You are hired as an external evaluator for a new, innovative therapeutic program for children with autism that has not yet been empirically tested.The program director tells you that five staff members will lose their jobs if the evaluation does not show the intervention to be effective, and that the parents will be so angry, they will never seek services at their agency again.You analyze the results and find that the children's symptoms did not improve after participating in the new program.What is the most ethical course of action?
A)Do not report the results correctly because you do not want the staff to lose their jobs in this tough economy.Contributing to workers losing their jobs would be unethical.
B)Indicate that the program was effective so that the families do not lose faith in the staff and the larger social service system, in general.Creating distrust in service delivery would be unethical.
C)Write the report with the correct results but write the limitation section so that it seems like the results are not very reliable in order to downplay the negative findings.
D)Write a draft of the report balancing the positive and negative aspects to show the program director before disseminating the final report to other stakeholders.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best ethical course of action would be to write a draft of the report with both positive and negative aspects, showing it to the program director before disseminating the final report to other stakeholders. While it is important to be honest about the results of the evaluation, it is also important to communicate the findings in a way that does not cause unnecessary harm to the staff or agency. By presenting the director with a draft, they can provide feedback and potentially address any issues that may have contributed to the lack of improvement in the children's symptoms. Additionally, this approach allows for transparency and openness in the evaluation process, which is important for maintaining trust with stakeholders.

You Are Hired as an External Evaluator for a New