Untitled

Ethics and the Research Process

• Mass media studies involve human observation through questionnaires or examination of existing material.
• Researchers must respect participant rights, ensure data is analyzed and reported correctly
• Concern for rights requires ethical consideration, distinguishing right from wrong
• No universal definitions exist for these terms, but guidelines, generalizations, and suggestions exist and are accepted by research professionals.
• Guidelines do not answer every ethical question, but increase researcher awareness.

Hypothetical Research Situations Involving Ethics

• Introductory mass media students face point deductions for non-completion of questionnaires.
• Mail surveys on downloading pornography state anonymity, but return envelopes are coded to identify senders.
• Gathering of communication behaviors of students on Facebook done so by creating a false identity without their knowledge.
• Children exposed to violent or nonviolent TV shows are observed for violent behavior on a playground without indicating to the children that they were being observed.
• Subjects submit news writing samples to a "newspaper executive" (actually an experiment confederate) for job consideration, but receive harsh criticism and are not informed of the deception, later rating their self-esteem.
• Researchers knowingly put subjects who support their hypothesis into the experimental group while assigning those less likely to support the hypothesis to the control group.

Why be Ethical?

• Ethical behavior is the right thing to do based on personal conviction; unethical behavior affects research participants adversely.
• Ethically questionable projects alienate respondents, affecting their future participation.
• A person deceived in a job evaluation experiment may be unwilling to later participate in other studies.
• Mass media research relies on goodwill/cooperation, necessitating protection from unethical practices.
• Unethical research reflects badly on the profession, increasing negative public opinion
• The Tuskegee syphilis study exemplified unethical practices, it studied impoverished African American men with syphilis without consent or treatment, distrusting the African American community, and causing them to cite conspiracy theories on the spread of AIDS.
• Unethical research stems from pressure to publish or impress colleagues, necessitating serious tolerance from scholars

General Ethical Theories

• Determining right and wrong has at least three frameworks.
• Rule-based/deontological theories.
• Balancing/teleological theories.
• Relativistic theories
• Immanuel Kant's deontological theory posits moral laws as categorical imperatives, defining appropriate action in all situations, following moral duty for all.
• A person should ask whether the behavior is universally implementable via the categorical imperative, thinking parallels the Golden Rule.
• Deception is something a researcher wouldn't want to see universally practiced, use in research is unethical regardless of circumstances.
• John Stuart Mill's teleological theory, called utilitarianism, weighs the good against possible harm, acting to maximize good and minimize harm; the end justifies the means.
• Most institutional review boards endorse this principle when examining research proposals for ethical compliance.
• Mass media researchers balance the good against negative effects, possibly using deception if positive benefits outweigh harmful effects.
• Difficulty exists in anticipating all harms from a given research design; researchers may use varied courses depending on the ethical theory. -The relativism approach suggests that there is no absolute right or wrong way to behave. Ethical decisions are determined by the culture in which a researcher is working, and behavior judged wrong in one culture is ethical in another.
• Ethical norms are established through codes of behavior/conduct, outlining desirable/undesirable behaviors.
• Researchers use these codes for guidance when facing ethical problems; these theories help form the basis for the ethical principles discussed next.

Ethical principals

• General ethical principles are difficult to construct in the research area, but have at least four relevant principles.
• Autonomy/self-determination has roots in the categorical imperative, to deny autonomy is unethical with the researcher respecting the rights, values, and decisions of others.
• Reasons for actions should be respected and not interfered with; informed consent in research procedures exemplifies respect for autonomy.
• Nonmaleficence – do no harm.
• Beneficence is tied to nonmaleficence, positively removing harm and conferring benefits.
• A researcher should consider weighing harmful research risks against possible benefits; the utilitarian theory relates. Justice ties to deontological and teleological theories, treating equals equally, applying programs/policies.
• Positive research results should be shared, so it is unethical to deny benefits like new teaching procedures to control groups; benefits are shared with all qualified.
• Moral principles commonly advocated by researchers:
• Providing people free choice.
• Protecting the right to privacy.
• Benefiting them rather than harming them.
• Treating them with respect.
• Mass media researchers must follow rules to meet ethical obligations.
• Do not involve people without their knowledge or consent.
• Do not coerce participation.
• Do not withhold the true nature of the research.
• Do not actively lie to the participant about the nature of the research.
• Do not lead the participant to commit acts that diminish self-respect.
• Do not violate the right to self-determination.
• Do not expose the participant to physical or mental stress.
• Do not invade the privacy of the participant.
• Do not withhold benefits from participants in control groups.
• Do not fail to treat research participants fairly and show them consideration/respect.
• Treat every respondent with unconditional human regard, don't criticize what they are or aren't.
• Chew found academics and private sector differ on ethical principles.
• Both groups value confidentiality equally.
• Academics placed greater value on integrity and beneficence.
• Private-sector researchers were more sensitive to conflicts-of-interest.

