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Ethical Implications of Research Studies and Theory - Coggle Diagram
Ethical Implications of Research Studies and Theory
ethical implications and social sensitivity
concern the consequences that psychological research may have
For example research on long term memory is unlikely to have consequences on individuals or the social group the participant represents. in contrast, study on depression may have consequences. Like personal information that is later accessed by employer. Or the finding may suggest that people with depression never fully recover and therefore at risk as an employee
social sensitivity is studies in which there are potential consequences or implications, either to the participants or/and for the class of individuals represented in the study
Implications for the research process
research question
joan sieber and barbera stanley warn that the way that research questions are phrased and investigated may influence the way in which findings are interpreted
dealing with participants
issues such as informed consent , confidentaly and pyscological harm are especially important
for example a study on domestic abuse participant may worry that her ex partner will find out and it is extremely stressful for participants to describe there experience. Such participants who provide informed consent may not fully realise the effects of the study
the way findings are used
researchers should consider in advance how research findings are used as this may impact what data they actually need to collect. as may been see giving scientific credence to existing prejudice, such as studies looking at ethic basis of intelligent
evaluation
benefits for groups
strength of socially sensitive research is that it can have benefits for the groups what have been studied
example is homosexuality being listed as sociopath personality disorder in DSM-1 but removed in 1973 because of Kinsey report. A report of 5000 men about there sexual behaviour which concluded that homosexuality is typical expression of human sexual behaviur .
however could be negative consequences for the groups being studied. for example research investigated the genetic basis of criminality found criminal gene. which may lead to someone could be convicted on the basis of that they have such gene . suggests that there is need for very careful consideration of the possible outcome and consequence
real world application
certain groups rely on research relating to socially sensitive issues like the government when developing important social roles. preferable to base policies on scientific research than political motivated views
in the uk there are independent groups such as ONS who describe themselves as being responsible for collecting, analysing and disseminating objective statistics about UKs economy, society and population
poor research design
poor research desighn may lead to erroneous findings whihc once in public will have an impact
this was the cas in Burt's research which intelligence could be detected by age 11. but much of the study was fake and even after the fraud was exposed, the 11+ continued to be used.as they base chiklds perfomrance taken in year 6.
therefore any research on socially sensitive topics needs to be planned with the greatest care to ensure findings are valid