ABSTRACT

This chapter presents some potential ethical pitfalls, which seems preferable to learning by trial and error. A good starting point for identifying an ethical problem might be to try and pin down what “ethics” are. The term ethical denotes conformity to a code or set of principles. Ethical problems arise in research situations when two (or more) sets of values or interests are in conflict. In psychological research the harm is most likely to take the form of painful memories or embarrassment. Privacy and confidentiality are two ethical issues that are crucial to social scientists, who, by the very nature of their research, frequently ask people to share with them their thoughts, attitudes, and experiences. So far the principle of confidentiality probably seems quite straightforward, and unlikely to give rise to an ethical dilemma for a thoughtful researcher. In an ideal situation the informed consent form should specify who will have access to the data and for how long.