Ethics
by Sam Cook
The British Sociological Association has a set of guidelines for ethical practice when conducting social research. Though these guidelines are voluntary any researcher has to submit a proposal about how they’re going to conduct their research in order to get funding. Many of the following points have to be considered:
- findings should be reported honestly and accurately
- the subjects researched must not come to any physical harm
- the participants should give their informed consent to being part of the research (while not giving too much away so the Hawthorne Effect compromises there research)
- confidentiality and privacy (anonymity) must be respected as the findings, when published, could have a major impact on the subjects
Leave a Reply