Ethics in Criminal Justice Research
This week our chapter is about ethics in research.
Please read the following article:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/science/the-rational-choices-of-crack-addicts.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0(Links to an external site.)
If this link does not work, please google, “the rational choices of crack addicts.”
Discuss this study and the ethical issues involved.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
/
Printed by: [emailprotected] Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted without publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Chapter 3:
Ethics in Criminal Justice Research
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
#
Learning Objectives
Recognize how criminal justice research is shaped by ethical considerations.
Understand that what is ethically right and wrong in research is ultimately a matter of what people agree is right and wrong.
Understand why researchers may not recognize whether their own work adequately addresses ethical issues.
Summarize how ethical questions usually involve weighing the possible benefits of research against the potential harm to research subjects.
Understand the norm of voluntary participation and how it can conflict with generalizability.
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
Learning Objectives, cont.
Describe examples of the special ethical questions sometimes raised by criminal justice research.
Discuss how informed consent addresses many ethical questions.
Distinguish anonymity and confidentiality as ways to protect the privacy of research subjects.
Summarize ethical principles presented in the Belmont Report.
Describe why prisoners and juveniles require special ethical considerations.
Understand the role of institutional review boards (IRBs) in protecting human subjects.
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice Research
Ethical concerns Typically associated with morality; both deal with matters of right & wrong
Ethical – May be defined as behavior conforming to the standards of conduct of a given group
Ethics are a matter of agreement among professionals
We need to know of this general, shared conception among CJ researchers
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 2
4
No Harm to Participants
Dilemma Balancing potential benefits against possibility of harm
Collecting info from active criminals presents the possibility of violence against them
Psychological harm via remembrance of unpleasant/traumatic experience
Possible harm may be justified by potential benefit of study (still arbitrary)
Perrone Drug use in N.Y. dance clubs
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 4
5
Voluntary Participation
CJ research often intrudes into peoples lives
Asks them to reveal what is generally unknown
Participation must be voluntary
This threatens generalizability
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 5
6
Anonymity and Confidentiality
Anonymity When a researcher cannot identify a given piece of information with a given person
Confidentiality A researcher can link information with a subject, but promises not to do so publicly
Techniques: Replace names/addresses with IDs, specify when survey is C rather than A, specify that info will not be disclosed to third parties
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 8
7
Deceiving Subjects
Generally considered unethical
Sometimes useful and even necessary to identify yourself as a researcher
Dont go undercover
Widom (1999) child abuse and illegal drug use
Inciardi (1993) studying crack houses
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 6
8
Discussion Question 1
Do you think being deceived during the course of a criminal justice study would change the way you view the role of science in public policy?
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
Analysis and Reporting
Researchers have ethical obligations to the scientific community
Must make shortcomings and/or negative findings known
Must tell the truth about pitfalls and problems youve experienced
It is as important to know that two things are not related as to know that they are
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 3
10
Legal Liability
Researchers may expose themselves to criminal liability by:
Failing to report observed criminal activity to the police
Engaging in participant observation studies where crimes are committed
Subpoenas violate confidentiality
Legal immunity (42 U.S. Code 22.28a)
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 6
11
Discussion Question 2
What if someone asked you to identify the most pressing ethical issue in your life? How would you reply?
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
Special Problems
Becoming aware of staff misbehavior in agencies
Research can cause crime or influence its location or target
Crime may be displaced
Withholding desirable treatments from control group
Mandatory Reporting: the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 6
13
Promoting Compliance with Ethical Principles
The National Research Act (1974): signed into law after a few highly publicized examples of unethical practices in medical and social science research
The Belmont Report (1979): a brief, but comprehensive set of ethical principles for protecting human subjects
Respect for Persons
Beneficence
Justice
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 9
14
Code of Professional Ethics
The American Psychological Association (2002) code of ethics is quite detailed, reflecting the different professional roles of psychologists in research, clinical treatment, and educational contexts
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Ethical Standards
American Society of Criminology Code of Ethics
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
American Bar Association Code of Professional Responsibility
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 9
15
Institutional Review Boards
Gov. agencies and non-gov. organizations must establish Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)
Members make judgments about overall risks and their acceptability
Members decide whether research procedures include safeguards to protect safety, confidentiality, and general welfare of subjects
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 11
16
Discussion Question 3
What would modern social science look like without the IRB?
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
Informed Consent and Special Populations
Informed consent Requires that subjects both have the capacity to understand and do understand the research, risks, side effects, benefits to subjects, and procedures used
New Jersey State Troopers and Racial Profiling
Special populations Specific regulations exist for certain populations, such as juveniles and prisoners
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 7
18
Researcher Rights
Many social research study designs are regarded as exempt from IRB review under federal guidelines
Exempt means that research proposals do not have to be subject to full IRB review
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 11
19
Trouble in the Tearoom
Laud Humphreys (1975) Studied homosexual acts between strangers who meet in public restrooms in parks (tearooms)
Served as watchqueen
Noted plate numbers of participants, tracked down names and addresses through police, conducted a survey to obtain personal info at their homes
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 6
20
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Dispositional hypothesis Prisons are brutal and dehumanizing because of people in them
Situational hypothesis Prison environment creates brutal and dehumanizing conditions independent of the people in them
Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo Sought to test situational hypothesis by simulating a prison in 1971
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 6
21
The Stanford Prison Experiment, cont.
Prison constructed in basement of psychology building
24 healthy/psychologically normal subjects selected, offered $15 a day for their participation
Asked to sign a contract that they would be confined, put under constant surveillance, and have their civil rights suspended but would not be subject to physical abuse
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 6
22
The Stanford Prison Experiment, part III
Terminated after 6 days (planned for 2 weeks)
Subjects displayed unexpectedly intense reactions
Five had to be released b/c they showed signs of acute depression or anxiety
Guards became aggressive, prisoners became passive
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 6
23
Researchers Sensitive to Ethical Issues?
Obtained consent via signed contracts
Those who developed signs of acute distress were released early
Study was terminated prematurely
Group therapy debriefing sessions were conducted, along with follow-ups, to ensure negative experiences were temporary
#
2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LO 6
24
