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Hello Graduate Research Advisor,
 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.
 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). 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. 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.
 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)
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