The Ethics of Social Research

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Ethical Dilemmas in Social Research

   1. Ethical Dilemmas in Social Research

      • Joan E. Sieber

      Pages 1-29

3. Experimental Social Research and Respect for the Individual

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 31-38

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   2. Alternatives to Deception: Why, What, and How?

      • Daniel M. Geller

      Pages 39-55

   3. Random Assignment of Clients in Social Experimentation

      • Ross F. Conner

      Pages 57-77

   4. Creating Ethical Relationships in Organizational Research

      • Philip H. Mirvis, Stanley E. Seashore

      Pages 79-104

   5. Vulnerable Populations: Case Studies in Crowding Research

      • Chalsa M. Loo

      Pages 105-126

   6. Old People Are Not All Alike: Social Class, Ethnicity/Race, and Sex Are Bases for Important Differences

      • Eleanor K. Levine

      Pages 127-143

4. Survey Research and Protection of Privacy and Confidentiality

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 145-150

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   2. What Subjects of Survey Research Believe about Confidentiality

      • Anthony G. Turner

      Pages 151-165

   3. Sampling Strategies and the Threat to Privacy

      • Shirley Foster Hartley

      Pages 167-189

   4. What To Do Before and After a Subpoena of Data Arrives

      • Charles R. Knerr Jr.

      Pages 191-206

   5. Statistical Strategies for Preserving Privacy in Direct Inquiry

      • Robert F. Boruch, Joe Shelby Cecil

      Pages 207-232

5. Back Matter

   Pages 233-252

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Social scientists are unprepared for many of the ethical problems that arise in their research, and for criticisms of their ethics that seem to ignore such cherished scientific values as objectivity and freedom of inquiry. Yet, they possess method­ ological talent and insight into human nature that can be used to understand and resolve these problems. The contributors to this book demonstrate that criticism of the ethics of social research can stimulate constructive development of meth­ odology. Both volumes of The Ethics of Social Research were written for and by social scientists to show how ethical dilemmas arise in the day-to-day conduct of social research and how they can be resolved. The topics discussed in this book include ethical problems that arise in experiments and sample surveys; the companion volume deals with the ethical issues involved in fieldwork and in the regulation and publication of research. With candor and humor, many of the contributors describe lessons they have learned about themselves, their methods, and their research participants. Collectively, they illustrate that both humanists and detenninists are likely to encounter ethical dilemmas in their research, albeit different ones, and that a blending of detenninistic and humanistic approaches may be needed to solve these dilemmas. The aim of this book is to assist irwestigators in preparing to meet some of the ethical problems that await the unwary. It offers perspectives, values, and guidelines for anticipating problems and devising solutions.

• conflict
• ethics
• freedom
• human behavior
• organizations

• Department of Psychology, California State University-Hayward, Hayward, USA

  Joan E. Sieber

Policies and ethics