ACR paragraph. Domashchenko Mariia

Ethical issues in a sociological research

Arguments	Counterarguments	Rebuttal
●     informed consent very often prevents people from taking part in a research	●     many unprotected categories of people may be “used” by a researcher	●     the rights of unprotected categories must be defended, but without exaggerated bureaucratism
●     positive impacts of a research for the common well being	●     some individuals may suffer from the research	●     a sociologist must always weigh possible positive and negative impacts

Ethical issues play an important role in any sociological research, but there is much evidence that strict regulations, such as present in the USA, can hurt the research in particular and further development of the sociological science as a whole. Many human rights protectors, for example Freedman and Cassel, claim that the informed consent is the only correct decision. Their concern can  be understood, because some vulnerable categories of people, such as homeless, elderly, drug-addicts, might suffer from an improper use of their personal data. However, human rights protectors ignore the fact that a lot of people become suspicious after they are asked to sign an informed consent. As a result, in many cases respondents refuse to take part in the research, which makes response rates even lower than usual. Therefore, sociologists have to balance between two extremes and find the way to defend vulnerable categories of people without making it another bureaucratic procedure. On the other hand, some studies influence people’s lives too much, and it is another concern of the informed consent proponents. Some studies undoubtedly make a big impact on the lives of individuals; but, what is even more important, some of these studies have positive results to the whole society. That is why, all researchers have to weigh possible positive and negative impacts of their studies. For instance, if a group of researchers found ways illegal immigrants get into a country, they might be faced with a choice: either to tell the authorities or not. They would choose between the prosperity of his country, and the individual fate. This situation is an illustration for the ethical issues every researcher has to face. It also shows that if the informed consent had been needed, this research team would have never come to their findings.

For more information refer to: Thorne, Barrie. "You Still Takin' Notes?" Fieldwork and Problems of Informed Consent Social Problems, Vol. 27, No. 3, Ethical Problems of Fieldwork (Feb., 1980), pp. 284-297.