Discussion Question

Writers need to anticipate and address any ethical dilemmas that may arise in their research.

—Creswell (p. 88)

Creswell, in the quote above, speaks about writers, but the same guidance also applies to researchers. The very nature of gathering data from and interacting with research subjects may reveal ethical issues—some anticipated, some not. Your challenge as a researcher is to engage with and attend to those issues. In this Discussion, you will analyze an ethical dilemma and determine how best to address it.

For this Discussion, you will be assigned to a scenario found in the course text, On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research. You are responsible for answering the questions that follow your assigned scenario. This text is available either as a free download from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12192 (users will need to provide personal information to access it, and this web site may not always be available) or for purchase from the Walden Online Bookstore.

Respond to Scenario 1: A Conflict of Commitment.This scenario is found on p. 45 of the online course text, On Being a Scientist.

Note: Be sure to read the Respond requirements carefully because they do not follow the usual guidelines.

To prepare for this Discussion: 

• Review your assigned scenario from the online course text, On Being a Scientist.
• Review the "Ethical Issues to Anticipate" section (pp. 87–92) in the course text, Research Design.
• Address the questions that follow each scenario in the online Course Text.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a 2- to 3-paragraph analysis of your assigned ethical dilemma. Answer all questions associated with your assigned ethical dilemma.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the reading(s) and/or media segment(s) and use APA format.