The Principles in Practice

The field of research ethics has evolved over time to ensure that researchers conduct their studies in a manner that is respectful of the rights and dignity of human subjects. Two examples of research studies that have raised ethical concerns are Laud Humphreys' "Tearoom Trade" study and the "Tastes, Ties, and Time (T3)" study.

In Humphreys' study, detailed in his book "Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places," the researcher observed men meeting other men for casual sexual encounters in public restrooms. Humphreys gained the confidence of the men by pretending to be a participant and acting as a lookout. He eventually revealed himself as a researcher to some of the men and was able to interview them openly, but he withheld his identity from many others. Humphreys recorded the license plate numbers of a subset of 100 other tearoom regulars in order to contact them for interviews at a later date. A year after completing the observational part of the study, Humphreys followed up with these subjects, including them in a separate social health study that enabled him to conduct in-home surveys and gather data about their family relationships and religious background (Hicks 2020).

Humphreys maintained that the researcher's obligation to protect respondents from harm was a critical ethical assumption. To avoid being recognized by the interview subjects, Humphreys changed his appearance and the kind of car he drove. The resulting book, based on Humphreys' dissertation, may have been beneficial in dispelling some stereotypes, but the research violated the autonomy of the individuals who became part of Humphreys' study without their knowledge. Humphreys' research occurred in a different regulatory environment, prior to the creation of the National Commission and the codification of federal regulations protecting human subjects.

A more recent example of research that obtained personal information about individuals without their knowledge is the "Tastes, Ties, and Time (T3)" study (2006-2009). Sociologists gleaned voluminous and detailed personal information from the Facebook profiles of an entire class of undergraduates and followed those students over four years. The research team created an extensive data set that included students' gender, home state, major, political and group affiliations, friend networks, photographs, and tastes in music, books, and film. In 2008, the researchers made the data publicly available through the Dataverse Network Project. Although no students were identified by name, some data were specific enough to allow for re-identification of students by an outside researcher (Hicks 2020).

These two studies highlight the importance of ethical considerations when conducting research involving human subjects. Researchers must ensure that they obtain informed consent from their subjects and protect their privacy and confidentiality. Ethical guidelines and regulations exist to protect individuals from harm and ensure that research is conducted with integrity.

References

 Hicks, L. (2020). CITI - Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. Citiprogram.org; CITI         Program. https://www.citiprogram.org/members/index.cfm?pageID=665&ce=1#view