Deck 2: Ethics and Criminal Justice Research

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of research where there was potential harm to the researcher?

A)John Monahan and associates' research on violence.
B)Bruce Johnson's study of heroin users in New York where participants were gathered by word of mouth among addicts.
C)Reuter, MacCoun, and Murphy's study using probation records to identify drug dealers.
D)all of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is not essential in maintaining confidentiality in field or survey interviews?

A)remove names and addresses from data-collection forms
B)keep a master identification file linking numbers to names so that at a future date, data can be corrected where necessary
C)put the master file on the computer so that you do not leave paper copies of the file laying around
D)only legitimate researchers should have access to the master file

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The benefits and burdens of participating in research should be distributed fairly.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

As a rule, possible harm to subjects may be justified when the potential benefits of the study outweigh the possible harm.

Question 5

Ethical considerations in research are always evident.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is NOT accurate?

A)It is often as important to know that two things are not related as to know that they are related.
B)Researchers are not ethically obligated to admit mistakes they made doing their research.
C)Unexpected findings need not be reported.
D)Researchers do not need to respond to court orders.

Question 7

The foremost ethical issue addressed by institutional review boards is _____.

A)voluntary participation
B)emotional harm done to subjects
C)whether funding was received from an appropriate source
D)does the research deal with special populations

Question 8

Which of the following is a technique that works well when interviewing subjects about topics that may be emotionally or psychologically challenging?

A)having the researcher ask questions from behind a curtain so that the subject does not see the interviewer
B)asking the subject to respond to questions on a laptop computer
C)putting the researcher in a disguise so that the subject does not know their identity
D)put the subject in a disguise so that they cannot be identified

Question 9

The researcher can lessen the potential for harm when doing research by _____.

A)putting themselves in the line of danger to avoid harm to the participant
B)never telling the subject about the potential of harm
C)using field studies as the main source of research
D)considering which study design to use with regard to its potential for harm

Question 10

Confidentiality and anonymity mean the same thing, so they can be used interchangeably.

Question 11

Criminal justice research has the potential for all but which of the following?

A)psychological harm
B)physical harm
C)embarrassment
D)harm to the reader of the research

Question 12

Harm to research subjects may be justified if the potential benefits of the study outweigh the harm.

Question 13

In all cases, participation as a subject in research is voluntary.

Question 14

Individuals must be allowed to make their own decisions about participation in research.

Question 15

Deception of subjects is never appropriate.

Question 16

Which of the examples below would create an ethical dilemma when doing applied research that is evaluative in nature?

A)In an attempt to measure the success of a prison pre-release program, the researchers measure re-arrests and re-convictions and determine those to be failures.
B)Program staff of a pre-trial diversion program visit the homes of those awaiting trial on a nightly basis to make sure that they adhere to a curfew.
C)Upon review of a juvenile probation department, researchers found that contact sheets, which are designed to keep track of both phone and personal interactions between the officer and the juvenile, in one probation officer's files were all dated June 15th.
D)To measure the success of an adult drug treatment facility, researchers offered both the clients and the treatment staff confidentiality.

Question 17

The research goal of voluntary participation may be impossible to follow.

Question 18

Which of the following is not a purpose of institutional review boards?

A)to determine whether adequate safeguards are in place to protect the welfare of human subjects
B)to make sure that grant money is spent appropriately
C)for judgments to be made about the overall risks to human subjects and to determine if these risks are acceptable
D)to make sure that researchers have enough money for travel

Question 19

Non-Government organizations that conduct research involving human subjects need not establish review committees known as institutional review boards.

Question 20

When assessing the potential for harm, the researcher should _____.

A)proceed only when they are confident that no harm will result
B)proceed only when the harm potential is psychological and not physical
C)never proceed when harm is a potential
D)proceed when the benefit outweighs the harm

Question 21

A group of researchers from an urban institute want to employ some target hardening techniques in their area.Which of the following might they expect?

A)an immediate increase in crime in their area
B)a decrease in crime in surrounding areas
C)an increase in crime in surrounding areas
D)crime rates staying the same since target hardening has been proven time and again to be ineffective

Question 22

The word ethical means:

A)conforming to the standards of conduct of a given profession or group
B)conforming to the standards of conduct of religion
C)conforming to the norms or standards of royal family
D)conforming to the standards of conduct of what is seen in the media

Question 23

According to federal regulations, which of the following represents special populations that need attention in the field of criminal justice?

A)general public
B)juvenile delinquents
C)movie stars
D)Parents

Question 24

If a researcher uses only those subjects who volunteer for a study, then which of the following may result?

A)non-volunteers feel left out
B)the results could not be generalized to a larger group of people
C)no one would be interested in the outcome because non-volunteers are not included
D)subjects may not like the results.

Question 25

A promise of anonymity is unlikely to be extended in which of the following techniques?

A)use of department of corrections summary data
B)personal interviews
C)questionnaires that do not request identifying information
D)anonymity is really impossible in all forms of research

Question 26

An interview with victims of domestic violence designed to measure their reluctance to report their victimization to the police may result in _____.

A)physical harm
B)psychological harm
C)no harm at all
D)the police coming to arrest the abuser

Question 27

Researchers may face legal liability when _____.

A)researchers refuse to work with their subjects
B)they become participants in the criminal activity they are observing
C)both of the above
D)fortunately, researchers are protected from legal liability

Question 28

Which of the following is not an accurate description of the simulated prison project?

