The ethics of research

There are many ethical issues in sociological research. Perhaps the most controversial con­cerns the scientist's right to research and the subjects' rights to dignity, self-determination, and privacy. For Edward Shils, a leading sociologist, all social science must be disciplined by meticulous attention to the problem of privacy. He would rule out any "observations of private behaviour, however technically feasible, without the explicit and fully informed permission of the person to be observed."

Few would deny that social scientists can go too far in intruding on privacy. Can sociologists avoid encroaching on the rights of individuals and organizations? Following Shils, at least in principle, if all the conditions of informed con­sent – full information, a fair explanation and description of the methods, goals, benefits, and possible risks to subjects – have been fulfilled, then researchers may feel confident that the well-being of their subjects has been given sat­isfactory consideration.

But there are other questions not covered by the recommendations just listed. When re­search is sponsored by government agencies, for example, what are the investigators' respon­sibilities concerning how it is used? Must re­searchers worry about how special interests use or distort their findings? Or, if sociologists un­cover illegal practices when they study an orga­nization, do they have a social duty to report the matter? Sociologists must also be wary of cooptation when they work for the government as well as private organizations; it is difficult to resist assuming, over time, the viewpoint of their employers and grantors, or to deny per­mission for their research to be used to provide a scientific "gloss" for whatever policies an or­ganization wishes to implement. Too often so­ciologists as well as other researchers have been manipulated into endorsing the policy of an or­ganization that employs them.

Researchers must assume the responsibility for deciding when they have crossed beyond the bounds of ethics. To illustrate the issues sociologists must confront, let us consider the question of deception. In his observation of ho­mosexual activities in a public restroom, re­searcher Laud Humphries kept the identity of the participants secret but did not make clear to them at the time that they were subjects in a sociological study. Obviously, had he done so, it is doubtful that any assurances of anonymity could have persuaded them to cooperate. The real ethical issue in that research is not so much whether the researcher was justified in not dis­closing his purpose but whether this deliberate deception was itself morally proper.

In order to gain entry into the scene, Hum­phries posed as a "watchqueen" – a voyeur and lookout. Further, the researcher infringed upon their right to privacy. Most of the subjects did not want their sexual activities known and probably would have refused to participate in a research study. One commentator on such research ploys has observed that had the researcher been unable to keep secret the identities of his sub­jects, their careers could have been ruined, their families disrupted, and their mental health impaired. Quite apart from giving sociology a bad name, the use of deception in field work poisons the atmosphere of all social science re­search.