Deck 11: Ethical Issues

Question 1

Conflicting pressure in doing social scientific research involves:

A) the compromise between researcher interest and scientific interests
B) what represents the ideal versus the ethical in research design
C) pressures from society versus pressures from colleagues
D) the perceived need to publish results (valid or not)

Answer 1

B

Question 2

If you are hired to "develop a scientific case for..." then:

A) you have an ethical responsibility to do the most competent research of which you are capable
B) you have an significant ethical problem
C) must become a citizen-advocate in all cases
D) all of the above

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The deontological view holds that:

A) the end justifies the means
B) there is no set of absolute moral principles
C) moral principles should never be broken
D) research is a social enterprise and should be judged as such

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The consequentialist view is similar to:

A) the social contract approach
B) the view that absolute moral principles should never be violated
C) the relativistic approach
D) a cost-benefit analysis

Question 5

If ethical issues arise in doing research, one should:

A) discontinue immediately
B) do the research, but refuse payment
C) consult appropriate professional organizations
D) due to the commonality of this incident, simply continue

Question 6

Informed consent refers to:

A) informing subjects of the details of the study before they consent
B) informing subjects of the details of the study after they consent
C) not informing subjects at all
D) informing the funding agency of one's research results before the funds have been awarded

Question 7

Within social science research, withholding information refers to:

A) the same process as lying
B) not disclosing the full details of one's study
C) employing fictitious data
D) covert participant observation

Question 8

Social researchers have special difficulties, not often faced by other scientists, due to:

A) the many possibly alternate interpretations of large sample sets
B) a "vested interest" in the results
C) the researcher is a member of that which he/she studies
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 9

Ethical rules and guidelines in the social sciences should be organized around which of the following themes:

A) the researcher's ethical responsibility to respondents
B) the researcher's responsibility to science
C) the researcher's responsibility to society
D) all of the above

Question 10

Researchers should not:

A) use hidden codes to identify respondents later
B) pay interviewers by the interview
C) fail to make respondents aware of all of the research details, including the hypotheses
D) all of the above

Question 11

Following field or experimental studies, participants should always be:

A) debriefed
B) paid
C) given a full report
D) retested
E) none of the above

Question 12

A sure way to achieve misrepresentation is to:

A) use small samples
B) to employ unethical techniques
C) to hunt for self-supporting views
D) to consult official ethical bodies

Question 13

Tearoom Trade raises which of the following ethical questions:

A) the extent to which respondents should be paid
B) the extent to which a researcher can withhold key information from respondents
C) the extent to which the police should be encouraged to participate in covert research
D) the extent to which social science can be considered to be offensive

Question 14

Milgram's research concerned:

A) observation of police officers at work
B) observation of homosexuals
C) shock treatment
D) washroom behaviour