1) What are the ethical dilemmas that could arise from this procedural plan?
It appears that the student will not be asking the participants if they would like to be observed, which could cause many problems in terms of privacy. The student is also includes names which is a major invasion of privacy given that the student's identities are not obscured or removed from the formal report at all.
2) In what ways does it violate ethical principles outlined in the three historical guidelines presented in class (see your class notes folder)? (one from each)
The "participants" consent was not given in order to conduct the observations. Nor was the names of said participants obscured or removed. The consent of the legal guardians for those participants under the age of 18 was also required, but not observed in this procedure. It also appears that the experiment itself did not lead into any results for the good of society.
3) What is the problem with the data collection? Will this procedure yield useful data?
This procedure was biased in terms that it only included students that were in the school library. One can assume that a student would not go on his/her favorite websites in a school library given the restrictions set by the internet provider in the school building. For example, there is restricted access to sites such as Facebook and Myspace with the use of school WiFi. It can also be assumed that students would make use of the library's computers, hopefully, for school-related purposes. This in turn makes the data collected fruitless, and inaccurate.
4) Redesign the procedure to SOLVE the problems you have identified with both the ethical considerations and the data collection plan.
First of all the student must ask consent of the legal guaridians of the participants in the experiment. The student should conduct a survey of the participants' favorite websites rather than observing them in a library in order to achieve an unbiased selection of data. The survey should include the description of the website and the amount of time spent on the website. The survey should be constant with the time each participant is given to record information/data. Afterwards the student shall compile and compare the data for observation and submit it in a formal report with the identities of the participants NOT INCLUDED.
5) Complete the forms wizard (https://apps2.societyforscience.org/wizard/index.asp) for your new plan. What forms will you need to complete for your revised plan?
The forms needed to be included with this plan are:
-Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1)
-Student Checklist (1A) and Research Plan
-Approval Form (1B)
-Official Abstract Form
-Human Participants Form (4)
It appears that the student will not be asking the participants if they would like to be observed, which could cause many problems in terms of privacy. The student is also includes names which is a major invasion of privacy given that the student's identities are not obscured or removed from the formal report at all.
2) In what ways does it violate ethical principles outlined in the three historical guidelines presented in class (see your class notes folder)? (one from each)
The "participants" consent was not given in order to conduct the observations. Nor was the names of said participants obscured or removed. The consent of the legal guardians for those participants under the age of 18 was also required, but not observed in this procedure. It also appears that the experiment itself did not lead into any results for the good of society.
3) What is the problem with the data collection? Will this procedure yield useful data?
This procedure was biased in terms that it only included students that were in the school library. One can assume that a student would not go on his/her favorite websites in a school library given the restrictions set by the internet provider in the school building. For example, there is restricted access to sites such as Facebook and Myspace with the use of school WiFi. It can also be assumed that students would make use of the library's computers, hopefully, for school-related purposes. This in turn makes the data collected fruitless, and inaccurate.
4) Redesign the procedure to SOLVE the problems you have identified with both the ethical considerations and the data collection plan.
First of all the student must ask consent of the legal guaridians of the participants in the experiment. The student should conduct a survey of the participants' favorite websites rather than observing them in a library in order to achieve an unbiased selection of data. The survey should include the description of the website and the amount of time spent on the website. The survey should be constant with the time each participant is given to record information/data. Afterwards the student shall compile and compare the data for observation and submit it in a formal report with the identities of the participants NOT INCLUDED.
5) Complete the forms wizard (https://apps2.societyforscience.org/wizard/index.asp) for your new plan. What forms will you need to complete for your revised plan?
The forms needed to be included with this plan are:
-Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1)
-Student Checklist (1A) and Research Plan
-Approval Form (1B)
-Official Abstract Form
-Human Participants Form (4)