's study on sealers

Question 19

Conflicts of interest can arise easily and quickly when researchers want to study corporations, as the text illustrates by pointing to research conducted by ________.

A) Herbert Gans
B) Arlie Hochschild
C) Howard S. Becker
D) Heather Kitchin

Question 20

When writing up your report, you can accomplish the goal of ethical writing by doing each of the follow, except ________.

A) writing concisely
B) writing clearly
C) offering a balanced view
D) describing the hierarchy of credibility

Question 21

The Canadian Sociological Association Statement of Professional Ethics covers the following areas related to research: ________.

A) informed consent, covert research and deception, security and storage of data and personal information, and dissemination of findings
B) protecting people, informed consent, security and storage of data and personal information, and dissemination of findings
C) protecting people, informed consent, covert research and deception, security and storage of data and personal information, and dissemination of findings
D) organizing and initiating research, protecting people, informed consent, covert research and deception, security and storage of data and personal information, and dissemination of findings

Question 22

Harriot is using ________ as a research method. There are not as many ethical considerations for this ________ research method as some other qualitative methods but Harriot knows there are still issues she needs to consider. For example, Harriot should be aware of how presentism and her own tastes and opinions will impact her analysis.

A) content analysis; unobtrusive
B) content analysis; obtrusive
C) standardized interviews; unobtrusive
D) standardized interviews; obtrusive

Question 23

The initial Tri-Council Policy Statement was directed more toward biomedical studies and therefore did not really address ethical issues in qualitative social research.

Question 24

As the textbook demonstrates, the ethical complexity involved in doing research in a private organization or corporation makes it impossible to do such research.

Question 25

Will C. van den Hoonaard's example of having to ask the oddviti prior to beginning his research on a small community in Iceland demonstrates the risk that researchers take by informing the gatekeeper of their research intentions.

Question 26

The use of signed consent forms is highly contested by qualitative researchers.

Question 27

The benefit of completing research through content analysis is that there are no ethical considerations.

Question 28

A researcher should try to form authentic relationships with participants.

Question 29

Preconceived ideas can stand in the way of sound qualitative research.

Question 30

Canadian national academic societies, such as the Canadian Sociological Association and the Canadian Anthropology Society, make no efforts to align their professional ethics with those of the Tri-Council Policy Statement.

Question 31

The 2010 edition of the Tri-Council Policy Statement has a separate chapter devoted to qualitative research.

Question 32

Student researchers who conduct studies involving humans do not need to apply for ethics approval.

Question 33

Historically, researchers prioritized creating ethical spaces for research involving Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Question 34

Researchers generally spend very little time preparing for field work and preparing research-grant applications.

Question 35

List the three ethical principles that form the basis of many official research ethics codes. Discuss each briefly and explain why these are core ethical principles for ethical qualitative researchers.

Question 36

Describe the difference between covert research and deceptive research. As a novice qualitative researcher, would you be comfortable conducting research of this nature? Explain why or why not.

Question 37

Identify a research topic where it might be necessary for you as the researcher to deceive your respondents.

Question 38

List four of the questions the textbook argues should be considered before engaging in covert research and briefly summarize a study that was conducted using this method and the ethical implications of that study.

Question 39

Using information from the text, make an argument for or against using consent forms in qualitative research.

Question 40

Briefly describe the example of Guy Wright's work on seal hunters, and explain what critical concept this demonstrates.

Question 41

Describe what you should do to ensure that the dignity of the research participants is respected in your own work.

Question 42

In order to ensure that your work is ethical, describe what is essential in the writing-up phase of research.

Question 43

Pretend you are a professor and you are trying to obtain ethics approval from your university's Research Ethics Board for a study that examines the academic experiences of Indigenous students at your university. Identify and discuss the major ethical issues and how you can overcome them. Complete your university's ethics approval form if you have access to it.

Question 44

When considering the evolution of ethics in the digital age, Heather Kitchin (2002) argues that the application of ethical principles should vary according to the relative accessibility of individual web pages. Explain what Kitchin means here, identify a research topic, and describe a research design that involves publically accessible websites, as well as membership based websites. Describe the ethical challenges of researching both types of sites.