The use of humans as subjects of research has raised ethical concerns in the contemporary debates. In the United States, several tests have been carried out on human subjects without their consent despite a legal requirement that the opinion of the subject should be sought prior to the commencement of the experiment (Kimmel, 2009). This study explores the ethical concerns with regard to four different proposals that seek to use human beings for experiments. The proposals include group membership, tearoom trade, esteem and out-group perceptions, social identity conflict and the dynamics of self-help groups. They are identified as proposal I, 2, 3, 5, and 6 respectively. The paper analyses the methodology and ethics in each proposal to determine if the proposal are ethical or fail to meet acceptable ethical obligations.
Proposal 1: Group membership
In this proposal, the researcher expresses his interest in the how groups bind its members. The author hypothesizes that the cost of seeking membership would increase the commitment of members to the group. The reverse is also true, according to the claim. The researcher indicates that methods of achieving this outcome would involve assigning students (subjects) two conditions. The first condition involves placing subjects in a quiet buzz for about five minutes while the second condition involves introducing shocks. The researcher explains that the groups that would be introduced to shocks would be more committed to their ideas of the group compared to the ones that would be in a quiet buzz. This method of research is observational in nature because it involves the observation of the researcher to the reaction or response of the subjects to a particular research stimulus.
The design used in this study is experimental because it would involve carrying out physical experiments involving students as the subjects. Experimental research design is similar to the Milgram experiment in which electric shock was introduced to investigate whether students can obey orders to carry out tasks that they are not willing to perform consciously. This research proposal is unethical because the researcher fails to indicate the ways in which he will administer experiment to human subjects. The proposal fails to mention whether the consent of the subjects would be sought before they are engaged in the process of experiment. For the purposes of this work, the researcher should demonstrate a deeper commitment to use human subjects in a manner that promotes and enhances their dignity.
Proposal 2: Tearoom trade
This research proposal focuses on a group of individuals whose behaviour is considered aberrant. These individuals have converted a tearoom into a brothel for the expression of homosexual activities. The measurement method used in this research will be observation. This method will be appropriate because it would involve looking into the specific activities that this group shall carry out. Observation would provide primary information that would be useful in the development of the paper.
The design of the project would be a case study since it would focus on a specific group of individuals and their behaviour. According to Yin (2013) case studies are important in research because they narrow down to issues in a specific context. The researcher opines that the individual would be interviewed to with the aim of finding relevant information about their behaviour. This research is ethical because the researcher would engage in pure observation. It would help in understanding the transmission of diseases such as AIDS among homosexuals.
Proposal 3: Esteem and out-group perceptions
Like the first proposal, this research paper would text hypothesis among individuals that are considered to have low self-esteem. Although the appropriate hypothesis for this research is missing, the researcher explains the methodology by which he would carry out this experiment. By placing 40 people on a test on social intelligence, this paper would have used humans as subjects. The use of interviews in the debriefing process is a good idea because it would reflect the attitude of individual member. In this regard, it would be easy to analyse the perception based on this data.
The design used in this research will be experiment because it would involve administering tests on 40 people and gauging their attitudes and perceptions towards other of people of racial origins. This proposal is ethical because the humans used as subjects would not undergo any physical harm in the pursuit of solutions to the research problem. Experiments allow the researcher to observe the behaviour of variables and determine the relationship between these variables (Bryman, 2015).
Proposal 5: Social identity conflict
This study area is interesting since it discovers the causes behind the aggression of groups. It occurs against the backdrop of a study that has revealed the competitiveness of a group in relation to an individual. The researcher states that the subjects involved in this study would be given prior information ahead of their involvement in the research problem. The method used in this study involves the introduction of shocks which the groups shall administer to each other. The researcher intends to use a shock machine that would deliver harmless shocks when used. It follows that the study methodology would rely on observation to examine the aggression of the groups. The observation method of data collection is first hand and based on the researcher’s accounts. This method erases elements of bias that may influence the data collected from other sources.
This study will involve performing an experiment among various groups to examine the response of one group to an aggression from the other group. Experimental studies are useful in research because they yield primary results based on the manipulation of variables to meet the researcher’s goal and intentions (Yin, 2013). This study is also correlational in nature because it would assess if there is a correlation between the competitiveness and the group. The researcher has mentioned that the study will seek the permission of various groups through written consent. This initiative would help erase any ethical concerns that may be associated with this research. The underlying principle in the use of humans as subjects of research is the compliance with the ethical codes governing similar research (Kimmel, 2009). One of the guidelines is to observe transparency and accountability in the research process. The individual carrying out research should inform in advance the human subjects involved about the nature and outcome of the research process. In this regard, the decision by the researcher to obtain approval from various groups regarding the use of shocks is welcome.
Proposal 6: dynamics of self-help groups
The proposal will utilize observation as a method of study. This method will encompass identification of the researcher with his targeted audience (self-help groups). During the familiarization process, the researcher seeks to attend the meetings of this group for one year as he follows details of every meeting. The study would rely on interviews which would establish the history of the group and how the individual members struggle to overcome alcohol addiction. The researcher has mentioned that he would publish results from this study.
This research qualifies as a case study because it would be tailored to address the problems of a specific target group. The use of case studies in research helps researchers to concentrate on a small target group as a representative of other groups. In this study, it would be possible to identify certain group problems to understand the problems and challenges of other groups. The research proposal is ethical, since it would be transparent in nature given the detailed methodology that the researcher wants to employ in solving the research problem.
References
Bryman, A. (2015). Social research methods. Oxford university press. Print.
Kimmel, A. J. (2009). Ethical issues in behavioral research: Basic and applied perspectives.
John Wiley & Sons. Print.
Yin, R. K. (2013). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage publications. Print.
