A student doing research on sexual behavior conducts an online survey that he tells participants is anonymous. In reality, the IP addresses enable him to identify people who respond, and he uses this information for a follow-up study. In what way(s) is this study ethically problematic?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Participants' privacy has been compromised because they were not informed that their IP addresses would be used to identify them, which could result in unintended consequences such as embarrassment or harm to their personal or professional reputation. This violates the principle of informed consent and puts the participants at risk. Deception is not always unethical, but in this case, it was used to obtain sensitive information without participants' knowledge or understanding of how it would be used.

A Student Doing Research on Sexual Behavior Conducts an Online