ABSTRACT
There are very few publications that focus on the ethical issues confronting those who gather self-report data in a research context (see LaGreca, 1990). Perhaps one reason for this lack of attention is that, compared to naturalistic observation and deception-based research, self-report surveys seem rather benign. Self-report measures are usually fairly straightforward, and a willingness to fill out a survey or answer a researcher’s questions implies a consent to participate in the study being conducted. In contrast, unobtrusive observations and deception studies can not, by their nature, be fully consented to without compromising the data collected, and people in such studies may not even be fully aware that they are research participants. Despite these superficial differences, self-report data collection is fraught with just as many ethical concerns, albeit of a somewhat different nature, as experimental and observational research.
