Ethics In Social Science Research

Ethics in Social Science Research: Becoming Culturally Responsive provides a thorough grounding in research ethics, along with examples of real-world ethical dilemmas in working with vulnerable populations. Author Maria K. E. Lahman aims to help qualitative research students design ethically and culturally responsive research with communities that may be very different from their own. Throughout, compelling first person accounts of ethics in human research—both historical and contemporary—are highlighted and each chapter includes vignettes written by the author and her collaborators about real qualitative research projects.

This open access textbook offers a practical guide into research ethics for undergraduate students in the social sciences. A step-by-step approach of the most viable issues, in-depth discussions of case histories and a variety of didactical tools will aid the student to grasp the issues at hand and help him or her develop strategies to deal with them. This book addresses problems and questions that any bachelor student in the social sciences should be aware of, including plagiarism, data fabrication and other types of fraud, data augmentation, various forms of research bias, but also peer pressure, issues with confidentiality and questions regarding conflicts of interest. Cheating, ‘free riding’, and broader issues that relate to the place of the social sciences in society are also included. The book concludes with a step-by-step approach designed to coach a student through a research application process.

Research in the humanities and social sciences thrives on critical reflections that unfold with each research project, not only in terms of knowledge created, but in whether chosen methodologies served their purpose. Ethics forms the bulwark of any social science research methodology and it requires continuous engagement and reengagement for the greater advancement of knowledge. Each chapter in this book will draw from the empirical knowledge created through intensive fieldwork and provide an account of ethical questions faced by the contributors, placing them in the context of contemporary debates surrounding the theory and practice of ethics. The chapters have been thematically organized into five sections: Feminist Ethics: Cross-Cultural Reflections and Its Implications for Change; Researching Physical and Sexual Violence in Non-Academic Settings: A Need for Ethical Protocols; Human Agency, Reciprocity, Participation and Activism: Meanings for Social Science Research Ethics; Emotions, Conflict and Dangerous Fields: Issues of “Safety” and Reflective Research; and Social Science Education: Training in Ethics or “Ethical Training” and “Ethical Publicizing." This inter-disciplinary volume will interest students and researchers in academic and non-academic settings in core disciplines of Anthropology, Sociology, Law, Political Science, International Relations, Geography, or inter-disciplinary degrees in Development Studies, Health Studies, Public Health Policy, Social Policy, Health Policy, Psychology, Peace and Conflict studies, and Gender Studies. The book features a foreword by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

Brings together international scholars across the social and behavioural sciences and education to address those ethical issues that arise in the theory and practice of research within the technologically advancing and culturally complex world in which we live.

This book addresses the ethical and methodological issues that researchers face while conducting cross-cultural social research. With globalization and advanced means of communication and transportation, many researchers conduct research in cross-cultural, multicultural, and transnational settings. Through a range of case studies, and drawing on a range of disciplinary expertise, this book addresses the ethics, errors, and ethnocentrism of conducting law and crime related research in settings where power differences, as well as stereotypes, may come into play. Including chapters from scholars across cultures and settings – including Greece, Canada, Vienna, South Africa, India, and the United States – this book provides an invaluable survey of the issues attending cross-cultural social justice research today. Engaging issues confronted by all cross-cultural researchers this book will be invaluable to those working across the social sciences as well as professionals in criminal justice and social work.

This book gives a voice to debates surrounding social science research ethics in Africa and brings them together in a coherent form to assist readers in being at the forefront of the discussions. The book gives an overview of the importance of research ethics in social sciences, as well as articulating the African influence on the subject matter. Subsequently it looks into specific frameworks and tools that researchers can apply in the process of doing research. Last but not least it also takes an in-depth look at traditional ethical issues pertaining to research in social sciences, through the lens of the African continent. This is the first book on social science research ethics in an African context and an indispensable resource for researchers, students, policy makers and research institutions in or interested in African research ethics.

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.

This edited collection focuses on the virtue theory and the ethics of social science research.