In socio-cultural field studies the professional investigator encounters problems which raise questions about the researcher's role and influence in the field. A study investigating how a lower and lower-middle class suburban socio-cultural society and an art teacher influence high school students' assumptions about art, also examines the…

Four ethical problems resulting from a fieldwork study of elementary education student teachers are explored. The problems include: acquiring permission to execute the study; how far to dig into personal lives to extract necessary information; the pitfalls of doing collaborative research; and how much information can be revealed without…

Industry's view of the role of academic research services, industry's return on the investment, and forms of purchase of research services are discussed and some related ethical and economic issues are presented. Four catagories of academic research services are identified: (1) available, independent, focused expertise; (2) peer review; (3)…

Two federal agencies proposed conflict-of-interest guidelines that would require scientists supported by government money to file financial-disclosure forms and universities to review those forms and eliminate conflicts of interest. The National Institutes of Health and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration proposed the…

Discusses ethical problems of research in rural Indian communities, including incompatibility of traditional world views and philosophies of ethics and science; community attitudes toward membership, taboos, and individual autonomy; confidentiality and disclosure; risks and benefits for community and leaders; and basis and provider of informed…

An emancipatory researcher morally committed to reciprocity, or sharing results with study participants, felt extremely uncomfortable when disclosing findings about power definitions to one friend and participant. Clearly, this participant felt betrayed, not emancipated, when findings were applied to her own situation. The researcher learned a…

A study investigated perceptions of 606 scientists and 91 institutional representatives (IRs) toward the National Institutes of Health Office of Research Integrity concerning appropriate punishment for unethical research behavior. Respondents suggested punishment for 80% of unethical scenarios presented to them. Punishment type was related to…

Despite widespread indifference or resistence to the idea, communication scientists need to discuss the ethical implications of their research. Fortunate in being able to conduct research, scientists are responsible to and for the larger population in whose names they do their work. They need to realize that such traditional research areas and…

The paper states that quantification is neither ethical nor unethical, but is ethically neutral. It is the behavior or intent of the human being that is clearly a matter of ethical concern. Like numerology and the sects of inumerates and qualitatives, there is not so much an unethical practice that is supported as there is a lack of vision and…

Examines the increased interest in ethical issues in social science and presents a broad framework for prediction and analysis of ethical problems. Based upon the interdependencies among sponsors, researchers, subjects, the media, and the general public, the model is illustrated with four actual research projects and is found to be predictive in…

This collection of papers examines the hidden risks that teacher researchers may face in action research. There are 12 papers in three parts. Part 1, "School-Based Researchers," includes: (1) "Drafting Ethical Guidelines for Teacher Research in Schools" (Marian M. Mohr); (2) "'Tuesday Night' Revisited: Learning to Survive" (Leslie Turner Minarik);…

Draws on a recent Canadian study of university student services and Aboriginal students to highlight the importance of a culturally sensitive research process when exploring Aboriginal issues. Discusses involvement of participants in the three phases of the study's flexible research process, which incorporated guiding values of respect,…

Information--who your prospects are, what they're interested in, who can best reach them, and what they're capable of giving--is the key to big gifts to institutions of higher education. Prospect research means digging into the personal and financial backgrounds of your donors. Professionals offer advice for drawing up ethical research and privacy…

Explores methodological issues associated with gaining access to street children and reducing the influence of the researcher's 'outsider' identity, when undertaking sociospatial research. Illustrates how meaningful results can be gleaned without the inhibitory effects of limited access and outsider influence. (Author)

This chapter summarizes the most recent literature on the best practices of Web survey implementation and offers practical advice for researchers. (Contains 1 table.)