Practise

1. The goals of ethical research include ______.

a. ensuring that people participate voluntarily

b. making people’s comments and behaviour confidential

c. protecting people from harm

d. all of these

e. making people’s comments and behaviour confidential and protecting people from harm only

Ans: D – all of these. All of these are general principles that most researchers would agree with across disciplines.

2. Informed consent means that ______.

a. research subjects have the right to know that they are being researched

b. they have the right to be informed about the nature of the research

c. the right to withdraw at any time

d. all of these

e. None of these

Ans: D – all of these. For informed consent, participants should aware that they have all of these rights.

3. Once your research subjects have given their consent, this holds throughout the research and they shouldn’t be allowed to withdraw.’

a. always true

b. sometimes true

c. always false

d. sometimes false

e. an aspiration that is neither true nor false

Ans: C - always false. Allowing participants to withdraw at any time (‘process consent’) is a better way of safeguarding participants than a once-and-for-all ‘informed consent’.

4. Maddie wanted to interview overseas students about their experiences at a British university. In the course of her research, she was put on the spot when overseas students asked her about the British view of overseas students. To be ethical, should she ______.

a. refuse to answer

b. answer by explaining that she would be in a better position to respond after she had found out their views

c. refer them to research in the library

d. keep to her interview schedule

e. None of these

Ans: B – answer by explaining that she would be in a better position to respond after she had found out their views. This answer continues the natural flow of conversation, but by not sharing her views, Maddie avoids influencing the answers of the study participant.

5. Your research involves studying small children. Which is the most ethical way to proceed?

a. ask the parents

b. ask the children

c. ask both parents and children

d. assume that the children are happy to participate

e. choose a less ethically challenging topic

Ans: C – ask both parents and children

6. Researchers commonly proceed ethically by anonymizing respondents’ identities. What should you do when someone asks to be identified?

a. refuse to identify them

b. respect their wishes

c. explain that this would be unethical

d. all of these

e. None of these

Ans: B – respect their wishes

7. ‘Online blogs are often meant to be public. Therefore, no ethical issues arise in accessing them for research purposes’.

a. always true

b. sometimes true

c. always false

d. sometimes false

e. an aspiration that is neither true nor false

Ans: C – always false

8. ‘Ethical issues can be finally settled at the start of your research.’

a. always true

b. sometimes true

c. always false

d. sometimes false

e. an aspiration that is neither true nor false

Ans: C – always false