Hello Graduate Research Advisor,
c c c c c c c I pray this letter finds you well. I am currently faced with a dilemma
that needs attention and I would some assistance in the form of advice. I am
investigating racist hiring practices and I am troubled that if I do not mask the
focus of the questioning, I may not be able to truly appraise the practice of
racist hiring. Since it is illegal to hire people based on their race, I do not think
many employers would outwardly admit to hiring someone in this regard, so I
believe that deception in investigating may be justified to root out illegal activity.
At the same time, I am faced with the dilemma of whether or not the ends
justify the means.
c c c c c c c My idea for an experiment when investigating racist hiring practices
is to submit 20 false applications, all with comparable education and experience,
but using distinctive white and black names. I would also put the applicants'
addresses down as being in different areas of town, such as upper white class
neighborhoods and traditionally black neighborhoods. I would then check to see
which ones were called in for an interview. I believe that no individuals would
be harmed and that I could disguise the study as though I were gauging
response time that measured the time from when the applications were
submitted to the time the first call was received.
Both my apprehension and conviction to commit to this investigation stems from,
first, the Code of Conduct: Principle C Integrity which shows that psychologists
have an obligation to be seriously aware of consequences that come from using
untruthfulness and be prepared to restore any mistrust or any other kind of
harm that occurs because of the deception (A.P.A., 2017). c Secondly, I believe
that Code of Conduct: Principle D supports my investigation because this
principle operates on the premise that justice is available to all without bias.
Code of Conduct: Principle D (A.P.A., 2017) considers justice to include the
limitations of the psychologist when it comes to biases and the ability to use
precautions to curb their own biases, and for all sides to benefit from the results
of the study. I believe all sides would benefit from this study. c If the
investigation turns up that racist hiring is at play, it would be in the interest of
justice to alert the company of the findings in an effort to abolish racism in
hiring practices and it would bring justice to minority races to do so.
c c c c c c c After further review, the Psychologist’s Code of Conduct Deception in
Research 8.07 (A.P.A.,2017) states that deceptive methods are only justified by
the significant benefits provided and there is no foreseeable way of completing
the research without deception, no harm comes to individuals except for what is
assumed to be expected and that the details of the deception are provided to
the participants as early as possible, including no later than right after data
collection. I believe this documentation to be supportive of using deception to
root out racist hiring practices.
Finally, the Bible tells us, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to
do it, for him it is sin (James 4:17, English Standard Version, 2001/1611). I
believe that in view of these psychological principles and the Word of God, that
this study would be beneficial to all concerned and that the harm induced by
deception is manageable.
Thank you for your help,
References
American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists
and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1,
2017). http://www.apa.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/ethics/code/index.html
English Standard Version Bible (2001) Crossway. Wheaton, Il. (original work in
1611)
