Question 1

Omar studies Stanley Milgram's 1950s Yale University research.Though more than a half-century has passed,Omar can see similar important issues in his social world of the twenty-first century.Milgram influences Omar to ask what question?

Accepted Answer

A) Why are some people evil,despite society's attempt to socialize people toward goodness? 
B) Why do people follow authority,even when they believe the authority is wrong? 
C) Why do people want to hurt each other,even when they say they don't? 
D) Why do people trust machines so much?

Question 2

A sociology study about employment seeking and criminal backgrounds collects data from publicly available databases,and then de-identifies the data.No one,not even the researcher,can trace a piece of data back to the person it describes.This researcher has achieved

Accepted Answer

A) an ethical study. 
B) confidentiality. 
C) anonymity. 
D) beneficence.

Question 3

Mikal wants to study the effects of sleep deprivation.He chooses a homeless shelter as a field site,playing a radio loudly during the night so people can't sleep.He chose the homeless shelter because,without other options,people will stay all night for the duration of the study.Mikal has violated the justice principle of the Belmont Report because he

Accepted Answer

A) is doing harm to people by depriving them of sleep. 
B) chose a vulnerable population simply for his own ease in accessing a research population. 
C) is inconveniencing people unnecessarily (he could have just read existing literature instead). 
D) is violating the privacy of his research subjects.

Question 4

In the 2006 sociology study of Harvard University Facebook users,an ethical dilemma emerged.Which question represents the most important ethical issue at stake? Should sociologists

Accepted Answer

A) deceive research participants? 
B) pose as members of a social group to which they don't belong? 
C) expose private data by sharing it with other researchers? 
D) gather data without informing the person who posted the data?

Question 5

List and describe two advantages and two disadvantages of the IRB system.

Accepted Answer

The answer of List and describe two advantages and two...

Question 6

You are the hiring director of a large university's IRB,working according to the rules of the National Research Act of 1974.Who would you recruit to serve on the board?

Accepted Answer

A) all research scientists with experience in ethical challenges 
B) a broad range of experts from the university,and one community member 
C) research scientists from outside the university,so none would have conflicts of interest 
D) a lawyer,a policy maker,an ethicist,and a variety of research professors

Question 7

The Nuremberg Code established the principle that people must consent to be research subjects,and have the right to withdraw whenever they choose.Use this principle to analyze two of the following studies: the Tuskegee syphilis experiment,Laud Humphreys' Tearoom Trade,and the Zimbardo prison experiment.Explain how the study violated or upheld the Nuremberg Code principle.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Nuremberg Code established the principle that...

Question 8

In his study of gangs,how did Sudhir Venkatesh deceive research subjects?

Accepted Answer

A) He told them about his research but said it would never be published. 
B) He did not tell them his true purpose and instead said that he was writing a biography. 
C) He told them about his research but said he would protect their identities,which he did not. 
D) He told them about his true purpose but said he would not report them to the police,which he did.

Question 9

As a student at your university,you wish to conduct a study about some element of your university.Briefly describe a sociological study that would include an inappropriate conflict of interest.What makes it inappropriate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of As a student at your university,you wish...

Question 10

When sociologists consider whether research is ethical,they are referring to if

Accepted Answer

A) the sociologist is a good or evil person. 
B) the actions are right or wrong,good or bad. 
C) laws and policies,even unjust ones,have been followed. 
D) all sources are properly cited.

Question 11

Sociology professor Sudhir Venkatesh used deception in his ethnography of drug dealers (Gang Leader for a Day,2008).Why did he use deception? Why did some scholars think such deception was unethical? If you were Venkatesh,would you have used deception in the same way? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Sociology professor Sudhir Venkatesh used deception in...

Question 12

One reviewer called Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader for a Day "evil" because,in order to conduct his study,Venkatesh

Accepted Answer

A) collected data without consent. 
B) shared information about illegal activities with police. 
C) bought,sold,and used drugs while conducting research. 
D) encouraged and fed a drug dealer's ego.

Question 13

The Belmont Report describes ethical practice with use of three principles.First,describe one general ethical principle shared by all three principles.Second,list the three principles and,for each one,briefly describe how it is distinctive (that is,unique and unlike the others).

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Belmont Report describes ethical practice with...

Question 14

In the course of his study on nursing homes,Inger inadvertently learned about specific instances of elder abuse.She had promised her subjects confidentiality,but

Accepted Answer

A) disciplinary codes of ethics instruct her to follow her conscience,even if it tells her to report the abuse. 
B) in some states,she is required to report abuse,even if she learned it in the course of research. 
C) confidentiality does not apply when a person asks for help. 
D) she should have promised anonymity,because anonymity would remove the challenges of reporting.

Question 15

Dr.Omani is planning a sociological study of environmental habits among homeowners.His university's IRB requires him to submit a ________,which includes research questions and methods,descriptions of the subjects,and steps he will take to minimize risk.

Accepted Answer

A) consent form 
B) IRB application 
C) research protocol 
D) human subjects research form

Question 16

The Nuremberg Code established the principle that experiments should never be designed to harm participants.Use this principle to analyze two of the following studies: Nazi concentration camp experiments,the Tuskegee syphilis experiment,the Milgram obedience experiment,and the Zimbardo prison experiment.Explain how the study violated or upheld the Nuremberg Code principle.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Nuremberg Code established the principle that...

Question 17

Create a study in which confidentiality is the highest protection possible.Why,in this study,is anonymity not possible?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Create a study in which confidentiality is...

Question 18

Why was Laud Humphreys' deception considered so ethically serious?

Accepted Answer

A) The potential consequences for his research subjects were so significant. 
B) Sexuality is a private matter. 
C) Humphreys was only a graduate student at the time of the study. 
D) Other sociologists colluded with Humphreys,working with him to collect more data.

Question 19

Before she conducted her research on Hurricane Katrina survivors,Mary Waters carefully considered whether the study would produce useful knowledge and whether her subjects would be traumatized by talking about the experience.Such an assessment of ________ and ________ is central to the IRB review process.

Accepted Answer

A) unethical elements;ethical elements 
B) risks;benefits 
C) known outcomes;unknown potential outcomes 
D) past;future

Exam 3: Ethical Issues in Social Science Research