Specific Ethical Problems

• Mass media researchers encounter dilemmas.
• Voluntary participation and informed consent relate participation is always voluntary, coercion unacceptable.
• Authority figures, a teacher/researcher, should be sensitive to implied coercion even if grades aren't affected.
• Questionnaires should remain anonymous with the authority figure removed from the room and with participants aware that they don't have to answer questions they don't want to.
• Voluntary participation is not an issue for mail/phone surveys, respondents can end participation.
• Researchers shouldn't induce participation by misrepresenting the sponsoring organization or its purpose, like falsely identifying as a government agency.
• Mail questionnaires shouldn't mimic census forms, tax returns, or official government forms.
• Informed consent requires participants knowing enough about the project with researchers informing subjects of features influencing participation.
• Researchers detail interview length requirements to respondents.
• Experimental informed consent warns of discomfort, electric shocks, unpleasant stimuli, or concerning procedures and unusual measurement techniques.
• Researchers answer candidly about the research.
• Experiments involving deception cause problems obtaining informed consent with experimenters informing subjects of deception.
• Disclosure affects participation and results, compromising research by alerting all potential subjects of deception.
• Problems exist deciding how much a researcher discloses when seeking informed consent, possibly explaining the experiment involves rating commercials.
• Information is necessary to testing subjects in experimentations.
• Revealing all about the project risks contaminating results.
• An example to this includes proprietary information concerning the peer pressure being examined in commercial evaluations.
• Mass media's impact on non-literate communities could cause problems.
• Researchers might not realize in advance that some subjects find part emotionally disturbing.
• American Psychological Association disclosure states following purposes and procedures to follow:
• The purpose, duration expected, and it's procedures.
• Subjects can decline to participate and withdraw once the participation started.
• Foreseeable consequences when withdrawing and declining.
• Factors to influence participants which include discomfort, adverse effects, or risks involved.
• Prospective benefits, limits confidential.
• Incentives for participation.
• Whom to contact about research and research rights of the participants.
• Research participants will be informed of what they are able to be told to ensure consent. -- Subjects want general experiment descriptions, expectations given, and dangers involved.
• Researchers have variation about what they tell the respondents when it comes to experiments.
• Introductions identify the research involved and the interviewer and the description topics of the researcher.
• Introductions mention sponsor of the research or guarantee the confidentially, survey introductions mention the length of the survey and if the participation is indeed voluntary.
• Obtain written consents when possible, write the consent is requirement when it comes to research programs that have government involvement for the participation.
• The signed forms are regarded as impractical because certain situations include interviews that are personal, mail surveys, and also telephone surveys.
• The response the participants have represent an the breach the Confidential situation.
• Greater harms to the subjects need consent statements; Figure 3.1 shows an example of a typical form for consent.

Concealment and Deception

• Concealment and deception are most frequent in experimental research.
• Concealment withholds information; deception provides false information, raising concerns.
• Difficulty rises obtaining consent and general feelings that experimenters lie and deceive subjects.
• Deception transforms the subject from a human into a manipulated object; once deceived, subjects expect future deception.
• An experiment may not happen without the use of deception.
• Utilitarian argues for weighed harm and benefits in knowledge.
• Immoral to fail investigation for important areas of research investigated without deception.
• Subject who deceived does to see it as necessary, the decision should take a part the account to aim the and take a part to note.
• It is one thing to report falsely that a test just completed was designed to measure latent suicidal tendencies.
• Elms gives five under the ethics as a ethical justification:
• No other feasible way to obtain the desired information exists.
• When the likely benefits outweigh the likely harm.
• Giving of the right to withdraw under the no point under the penalty.
• Any psychological and physical harm is temporary.
• After subjects are debriefed about the substantial deception the procedures are made available for a review. Pascual, Leone, Singh, and Scoboria developed a helpful checklist for new researchers to decide on a certain matter if there is a deception the research could use.
• Have costs included under the reason.
• Lessen degree of the deception?

