Ethical Considerations in Social Research: A Comprehensive Overview

This report delves into the ethical considerations crucial for social research, including guidelines, potential risks, and practical solutions. The report begins by outlining the importance of ethical conduct in research, highlighting the need for informed consent, anonymity, and the protection of participants. It discusses potential harms, such as physical and psychological distress, and emphasizes the need for researchers to minimize these risks. The report then elaborates on specific ethical guidelines, such as maintaining confidentiality, allowing participants the right to withdraw, avoiding deceptive practices, and obtaining informed consent. The report also examines the challenges associated with adhering to these guidelines, providing a comprehensive overview of ethical principles in social research. The report references key literature on the subject, including works by Barnes, Blaikie & Priest, and Williams et al.

Running head: SOCIAL RESEARCH
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Table of Contents
(A) How do ethical considerations affect social research?........................................................3
(B) Outline the dangers of conducting research in an unethical manner...................................3
(C) What are the ethical guidelines for research and any problems that might arise from
adhering to or ignoring these guidelines....................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................5

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(A) How do ethical considerations affect social research?
In the context of social research, a code of ethics is illustrated as a formal process in order to
conduct the investigation that is consisting of principles and ethical standards. It also
concerns the treatment of human individuals. The significant ethical consideration in social
research is that respondents are not harmed in any manner (Blaikie & Priest, 2019).
(B) Outline the dangers of conducting research in an unethical manner.
Ethical standards have required that an investigator will not put respondents in a situation in
which, they may be at higher risk as a consequence of their involvement. Harm could be
illustrated as both psychological and physical. The following are different kinds of harm that
respondents can be subjected to (Barnes, 2017). These involve are:
 Physical harm to respondents.
 An invasion of respondents? Anonymity and privacy.
 Social limitation.
 Psychological distress and uneasiness.
 Harm to respondents like financial status (Blaikie & Priest, 2019).
(C) What are the ethical guidelines for research and any problems that might arise from
adhering to or ignoring these guidelines?
It is significant to illustrate any physical harm, invasion of privacy, discomfort, as well as,
any threat related to dignity. Moreover, how the subjects would be remunerated in that
condition. For reducing the risk of harm, research should focus on below ethical guidelines:
 Protecting the confidentiality and anonymity of respondents (Williams, et. al., 2017).
 Enabling participants with the right to withdraw from the research at any time.

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 Eliminating deceptive practices while designing research.
 Obtaining informed consent from respondents (Barnes, 2017).

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References
Barnes, J. A. (2017). Privacy, Ethics, and Social Science Research. In Persuasions and
Prejudices (pp. 447-450). Routledge.
Blaikie, N., & Priest, J. (2019). Designing social research: The logic of anticipation. John
Wiley & Sons.
Williams, M., Burnap, P., Sloan, L., Jessop, C., & Lepps, H. (2017). Users’ views of ethics in
social media research: Informed consent, anonymity, and harm. The Ethics of Online
Research (Advances in Research Ethics and Integrity, Vol. 2), Emerald Publishing
Limited, 27-52.