A)subjects accepted their roles very readily with guards becoming aggressive while prisoners became passive
B)debriefing sessions were held at the conclusion of the project to ensure that there was no long term damage to the participants
C)participants were allowed to leave the simulation periodically so that emotions did not run too high
D)videotapes and audio tapes were made of the entire simulation

Question 29

A local university is hosting the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)for a large group of prospective law students.Since there is such a large group taking the test, some professors of sociology from the local university decide to administer a questionnaire to the group asking their ideas on teenage sexual promiscuity.The professors informed the group about their research project.They assured them that their identity will not be disclosed and all information gathered will remain confidential.Which ethical consideration was not considered?

A)explaining the purpose
B)voluntary participation
C)anonymity
D)confidentiality

Question 30

Which of the following represents voluntary participation?

A)giving small amounts of money to a subject
B)asking people on the street at the noon hour if they would like to participate in research
C)using a class of students at the local college
D)full disclosure of research purpose with informed consent

Question 31

Attempts to guard against harm to the participants in the simulated prison were accomplished by all but which of the following?

A)making certain that all participants were psychologically healthy
B)insisting that those who were assigned the guard role would not use physical force against those assigned to the role of prisoner
C)any participant who showed distress was released from the simulation early
D)telling the participants in advance about all the potential harm

Question 32

Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo designed a simulated prison to measure _____.

A)the dispositional hypothesis
B)the degree of violence that prison guards innately have
C)the situational hypothesis
D)how violent inmates can be subdued

Question 33

Which of the following is not a key ethical issue addressed by informed consent?

A)allowing the subject to weigh the benefits of participation against the potential risks
B)ensuring that participation is voluntary
C)making sure that all ethical problems are accounted for
D)allowing police officers to use excessive force.

Question 34

In order to protect juvenile delinquents since they are a special population, researchers should do all of the following except _____.

A)make sure there are no repercussions if juvenile delinquents choose not to participate in the research
B)offer the juvenile delinquents money to participate
C)have at least one member of the institutional review board be either a juvenile delinquent or someone designated to represent the interests of the juvenile delinquents s
D)do not expose juvenile delinquents to risks that would be considered excessive for non- juvenile delinquent subjects

Question 35

When information is gathered by researchers and there are no identifying characteristics allowing the researchers to match up results to individual subjects, this illustrates _____.

A)confidentiality
B)the absence of deception
C)anonymity
D)assurance of voluntary participation

Question 36

Ethical issues surrounding the prison simulation include all of the following except ________.

A)subjects were not fully informed of the procedures they would undergo
B)the researchers were not fully aware of what they could expect from the simulation
C)consent forms were signed
D)guards were allowed to make up and modify rules as the project progressed

Question 37

Which of the following comes closest to the purpose of an institutional review board?

A)to give guidance on reducing potential harm to subjects
B)to determine if the proposed research is worthy of study
C)to turn violators of ethical principles over to the police
D)to make it difficult for any social science research to be completed

Question 38

Which of the following is necessary for establishing informed consent of research subjects?

A)telling subjects the purpose of the research
B)telling subjects about only the potential benefits of their participation in the research
C)informing subjects about the possible risks and side effects of the research
D)informing subjects about their rights to compensation

Question 39

The value of institutional review boards includes which of the following?

A)they provide expert advice on how to resolve ethical dilemmas present in some research
B)since some researchers are not disinterested parties, IRBs offer outside judgments about ethical considerations
C)they make sure that researchers are not overlooking the rights and well-being of their subjects
D)all of the above

Question 40

Which of the following are not exempt from IRB review under federal guidelines?

A)research involving the analysis of existing data
B)research involving the use of educational tests that are cognitive in nature
C)research conducted in established educational settings that involve normal education practices
D)research that uses living subjects

Question 41

Discuss the role of institutional review boards in the research process.In what ways do they influence research and what is their specific purpose? Give an example of a situation that would not be approved by an institutional review board and how the researcher could rectify that situation.

Question 42

When the term "informed consent" is used in criminal justice research, it refers to some very specific ethical concerns.Discuss what is meant by "informed consent" and why it is important when engaging in research.

Question 43

Research involving observations of subjects involved in criminal activities may expose the researcher to ____________________.

Question 44

Harm to subjects, researchers, and third parties are especially risky when doing __________________ studies.

Question 45

Because of some controversial medical and social science research, the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services has had to step in and establish regulations designed to ___________________________.

Question 46

The two main ways of promoting compliance with ethical principles are __________________ and ___________________.

Question 47

When a researcher cannot match a given response to a specific research subject, this is known as __________________.

Question 48

An example of ____________ is when a researcher is able to link information with a given person's identity but promises not to do so publicly.

Question 49

In order to make sure that there was no long-term damage done to the participants of the simulated prison, the researchers held _________ sessions with "prisoners" and "guards" after the termination of the project.

Question 50

There are certain classes of subjects that require special treatment by the researcher.Identify at least two of those classes and discuss why they constitute a special class.What specific steps should be taken when dealing with these special classes?

Question 51

Give an example using research discussed in class of the difference between anonymity and confidentiality.Be specific with your example.

Question 52

The norm of voluntary participation is usually satisfied through ______________________.Informing subjects about research procedures and then obtaining their consent to participate.

Question 53

When using students in your class as research subjects and having them complete a questionnaire, there is a potential for ethical problems in that their participation may not be __________________.

Question 54

Researchers strive to do no harm to their subjects.Identify what type of harm may occur to subjects and use specific examples to illustrate the potential harm.Include in your answer whether harm is ever appropriate when completing research in criminal justice.

Question 55

Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo's prison simulation examined whether the prison environment itself creates brutal, dehumanizing conditions unrelated to the kinds of people who live and work in the institutions.The term used to describe this explanation is ____________________.