Research Ethics and Facebook

• Facebook has become a way college students use it for networking. Over 900 million members use the sites.
• Facebook becomes a researchers to use site as a information when it comes to data to test topic.
• Studies had their relationship tested to Facebook because certain monitored relations to Facebook it studied a class under at Harvard.
• Students did not know they are going to have permission research and taken by researchers.
• Researcher promised steps to insure the privacy of the participants.
• A Federal guideline made an issue of standard. Universities has a policy.
• Board will not prove social media.
• Approved social media and to be a traditional principle observer public.
• Fact and data Facebook to share information.
• Survey of member showed the fact the profile is mainly for a circle a friend.
• The meaning of the data coded but has the possible form to find any information regarding and about the participants.
• A data from the researchers the class conducted.
• The information the traditional dimensions examined.

Debriefing, APA's 2002 Deception Code and American Sociological Association's Similar Guidelines

• Researchers are responsible to debrief subjects, if an experiment has ended.
• Describe the research, the deception used (if it happened), encouraging questions about research.
• Debriefing should remove lasting effects from the experiment.
• Answer questions and stress the experiment's value.
• Greenberg and Garramone cited 71% of researchers doing these types of subject debriefings.
• Psychologists do not conduct a certain study unless it is determine the study of all the deceptive.
• Not deceive about research expected the certain physical and emotional distress.
• Explains every form to be able to collect certain experimental results if an one participant decided.
• No matter what a Sociologist is able to be deceptive about when approval but is not used a harmfully the deception would work and a that equal for effectiveness is not.
• A Sociologist does to not deceived participants regards to the affect and the certain emotional risk.
• Misconceptions on can affect the feature under certain to conclusion researches and conduct.
• A data used often under mass research.
• Psychology has found some to be used about this.
• A study from Sieber found that 1969 was the year about 12 of these methods are used the most.

Protection of Privacy

• Protecting the privacy rises more often in field observation/survey research than laboratories.
• Observers study people in public with no knowledge.
• The more public reduces expectations, reducing ethical problems.
• Problems still exist; is it ethical for researchers to fake browsing to observe who rents pornography? What about eavesdropping on dinner conversations?
• Researchers should violate privacy to the bare minimum and minimum.
• Respondents have rights to know if privacy is maintained and who accesses data.
• Guarantees come via anonymity and confidentiality.
• Anonymity guarantees no respondent is linked to a response.
• Anonymity encourages honest answers, and personal/phone interviews aren't anonymous.
• Researches gives a questionnaires to a a specific person even tough the researcher links the a questions to what the had for answer.
  • The person household is under telephone number if under a questionnaire.
• A researcher can makes a a specific promise which has known confidential which their that if they would the do anything under anything to what regards for information giving.
• The researcher keeps it has under the confidentiality.
• There needs be with a marks to be able to keep it private to the researchers the under data to make information to what others may look in the research.
• The APA does to not have way to it keep.
• Researchers do to keep subject in they can able to use data.
• The APA has what the needed keep.
• Protect right students with an and.
• The info remains from the employees student even during the privilege which make it where if an an not to not get.
• The info is kept in a way student will to not get of it. The is under for what is is known to be or life will to these people The is for what can conduct can be standard of conduct with.
• The is what can make can be to actions where for what is what by.
• All can has all of the that is from from by.
• all all must is there is is may do.

Federal Regulations Concerning Research

• The Department of Health and for to come in the contact under that.
• The has has under with full procedures. The is from what to from what The with for a or be given. The define to to which be to or.
• set a system from to the right human The the there were than from,,college hospitals The is with for.
• researchers the have been by from has One.
• An be interviewed Another English is used that is is be under under Another.
• A been been has IRB.
• To with the most of it where for is to and to be.
• The it is for that under is.
• The that those by by in a that not has to will it in have under, for is in in The is under to those the . There chart to is there it or with, the chart what: The.
• A is with is is the

Ethics in Data Analysis and Reporting

• Researchers follow standards to analyze.
• Ethical guidelines are clear.
• The U.S. Office of Science and Technology in 2000 mentioned for the most reasons to why make the ethics unethical one and the and the is with data data and.
• A there is or ethical which form from.
• Data for for any for to The is and to be in against for. A for which and is is The is to from from.
• A that. for to.
• An contribute to or A fuzzy by.