Prompt: Respond to the following short answer prompt: Imagine you are a lead social science researcher and are responsible for approving students proposed research studies. Review the three sample proposals below and provide brief feedback to summarize any ethical concerns you have related to each of the proposals, based on what you know about ethical codes and expectations in the social sciences.
1. Proposal 1: Racial Predisposition The aim of this study is to examine the direct link between race and violent criminal activity. In this study, I plan to prove the direct and positive correlation between race and incidence of committing violent crimes. This will then prove that race is the strongest indicator of tendency toward violent crimes.
2. Proposal 2: Electroshock Therapy In this study, I will examine the effect of electroshock therapy on undesirable behavior in human subjects. This study will administer electrical shocks to human subjects as a disciplinary measure when undesirable behavior is observed. The goal of the study is to determine whether the electroshock therapy is a suitable treatment for resolving disciplinary issues in preteens and adolescents. If this therapy is found to be effective, it will be prescribed to resolve disciplinary issues in preteens and adolescents.
3. Proposal 3: Health Problems, Diet, and Socioeconomic Status This study aims to examine the relationship between health problems (diabetes, heart disease, and obesity), diet, and socioeconomic status. It is proposed that people of lower socioeconomic status are more likely to encounter these problems. Research will be conducted on human subjects where data are collected on diet (the types of food consumed along with money spent on food), and this will be related to the overall health of individuals in the study. The results and findings of this research will be published publicly so others can see the risks of consuming cheap, low-quality food.
Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Respond to the short answer prompt above in a Word document. Each response should be 1 to 2 sentences in length. Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value Topic Engagement Provides short answers related to the prompts and the concept of ethics Provides short answers, but the answers are only partially related to the included prompts and the concept of ethics Short answers do not relate to the prompt or the concept of ethics 40 Proposal Feedback Provides feedback for all proposals Provides feedback, but one or more proposal is not addressed or discussed Does not provide feedback on any of the three proposals 40 Communicates Clearly Clearly communicates key ideas and thoughts in a short answer response Response needs clarification in order to support understanding of key ideas and thoughts Response is not legible and key ideas or thoughts are not understandable 20 Total 100%
