In order to be a sociologist, one must first be a human being. I believe my first responsibility is the welfare of myself and my fellow human beings. Any research I perform, and any position I may hold academically or professionally, comes second to that fact.
In the movie, "Men Who Stare at Goats," one of the characters realizes, while in battle, that 90% of his troops aimed high so as to miss the human target. This could be a sociological experiment, but it would be unethical to expose the participants of the study to an unnecessary war. Most situations will arise organically if enough time is given. The sociologist needs to be prepared for the study when it is ready for him.
I don't believe that the Stanford Prison Experiment was ethical. At it's most innocent, it was not well thought out. This experiment seemed a little sadistic. It brought an observing scientist to tears and harmed young participants.
I agree that most situations arise organically allowing sociologist to study them, but I also think manipulating variables in experiments helps sociologists understand specific outcomes.
ReplyDelete-Rachel Dwyer