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5 - ETHICAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Paul S. Gray ,
John B. Williamson ,
David A. Karp  and
John R. Dalphin
Paul S. Gray
Affiliation:
Boston College, Massachusetts
John B. Williamson
Affiliation:
Boston College, Massachusetts
David A. Karp
Affiliation:
Boston College, Massachusetts
John R. Dalphin
Affiliation:
Merrimack College, Massachusetts
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Summary

INTRODUCTION

The first four chapters of this book set the stage for learning about research by introducing you to a vocabulary that specifies the various parts of the process and presenting the basics of research design and measurement. These chapters are a foundation for investigating the social world. However, before the various methods are presented in detail, this chapter summarizes the ethical and political context for research.

Growing up, many of us have been taught to abide by the Golden Rule in church, school, and community. Social researchers, however virtuous they may be in a personal sense, are concerned about ethical behavior in a more specific context. Because of the public nature of science and the increasing visibility and accountability of researchers, they must pay attention to ethical principles or suffer the criticism of those who read their work and who provide them with data. As we will see in this chapter, in research, doing the “right thing” is not always easy or obvious!

Suppose that a team of politically moderate social scientists has received a research grant from the federal government to investigate political extremism on both the left and the right in America. The researchers will interview members of the Communist Party and the American Nazi Party to find out what their attitudes are on a variety of political and social issues.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Research Imagination
An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
 , pp. 81 - 100
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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