The code of ethics in social sciences is self-regulatory guidelines that are implemented to assist an individual in the decision-making process and defining professions. This is because social scientists work closely with human beings as the primary subjects of their studies. As a result, it is vital to implement ethical standards whenever human beings are involved in a study. Therefore, by implementing ethical codes, individuals and professional institutions maintain their integrity, outline how members are expected to conduct themselves, and protect the well-being of the subjects.
The common themes that cut across the code of ethics in social sciences include professional competence and responsibility, integrity, respect for people's rights and dignity, respect for diversity, appropriate sexual conduct and appropriate use of electronic media. These themes strive to ensure that a profession is respectful of the rights and interests of their subjects and other people in a community. Thus, all professions in the field of social sciences must conduct themselves in a manner that is aligned with the principles on the ethical codes. According to Amon et al. (2012), ethical codes provides professionals with proper insight when addressing situations that present ethical dilemmas. For instance, a researcher may be confronted with the decision of whether to purposely deceive their subject or enlighten them of the real consequences of a controversial but necessary experiment.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Each of the ethical codes and guidelines are developed consistently with normative standards for researchers in different fields. Therefore, social scientists are required to abide by specific ethical conducts to avoid legal consequences arising from ethical breaches and to ensure that individuals belonging to a certain field uphold high standards of conduct. A social scientist must commit and be mindful of their ethical responsibilities to subjects. If a professional violates the codes of ethics, they are likely to endanger the welfare of their subjects by disclosing personal information or subjecting them to activities that expose them to physical or mental exploitation (Giorgini et al., 2015). Secondly, a social scientist may be subjected to a legal battle if they do not inform their subjects about the potential risks and consequences of their participation in an experiment.
If the subject of a study fails to sign an informed consent form their participation in an experiment may be abused. This may lead to the violation of their rights and dignity through sexual misconduct or inappropriate use of electronic media. Thus, it is crucial that the social scientist provides the subjects with a brief of what the experiment entails and must inform them of their rights.
Conclusion
Being ethical and cautious as a social scientist is imperative as it prepares one for potential risks and challenges. However, a social scientist cannot expect every risk that is linked to a study. Some of the challenges that one may encounter in this profession may include the cultural and social barriers that prevent a researcher from collecting extensive and viable information for their study. For instance, when studying a community the social scientist may be limited to only interview a specific demographic in a community – thus, limiting the scope of their research. Another challenge may result from communication barriers, whereby a research is forced to depend on a translator to collect data. However, during the translation process important details of the research may be left out, thus affecting the outcome of a study.
References
Amon, J. J., Baral, S. D., Beyrer, C. & Kass, N. (2012). Human rights research and ethics review: protecting individuals or protecting the state? PLoS Med . 9(10):e1001325, doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001325 .
Giorgini, V., Mecca, J. T., Gibson, C., Medeiros, K., Mumford, M. D., Connelly, S., & Devenport, L. D. (2015). Researcher perceptions of ethical guidelines and codes of conduct. Accountability in research , 22 (3), 123-38.
