(Taken from Mitchell, Furlong, Lafontana, Jolley, Lovelace & Lovelace (2006). Research, Design and Analysis in Psychology I. Wadsworth; New York, NY.)
Ethical Question: The ethical problems with choosing variables?
Delvin wants to do a study on drug use in college students. He wants to examine whether students are honest in admitting whether or not they do drugs and also if their GPA is affected by their drug use.
To measure drug use, Delvin decides to measure the variable in several different ways. He first asks students in randomly selected courses to fill out a brief questionnaire which asks them questions such as, “Have you ever done drugs?” and “How many drugs do you do in a typical week?”
Then, to make sure people are being truthful, he goes to some of the popular raves in the area and inconspicuously observes the number of times a student does drugs. Delvin does the observation over the course of the semester.
To measure GPAs, he also asks participants to report on their GPAs, then he verifies whether they are being honest by gaining access to the computer system in the registrar’s office. He wants to see if a student’s GPA decreases after a semester of partying.
Reflection Questions:
1. What are some of the obvious ethical problems with Delvin’s study?
2. What are some of the benefits that Delvin will gain in collecting his data this way (think in terms of benefits to society as well as benefits to participants)?
3. Do you feel that the benefits outweigh the risks? Explain.
