Research Methods in Crime and Justice

1. Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 3 The Ethical Principles that Guide Researchers

2. Ethics in Social Science Research • Social science researchers are obliged to improve the human condition through research. • Ethical behavior is often determined by the particular circumstances of a research project. • There are, however, seven enduring ethical principles that should guide researchers.

3. Principle 1: Do No Harm • Neither the research process nor the researcher should do anything that would put another person at risk of harm. • Physical harm • Psychological harm • Legal harm • Researchers should develop contingencies to mitigate potential harm and even abandon potentially harmful research projects.

4. Principle 2: Ensure Privacy • Privacy is the right to be left alone. • In research we differentiate between two types of privacy. • Confidentiality – that researchers know but agree not to divulge the identity of research subjects. • Anonymity – occurs when the researcher does not and cannot know the identity of research subjects.

5. Principle 3: Obtain Voluntary and Informed Consent • Research subjects must consent to participate in research projects. • Consent must be; • Voluntary – subjects are completely free to participate or not participate without threat, and • Informed – subjects are told what is expected of them and the risks associated with the research.

6. Principle 4: Get Permission • Researchers must seek and obtain permission to access research subjects. • Vulnerable populations – comprised of individuals who are less able to manage their own affairs. • Children • Mentally ill • Inmates • Additional safeguards must be in place when working with a vulnerable population.

7. Principle 5: Avoid Sponsorship Bias and Suppression • Sponsorship bias – occurs when the sponsor of a research project attempts to influence the study’s design of interpretation of the data for the sponsor’s own benefit. • Suppression – occurs when a research sponsor fails to disclose findings that shed an unfavorable light on the sponsor’s products or services.

8. Principle 6: Prevent Misrepresentation • Occurs in many forms • Misrepresentation – is purposeful lying. • Research fraud – is an extreme form of misrepresentation that may involved lying about or fabricating data and research findings. • Plagiarism – a form of misrepresentation involving the presentation of another person’s intellectual property as one’s own. • Deception – occurs when a researcher lends credibility to an unscrupulously produce research project.

9. Principle 7: Ensure the Safety of Researchers • Extends the do no harm principle to researchers and their assistants. • Criminal justice researchers often find themselves in the presence of dangerous people and situations. • Researchers should develop contingency plans to insure their safety as well as that of their assistants.

10. Minimizing Ethical Dilemmas • Most of the ethical principles have been codified into legislation, regulations and codes of conduct. • Collectively, these rules represent the minimum standard of ethical conduct.

11. Legislation and Policy Oversight • Researchers are bound by; • International treaties, • Federal laws and regulations, and • Institutional procedures. • When their research involves collecting data from human subjects.

12. Institutional Review Boards • Institutional review boards (IRBs) • Supported by most universities and research organizations . • Staffed with experienced researchers. • Review proposed research to be sure the human subjects involved will not be harmed by the research.

13. Levels of an IRB Review • The intensity of an IRB review is determined by the potential harm the research project could have on humans. • Expedited review – occur when very little potential for harm is anticipated (e.g. an anonymous survey). • Full reviews – occur when the proposed research could cause substantial harm to the human subjects involved (e.g. requesting highly personal information from research subjects).

14. Codes of Ethics • Many scholarly, academic and professional organizations publish codes of ethics. • These codes govern the research behavior of their members.

15. Getting to the Point • Social science researchers should be concerned about ethics because ultimately their obligation is to improve the human condition through research. • What constitutes ethical behavior often depends on the particular circumstances of individual research projects.

16. Getting to the Point • The principle of doing no harm means that researchers should never subject research participants to physical danger, cause them psychological harm or expose them to legal liability. • Researchers should build contingencies into the research plan to prevent or mitigate potential harm. • In extreme cases, they should abandon the research project altogether.

17. Getting to the Point • Privacy means the right to be left alone and free from public scrutiny. • There are two types of privacy in research. • Confidentialitymeans that the researcher knows who the research subjects are, but does not disclose their identity to others. • Anonymitymeans that nobody, not even the researcher, knows the identity of the research subjects.

18. Getting to the Point • Researchers must obtain consent from research subjects prior to collecting information from them. • This consent must be given; • Voluntarily meaning that the research subjects must be completely free to participate or not participate without threat, and • Informedmeaning that the researcher must inform the research subjects about the research and any risks associated with participation in the research.

19. Getting to the Point • Researchers must seek and obtain permission to work with individuals who are considered vulnerable by virtue of their diminished capacity to direct their own affairs. • Vulnerable populations include children, the mentally ill, the infirm, the elderly and prisoners.

20. Getting to the Point • Sponsorship bias occurs when the sponsor of a research project attempts to influence the study design or interpretation of data for its own benefit. • Suppressionoccurs when a research sponsor fails to disclose findings that shed an unfavorable light on the sponsor’s products or services.

21. Getting to the Point • Research misrepresentation involves lying about data, results and authorship in research. • Research fraud is fabricating research data or results. • Plagiarism is presenting the intellectual property of another as your own • Deceptionis lending one’s name and/or reputation to a research project that one does not know much about.

22. Getting to the Point • The principle of doing no harm extends to the safety of researchers. • Research supervisors should ensure the physical, psychological and legal safety of researchers. • Researchers have an ethical obligation to report criminal activity that could cause harm to themselves or others.

23. Getting to the Point • Researchers are subject to numerous international treaties, federal and state laws, and institutional regulations that are designed to protect human research subjects.

24. Getting to the Point • Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) review research proposals that involve human subjects. • The level of scrutiny depends on the potential for human harm.

25. Getting to the Point • Many professional organizations and most universities publish formally written codes of ethics. • These codes are intended to provide guidance to professionals and members of organizations on how to behave ethically.

26. Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 3 The Ethical Principles that Guide Researchers