Phoebe is a senior and president of the student body. Lately she is becoming more and more overwhelmed by her rigorous AP course load and college applications. She has been sick for the past month and has fallen behind in many of her classes. Her application to Brown University and her AP Art History paper are both due on Monday. It’s Sunday now. Phoebe makes a tough decision and plagiarizes the entire section on Impressionism on her paper, finishes her application and goes to bed. On Monday, Phoebe turns in her paper.

By lunchtime, Phoebe’s AP Art History teacher had asked to see her. He quickly realized the fact that a large portion of her paper was plagiarized and confronts her about it. Phoebe bursts into tears and explains to him about all the pressures of being sick, taking five AP’s, playing three varsity sports and being president of the student body. Brown is her number one choice for college and she felt she had to make a choice.

Phoebe’s teacher turns her in to the school honor council. She is very remorseful and volunteers to give a speech to the student body apologizing for what she has done. She also begs the honor council not to write to the colleges that she has applied to, as she has worked so hard throughout her high school career and is applying to the most competitive colleges and universities.

What should the honor council do?

Maria was worried about her good friend Pam. Pam was always talking about how fat she was and what she was trying to do about it. But the truth is that Pam was not at all fat. In fact, she was downright skinny. Since their freshmen year Pam had lost at least 15 pounds. Now, they were juniors and Maria was afraid that Pam had an eating disorder. Maria was also getting frustrated. Where were all the grown-ups? Who was watching out for Pam besides Maria and her friends?

Maria knew that someone from their school had talked to Pam’s parents last year, and that Pam’s mom had gotten angry about the school poking its nose into family business. Pam’s mom claimed that Pam had a dancer’s body and a high metabolism. That was last year. Now things were worse and Maria felt like she was literally watching her friend disappear.

Finally, one Monday afternoon Maria had had enough. As she watched Pam take three diet pills and eat four grapes for lunch she decided she had to do something. As helpless and scared as she felt now, how would it compare to how she would feel if Pam actually ended up in the hospital…or worse? Pam would be furious if she found out the Maria had talked to someone behind her back. So, Maria had two problems--should she tell someone how bad things were, and if so, whom should she go to? 

 

Ethics in Social Science Research and Experiments

Ethics Ethics are moral principles that govern

a person's or group's behaviour. Social science researchers need to

ensure that they are conducting ethical research.

General Principles: Protecting research participants

and honouring trust: should attempt to protect the physical, social and psychological well-being of study participants

Anticipating harms: should be sensitive to the possible consequences of the study and work

Rights to confidentiality and anonymity: informants and other research participants should have the right to remain anonymous

Fair return for assistance: there should be no economic exploitation of individual informants, translators and research participants; fair return should be made for their help and services 

Informed Consent: participants need to give their permission to participate in a study and be informed of all of the potential risks

Falsified Data: One of the most serious ethical breaches a researcher can commit is publishing falsified data. If researchers knowingly published a project using falsified data, they might be permanently banished from the academic community.

Deception: Intentionally misleading subjects about the nature of the study in which they’re participating.

The American Sociological Association's (ASA's) Code of Ethics

sets forth the principles and ethical standards that underlie sociologists' professional responsibilities and conduct

principles and standards should be used as guidelines when examining everyday professional activities

maintain the highest levels of competence

recognize the limitations of their expertise; and they undertake tasks for which they are qualified by education, training, or experience

consult with other professionals when necessary

Principle A: Professional Competence

Principle B: Integrity honest, fair, and respectful of

others in their professional activities—in research, teaching, practice, and service

do not knowingly act in ways that jeopardize either their own or others' professional welfare

Principle C: Professional and Scientific Responsibility

show respect for other sociologists even when they disagree on theoretical, methodological, or personal approaches to professional activities

adhere to the highest scientific and professional standards and accept responsibility for their work

Principle D: Respect for People's Rights, Dignity, and Diversity

strive to eliminate bias in their professional activities, and they do not tolerate any forms of discrimination based on: age; gender; race; ethnicity; national

origin; religion; sexual orientation; disability; health conditions; or marital, domestic, or parental status

Principle E: Social Responsibility They apply and make public their

knowledge in order to contribute to the public good.

When undertaking research, they strive to advance the science of sociology and to serve the public good.

The American Psychological Association's (APA's) Ethical Guidelines

Psychologists are committed to increasing the knowledge of behavior and people’s understanding of themselves and others and to the use of such knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organizations, and society.

Psychologists respect and protect civil and human rights and the freedom of inquiry and expression in research, teaching, and publication. They strive to help the public in developing informed judgments and choices concerning human behavior.

In doing so, they perform many roles, such as researcher, educator, diagnostician, therapist, supervisor, consultant, administrator, social interventionist, and expert witness.

This Ethics Code provides a common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work.

PRINCIPLE A: BENEFICENCE AND NON-MALEFICENCE

Beneficence is action that is done for the benefit of others - to help prevent or remove harms or to improve the situation of others.

Non-maleficence means to “do no harm.” must refrain from providing ineffective

treatments or acting with malice toward patients

many beneficial therapies also have serious risks – the ethical issue is whether the benefits outweigh the burdens.

PRINCIPLE B: FIDELITY AND RESPONSIBILITY establish relationships of trust with those

with whom they work uphold professional standards of conduct,

accept responsibility for their behavior, and seek to manage conflicts of interest that could lead to exploitation or harm

consult and cooperate with other professionals and institutions to the extent needed to serve the best interests of those with whom they work

PRINCIPLE C: INTEGRITY promote accuracy, honesty, and

truthfulness do not steal, cheat, or engage in

fraud, or intentional misrepresentation of fact

have a serious obligation to consider and accommodate the harmful effects that may arise

PRINCIPLE D: JUSTICE fairness and justice are entitled all

persons to access to and benefit from the contributions of psychology

ensure that their potential biases do not lead to unjust practices

PRINCIPLE E: RESPECT FOR PEOPLE’S RIGHTS AND DIGNITY

respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of individuals to privacy and confidentiality

are aware of and respect differences (based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status)