Question

Dr. Ethridge is interested in finding out how likely people are to discriminate against a member of an ethnic minority. She designs her experiment so that it seems like it is about fashion but it is actually measuring differences in treatment based on race. Which of the following is true regarding the ethical requirements Dr. Ethridge must follow?
a. There are ro ethical requirements; she can conduct the study using deception without ever having to disclose the truth to the participants.
b. There are no ethical requirements; participants do not generally change their behavior, regardless of what a study might reveal about them.
c. She can deceive her participants as long as she reveals the true nature of the study at its conclusion.
d. She must inform her participants that the study is about racial discrimination in order to obtain informed consent.

Answer 1

The correct answer is C. She can deceive her participants as long as she reveals the true nature of the study at its conclusion.

Explanation:

If the research involves human subjects, there are different ethical principles the researcher should follow to guarantee voluntary participation and the protection of participants and information. One of these principles is to be completely honest about the purpose of the research and the way participants will be part of it.

However, if revealing the purpose of the research can affect participation and create bias in the research, as it occurs in the case presented, the researcher can deceive participants during the research and reveal the purpose or nature of the research at the end. In this way, the researcher is still following ethical principles but avoids bias from participants. Thus, in the case presented Dr. Ethridge "can deceive her participants as long as she reveals the true nature of the study at its conclusion" (Option C).