Deck 3: Ethics in Research

Question 1

Researchers are not required to reveal their identity to participants under the ASA's Code of Conduct.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Milgram's "obedience" studies began at Yale University in 1946.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Milgram used both undergraduates and non-student populations in his studies on obedience.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Nuremberg War Crimes Trials were one case that led to the development of formal procedures for the protection of participants in research.

Question 5

There were no concerns about the ethical treatment of participants in Stanley Milgram's obedience studies.

Question 6

Anonymity and confidentiality must be maintained under the ASA's Code of Conduct.

Question 7

It's hard to justify any risk to human subjects or any expenditure of time and money if our findings tell us nothing about human behavior.

Question 8

The researcher who conducted famous studies on obedience was Stanley Milgram.

Question 9

The institutional body that reviews proposed research involving human subjects is called the Belmont Reporting Commission.

Question 10

According to the ASA's Code of Conduct, research should cause no harm to subjects.

Question 11

Commitment to achieving valid results is not an important consideration in ethical research.

Question 12

The goal of validity is the pursuit of objective knowledge about human behavior.

Question 13

Every social scientist needs to consider how to practice his or her discipline ethically.

Question 14

It's only important to maintain participants' confidentiality in rare cases.

Question 15

The American Sociological Association has adopted ethical guidelines that are more lenient than federal standards.

Question 16

Research ethics encourages us to think about research from a moral standpoint.

Question 17

The Belmont Report established three basic ethical principles for the protection of human subjects.

Question 18

Institutions seeking federal funds for research involving human subjects must have a group that reviews research proposals.

Question 19

It's very important for scientists to be open and honest about their research methods and their findings.

Question 20

The act of publication is not a necessary element in maintaining openness and honesty in ethical research.

Question 21

Vulnerable populations who are protected in research guidelines include all of the following except:

A) Prisoners
B) Pregnant women
C) Mentally disabled persons
D) Educationally or economically disadvantaged persons
E) Undergraduate university students

Question 22

Which act was passed in 1996 by Congress to create stricter regulations for the protection of health care data?

A) IRB
B) IMF
C) HIPPO
D) HIPAA
E) ASA

Question 23

Which of the following is not a current ethical standard concerning the treatment of human subjects?

A) Research should cause no harm to subjects
B) Anonymity or confidentiality must be maintained
C) Researchers should fully disclose their identity
D) Subjects should be compensated for their time and effort
E) Benefits of the research should outweigh any foreseeable risks

Question 24

Which researcher was criticized by some for failing to reveal his or her identity and the purpose of his study to the participants in a study on men who engage in homosexual behavior in public places?

A) Stanley Milgram
B) Philip Zimbardo
C) Laud Humphreys
D) Diana Baumrind
E) None of the above

Question 25

In the process of debriefing, the researcher:

A) Explains to the subject what happened in the study and why
B) Tries to make sure the participants are competent to give consent
C) Discloses her or his identity partially
D) Obtains research approval from the IRB
E) Publishes the results of the study

Question 26

Which of the following serious human rights abuse cases led to the creation of ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects?

A) The Nuremberg War Crime Trials
B) The Stanford Prison Simulation Experiment
C) The Tuskegee Syphilis Study
D) Both a and b
E) Both a and c

Question 27

What famous prison simulation raised questions about the ethical treatment of subjects?

A) Harvard University Jail Study
B) Milgram's obedience study
C) Stanford Prison Study
D) Yale University obedience experiment
E) Humphreys Tearoom Trade

Question 28

Consent may only be given by people who:

A) Are competent to give consent
B) Have consented voluntarily
C) Are fully informed about the research
D) Have comprehended what they've been told
E) All of the above

Question 29

Children are only allowed to give ______ to participate in research; their legal guardian must then provide written ______ for them to participate.

A) consent; assent
B) assent; consent
C) consent; permission
D) Either a or b
E) Either b or c

Question 30

The researcher's commitment to maintaining privacy and confidentiality:

A) Should be included in the informed consent agreement
B) Is a key ethical standard for protecting participants
C) Does not apply to observations in public places or information available in public records
D) Both a and b
E) All of the above

Question 31

If deception is used in an experiment, the researcher must ________ the participants afterwards, in order to conduct ethical research.

A) debrief
B) advise
C) disclose
D) notify
E) none of the above

Question 32

Which of the following are some of the ethical principles emphasized by the ASA's Code of Conduct?

