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Disciplinary Considerations

19 October, 2015 - 16:51

Often times specific disciplines will provide their own set of guidelines for protecting research subjects and, more generally, for conducting ethical research. For sociologists, the American Sociological Association (ASA) has adopted a set of ethical principles intended to guide researchers in the discipline (2008). 1 The ASA Code features the following five general principles:

  1. Professional competence
  2. Integrity
  3. Professional and scientific responsibility
  4. Respect for people’s rights, dignity, and diversity
  5. Social responsibility

The principle of professional competence states that researchers should recognize their own limitations and only conduct research for which they have been properly trained. It also states that researchers should engage in ongoing education for themselves in order to remain competent. The principle of integrity directs that sociologists be “honest, fair, and respectful” in all their professional activities including, but not limited to, their research activities. The third principle, professional and scientific responsibility, guides sociologists to be respectful in their relationships with one another at the same time that it warns against collegiality if it impedes one’s ability to behave ethically. This principle balances scientific collegiality with public trust in sociology. The fourth principle, respect for people’s rights, dignity, and diversity, addresses the need to reduce bias in all professional activities. Finally, social responsibility, the fifth principle, states that sociologists should “strive to advance the science of sociology and serve the public good.”

On their faces, these five principles seem straightforward and relatively easy to abide by. Of course, each of these principles, along with the 20, more specific ethical standards that follow in the ASA Code, must be interpreted by individual researchers. Consider, for example, how those who support Scott DeMuth’s decision to remain silent about his research subjects’ identities might differ in their understanding of the principles from those who feel that DeMuth should testify and break his promise of confidentiality to subjects.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Researchers must obtain the informed consent of the people who participate in their research.
  • If a researcher promises anonymity, he or she cannot link individual participants with their data.
  • If a researcher promises confidentiality, he or she promises not to reveal the identities of research participants, even though the researcher can link individual participants with their data.
  • The ASA has developed a Code of Ethics to which American sociologists are expected to adhere.

EXERCISES

  1. Go to the Scholars for Academic Justice website at http://sajumn.wordpress.com. What is your position on the cases that are described there?
  2. Look up the American Sociological Association’s full Code of Ethics, which includes ethical guidelines for research as well as guidelines for the other roles that sociologists play, such as teaching, at http://asanet.org/images/asa/docs/pdf/CodeofEthics.pdf. Can you find the five principles noted previously? What more have you learned about the ASA Code of Ethics by reviewing the full code online?