Deck 3: Ethics and Research

Question 1

Which idea is part of the history of ethics and research in Communication Studies?

A) Translating values into social actions
B) Moral character, or ethos
C) Discerning a common good
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Balancing the potential benefits and harms of scientific research is known as

A) Utilitarian ethics
B) Practical ethics
C) Conservative ethics
D) Relativism ethics

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Nuremburg Code arose from these inhumane and unethical research studies:

A) The untreated syphilis studies on Tuskegee black males
B) The Nazi medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners
C) The testing of cosmetics on animals
D) All of the above

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The following study would not be subject to an Institutional Review Board's approval:

A) A professor's plan to observe and talk to elementary school children during recess
B) A graduate student's plan to survey a group of moviegoers about the effects of movie violence after they have watched specific movies
C) A university administrator's plan to assess how well students are achieving learning outcomes.
D) None of the above would require IRB approval.

Question 5

You have proposed to study how presidential candidate acceptance speeches have changed over the past 50 years by analyzing the speech transcripts. Your research proposal would likely be

A) Deemed exempt from IRB review
B) Given an expedited review
C) Deemed non-exempt from IRB review
D) Given a full IRB review

Question 6

The Facebook experiment that deliberately varied the kinds of emotional content posted on users' news feeds did not require IRB review because

A) It was important to understanding emotional contagion
B) It did not involve university researchers
C) It was not supported by federal funds
D) Users had not agreed to a data use policy

Question 7

Most university IRBs follow these National Institute of Health guidelines that include

A) Respect, consideration, appreciation
B) Privacy, protection, reimbursement
C) Beneficence, respect, justice
D) Both b and c

Question 8

When participants' data is collected (and/or presented) in ways that neither the researcher nor readers of the research manuscript will be able to identify the participants' names or identities, the researcher is providing:

A) Anonymity
B) Confidentiality
C) Secrecy
D) Recognition

Question 9

Which term relates to protecting research participants' right to be treated with honesty?

A) Academic freedom
B) Confidentiality
C) Debriefing
D) None of the above

Question 10

The concern that researchers should treat people fairly and consider who will bear the costs as well as benefit from research reflects the value of

A) Privacy
B) Justice
C) Beneficence
D) Safety

Question 11

Informed consent documents protect participants' rights to:

A) Freely choose participation in a research study
B) Maintain their privacy
C) Be treated with honesty and respect
D) Know about the benefits of research

Question 12

IRB boards are required to have members who

A) Have varied backgrounds (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, cultural heritage)
B) Have the same research expertise as the proposed study
C) Have the same campus affiliation
D) All of the above

Question 13

A research protocol includes

A) Evidence that you have completed your institution's ethics training
B) An abbreviated literature review related to your research topic
C) A description of your methods for collecting and analyzing data
D) All of the above

Question 14

Communication research is deemed exempt if:

A) Participants are able to autonomously consent to participate.
B) The research is conducted in an educational setting or includes educational testing.
C) The research uses existing data that is publicly available.
D) All of the above requirements must be met.

Question 15

Which element(s) below must be included on the informed consent document?

A) Purpose of the study
B) Procedures to be used in the research
C) Risks and benefits to research participants
D) All of the above

Question 16

If people are unlikely to benefit from the research, then they should not be subject to the risks of participating. This statement reflects this type of justice ethic:

A) Distributive
B) Procedural
C) Corrective
D) None of the above

Question 17

Everyone gets to participate equally in the research process, even though some people might benefit from it more than others reflects this type of justice ethic:

A) Distributive
B) Procedural
C) Corrective
D) None of the above

Question 18

As you are developing a research project, your ethical considerations should include

A) A review of published literature on your topic to see what is known
B) A review of your own expertise for conducting the proposed study
C) A review of the social significance of your proposed study
D) All of the above
E) Both A and C

Question 19

Using your smart phone to video people who do not know they are being recorded is an example of

A) A failure to debrief
B) Use of a confederate
C) A violation of confidentiality
D) A violation of privacy

Question 20

Which statement about IRBs is false?

A) All publicly funded research institutions must have an IRB.
B) A study that meets the exempt criteria will usually receive an expedited review by the IRB chair or sub-group of the full committee.
C) A study that meets the exempt criteria will usually receive a full review by the IRB.
D) Some studies do not require any IRB review, but they still require ethical decisions for researchers.
Essays:

Question 21

Describe the history of unethical research that led to the development of national standards for ethical research in the United States.

Question 22

Discuss some of the ways that you, as a researcher, can translate the values of justice, beneficence, and respect for the autonomy of persons into action when you are designing, conducting, and reporting communication research.

Question 23

Discuss two similarities and two differences in the ethical choices that quantitative social science researchers might have to make when using human participants in a study versus interpretive or critical researchers who are studying an artifact or text.