A) Do no harm to subjects
B) Benefits should outweigh possible risks
C) Researchers should disclose their identity
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 33

There are special protections in place regarding research involving:

A) Vulnerable populations
B) Indecent populations
C) Egregious populations
D) Fearful populations
E) All of the above

Question 34

Regarding the ability to give consent to participate in research, adolescents (ages 13-17):

A) Can give consent if they sign a consent form
B) Are never allowed to be used in research
C) May give assent to participate, but must have a legal guardian give written permission for them to participate
D) Can be used if the researcher asks the IRB very nicely
E) May only participate if the researcher can prove there are no possible risks to them

Question 35

A researcher wants to study cheating among high school students. Instead of just asking them how often do they cheat, the researcher sets up a mock test where participants are told they are being tested for intuitiveness and are given ample opportunities to peek at other participant's tests. They are then fully informed about the research after the experiment is completed. This is an example of:

A) Consent
B) Deception
C) Trickery
D) Obedience
E) Disillusion

Question 36

________ must occur if deception is used in an experiment.

A) Debriefing
B) Informed consent
C) Reimbursement
D) Confidentiality
E) Beneficence

Question 37

The simple answer to the question "What is ethical research practice?" is:

A) Never using deception
B) Only using children in an obviously ethical manner
C) Making sure no harm is caused to subjects
D) Being sure to compensate human subjects for their participation
E) There is no simple answer

Question 38

Which of the following types of research creates few ethical problems?

A) Survey
B) Experiment
C) Descriptive
D) Explanatory
E) Exploratory

Question 39

Stanley Milgram's famous "obedience" studies began at Yale University in:

A) 1945
B) 1960
C) 1975
D) 1990
E) 2005

Question 40

According to the ASA's Code of Conduct, subjects must give their consent to participate if they are:

A) Competent to consent
B) Fully informed of the research
C) Giving consent voluntarily
D) Getting paid to do research
E) All answers except d

Question 41

Which of the following are issues with obtaining informed consent?

A) Consent form must be clear and understandable.
B) Consent form should be sufficiently long and detailed to explain what will actually happen in the research.
C) Some participants cannot truly give consent.
D) Must be aware of vulnerable populations.
E) All of the above

Question 42

What is the primary focus of research ethics?

A) Protect the researcher
B) Protect the organization that funds the research
C) Protect the university
D) Protect the subjects
E) Protect women and children only

Question 43

_________ is a document issued by the National Institutes of Health to protect researchers from being legally required to disclose confidential information.

A) Certificate of Privacy
B) Confidentiality Document
C) Document to the Right to Privacy
D) Research Protection License
E) Certificate of Confidentiality

Question 44

Describe an instance where a researcher would be obligated to break confidentiality and report an incident to the proper authorities.
Answer Key

Question 45

Explain the processes of deception and debriefing.

Question 46

Describe the process of gaining assent/consent to conduct research involving children as participants.

Question 47

What are the four primary guidelines for ethical research according to the American Sociological Association's Code of Conduct (1997)?

Question 48

How can social media and digital technologies be both private and public information? How does this affect ethics in research?

Question 49

Briefly describe the historical development of formal procedures for the protection of human subjects in research. Be sure to include some of the notorious human rights cases that led to the creation of the first Ethics Committees.

Question 50

_________ did not give consent to his subjects while he obtained information on the social background of men who engage in homosexual behavior in public facilities.

A) Milgram
B) Humphreys
C) Sherman
D) Berk
E) Zimbardo

Question 51

A Certificate of Confidentiality protects researchers who are focusing on high-risk populations or behaviors or sensitive topics such as:

A) Crime
B) Substance abuse
C) Sexual activity
D) Genetic information
E) All of the above

Question 52

Although researchers are often protected from sharing confidential records of their participants, they still must report:

A) Genetic information
B) Child abuse or neglect
C) Use of narcotics
D) Deviant sexual behavior
E) All of the above

Question 53

Consider the Milgram Obedience Studies and the Stanford Prison Simulation Study. Discuss some of the ethical concerns regarding the treatment of participants in both studies. Do you think the benefits of the knowledge that was gained from these experiments outweighed the risks to the participants?

Question 54

In at least three paragraphs, discuss why there is no simple answer to the question "What is, or isn't, ethical research practice?"

Question 55

According to the text, which of the following is not given special protections because of their vulnerability to coercion?

A) Pregnant women
B) Prisoners
C) Mentally disabled persons
D) Elderly
E) Educationally or economically disadvantaged persons

Question 56

The ___________ was passed by Congress in 1996 and created stricter regulations for the protection of health care data.

A) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
B) Health Care Data Protection Act (HCDPA)
C) Health Care Provider Regulations Act (HCPRA)
D) Participant Data Act (PDA)
E) None of the above

Question 57

Outline the ASA's guidelines for ethical social research. Identify the situations in which each of the guidelines may be confusing, complex, or flexible.

Question 58

Give an example of when deception may be necessary in a research study. Why would participants need to be deceived? How would you justify to an IRB that the benefits of deception outweigh the possible risks? How would you debrief participants after the study?

Question 59

Which of the following is a way to ensure and protect a subject's privacy and confidentiality after a research study as stated in the text?

A) Locking up records
B) Creating special identifying codes
C) Use pseudonyms when writing up research
D) a and b
E) All of the above

Question 60

In which circumstances may it be defensible for a researcher to deceive his or her subjects? If deception is defensible, what must a researcher do over the course of research to maintain ethical standards? Discuss in some detail the issues of deception during the Stanford Prison Experiment.