Ethical Concerns

Sociological Research SOCI 1306 Ethical Concerns Sociologists do out research to elucidate human behaviour. Acquiring knowledge is an effective means of bringing about constructive transformation. Therefore, carrying out a sociological study entails a great deal of responsibility. Sociologists have an ethical duty to perform their study without endangering human subjects or groups, just like any other researcher. Leader Max Weber, a German sociologist who lived from 1864 to 1920, recognised another important ethical issue. Weber recognised that the framework for sharing study results might be distorted by one's own values. Although he acknowledged that personal beliefs may impact certain areas of study design, he proclaimed that it was totally unsuitable to let personal values dictate how the results were interpreted. According to Weber (1949), sociologists should practise value neutrality, which is to stay unbiased and judgment-free when doing research and disseminating findings. Sociologists have a duty to provide study results without leaving out or manipulating important information. Is it feasible to be value neutral? A lot of sociologists think that maintaining total objectivity is unachievable. Instead, they advise readers to be aware that value bias can be present in some sociological research. This gives readers the opportunity to see the findings as a single, fact-based perspective rather than casting doubt on them. When examining social institutions, some sociologists make an effort to be as impartial and non-critical as possible. They work to combat their own prejudices—especially unconscious ones—while gathering and evaluating facts. They refrain from manipulating evidence to fit a preset conclusion that supports a specific goal, such a moral or political stance. It is morally required of investigators to reveal findings, even if they run counter to personal opinions, expectations, or conventional wisdom. The main professional association for sociologists in North America is called the American Sociological Association, or ASA. Additionally, the ASA is an excellent resource for sociology students. Formal criteria for doing sociological research are maintained by the ASA in the form of a code of ethics, which consists of ethical norms and guiding principles for the field. At John Hopkins University, practitioners created these official rules in 1905, and they were updated in 1997. According to these rules of ethics, researchers must conduct the following while dealing with human subjects: 1. Uphold objectivity and honesty in study 2. Honour the rights to privacy and dignity of participants 3. Prevent the individual from suffering injury to herself 4. Maintain secrecy 5. Request informed permission 6. Express gratitude for cooperation and support 7. Identify the sources of funding Unfortunately, it creates an unethical climate for people participating in sociological studies when these norms of ethics are disregarded. Numerous unethical research have been conducted throughout history. The Tuskegee Experiment involved 600 African American males, 399 of whom had been diagnosed with syphilis. It was carried out in Macon County, Alabama, in 1932. The participants were informed that they had a diagnosis of "bad blood." When penicillin was first made available as a syphilis treatment in the 1940s, African American males were sadly excluded from receiving it since the study's goal was to determine "how untreated syphilis would affect the African American male." (Caplan, 2007) Henrietta Lacks: It is ironic that the hospital connected to Johns Hopkins University, the birthplace of ethical rules, hosted this study. Henrietta Lacks was a patient at John Hopkins Hospital in 1951 when medical professionals treating her for cervical cancer found that she possessed "immortal" cells, which could proliferate quickly and endlessly and were thus very important for medical study. Her cells were taken and exchanged by physicians to create large cell lines without her consent. Lacks' cells were mass-produced and employed extensively in research and therapies, such as the polio vaccine. These cells are now referred to be HeLa cells around the world (Shah, 2010). Stanley Milgram, a psychologist, carried out an experiment at Yale University in 1961. Its goal was to gauge how eager research participants were to follow orders from a higher authority when such orders went against their moral convictions. Educators thought they were shocking children with electric shocks for answering word-pair problems incorrectly. The teachers were instructed to continue, despite their growing worry over how to deliver the more powerful shocks. The instructors' severe mental distress—which stemmed from their perception that they were harming other people—raises ethical questions. Vogel (2014). Philip Zimbardo and the Stanford Prison Experiment: In 1971, Stanford University undergraduates participated in a research led by psychologist Philip Zimbardo. The pupils were divided into the roles of guards and convicts, and they had to act out their duties appropriately. The experiment was supposed to run two weeks, but because of the "prisoners'" treatment and unfavourable outcome, it only lasted six days. Beyond the moral issues, participants' admission that they had received coaching to behave a certain manner raised doubts about the study's validity. Laud Humphrey: In a park that was well-known for same-sex sexual encounters, Laud Humphrey carried out an experiment in the 1960s. His goal was to comprehend the variety of origins and driving forces behind same-sex relationship seekers. Because he disguised his identity and aim while he observed and interrogated the persons he interviewed, his ethics were called into doubt (Nardi, 1995).