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Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
True / False
1. Scientifically “perfect” research designs can be limited only by money and time constraints.
a. True
b. False
2. Ethical considerations in criminal justice research are always apparent.
a. True
b. False
3. Webster’s New World dictionary (4th ed.) defines ethical as “conforming to the standards of conduct of a given
profession or group.”
a. True
b. False
4. Confidentiality and anonymity mean the same thing so they can be used interchangeably.
a. True
b. False
5. Social research may cause psychological harm or embarrassment in people who are asked to reveal information
about themselves.
a. True
b. False
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
6. As a principle, possible harm to subjects may be justified when the potential benefits of the study outweigh the
possible harm.
a. True
b. False
7. The research goal of voluntary participation may be impossible to follow.
a. True
b. False
8. Deception of human subjects is never appropriate.
a. True
b. False
9. In most cases, federal law does not protect researchers from legal action.
a. True
b. False
10. In order to conduct research involving non-human subjects a university must establish an institutional review board
(IRB).
a. True
b. False
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
Multiple Choice
11. In the authors’ example of proposed legal education research, a questionnaire would be administered at the time the
bar exam was taken. This technique was deemed unethical because
a. the results would be effected by the administration of the bar exam
b. those taking the bar had not consented to take the questionnaire
c. findings are not valid when large groups of subjects take a questionnaire at the same time
d. those taking the bar would want to make their law school look good, thus invalidating the results
12. Which of the following are examples of research where there was potential harm to the researcher?
a. Latane and Darley’s experimental study of bystander intervention where researchers staged crimes to gauge
the reaction of citizens
b. Bruce Johnson’s study of heroin users in New York where participants were gathered by word of mouth
among addicts
c. Reuter, MacCoun and Murphy’s study using probation records to identify drug dealers
d. all of the above
13. Which of the following is a technique that works well when interviewing subjects about topics that may be
emotionally or psychologically challenging?
a. having the researcher ask questions from behind a curtain so that the subject does not see the interviewer
b. asking the subject to respond to questions on a laptop computer
c. putting the researcher in a disguise so that the subject does not know their identify
d. putting the subject in a disguise so that they cannot be identified
14. According to the textbook, a major tenet of medical research ethics is that experimental participation must be
voluntary; this same norm applies to
a. humanities research
b. criminal justice research
c. clinical setting research
d. ecumenical research
15. The researcher can lessen the potential for harm when doing research by
a. having sensitivity to the issue and experience
b. never telling the subject about the potential of harm
c. paying no attention to the potential for harm
d. using tricks to make the subject unaware of the harm potential
16. Which of the following may present an ethical issue where voluntary participation is concerned?
a. a small payment in cash in exchange for participation
b. using prisoners as subjects after they have been told about the nature of the experiment and what their
rewards will be
c. getting an informed consent form signed when doing surveys
d. random assignment of subjects to an experimental and a control group
17. In a web-based survey, anonymity could be achieved by
a. not requiring participants to provide their name
b. allowing respondents to remain anonymous
c. not requiring participant login information
d. all of the above
18. The promise of anonymity in a mailed survey would be especially important if the subject of that survey was
a. personal drug use
b. information about use of public transportation
c. educational attainment
d. the number of dependent children in the household
19. Which of the following is not essential in maintaining confidentiality in field or survey interviews?
a. remove names and addresses from data-collection forms
b. keep a master identification file linking numbers to names so that at a future date data can be corrected where
necessary
c. put the master file on the computer so that you do not leave paper copies of the file laying around
d. only individuals with a legitimate purpose should have access to the master file
20. Which of the following statements is accurate?
a. it is often as important to know that two things are not related as to know that they are related
b. researchers are not ethically obligated to admit mistakes they made doing their research
c. unexpected findings need not be reported
d. all of the above
21. When a survey is confidential rather than anonymous
a. the researcher must make this fact clear to respondents
b. the researcher must abort the research project
c. the researcher may release information to third parties
d. the researcher is obligated to disclose participant identities
22. Criminal justice researchers have ethical obligations to
a. make shortcomings known to readers
b. report negative findings
c. colleagues in the scientific community
d. all of the above
23. Which of the following is not a purpose of institutional review boards?
a. to determine whether adequate safeguards are in place to protect the welfare of human subjects
b. to make sure that grant money is spent appropriately
c. provide outside or third party judgments
d. to provide expert advice on the resolution of ethical dilemmas
24. The Humphrey’s study involved
a. participant observation involving human deviance
b. participant observation in a laboratory setting
c. observation of prison inmates in a maximum security setting
d. participation in parole activities
25. Which of the following is necessary in order to establish informed consent of research subjects?
a. telling subjects the purpose of the research
b. telling subjects about the procedures that will be used during the research
c. telling subjects about the possible risks and side effects of the research
d. telling subjects the results of the research
26. Federal regulations and IRB guidelines address ethical issues in social research. Which of the following represents
the foremost or key ethical issue in social research?
a. principle of do no harm
b. principle of humane treatment
c. principle of voluntary participation
d. principle of special populations
27. According to federal regulations, which of the following represent special populations for purposes of criminal justice
research?
a. police officers
b. juveniles
c. corrections officers
d. parolees
28. In order to protect prisoners since they are a special population, researchers should do all of the following except
a. make sure there are no repercussions if prisoners choose not to participate in the research
b. offer the prisoners money to participate
c. have at least one member of the institutional review board be either a prisoner or someone designated to
represent the interests of the prisoners
d. do not expose prisoners to risks that would be considered excessive for non-prison subjects
29. What was the primary reason for the establishment of institutional review boards?
a. questionnaires administered that asked subjects to report on deviant sexual behaviors
b. research on juveniles that focus upon their treatment as adults by the criminal justice system
c. medical experimentation
d. personal interviews with prisoners asking them to describe crimes that were not known to the police
30. Which of the following are not exempt from IRB review under federal guidelines?
a. research involving the analysis of existing data
b. research involving the use of educational tests that are cognitive in nature
c. research conducted in established educational settings that involve normal education practices
d. research that uses living subjects who have participated in at least one prior research study
31. The value of institutional review boards includes which of the following?
a. they provide expert advice on how to resolve ethical dilemmas present in some research
b. since some researchers are not disinterested parties, IRBs offer outside judgments about ethical
considerations
c. they make sure that researchers are not overlooking the rights and well-being of their subjects
d. all of the above
32. In Humphrey’s research on anonymous homosexual acts in public bathrooms, he was
a. arrested because of his participation
b. playing one of the roles, a lookout known as a “watch queen”
c. often engaging in homosexual acts himself
d. considered the standard on good techniques for studying deviant behavior
33. Critics of Humphrey’s “Tearoom Trade” cited all but which of the following as potential ethical issues?
a. the invasion of privacy
b. the value of the study
c. the fact that he traced the participants to their homes
d. the deceit involved
34. Supporters of Humphrey’s “Tearoom Trade” cited all of the following reasons for Humphrey’s methods except
a. deceit used in the research was essentially harmless
b. the topic of anonymous sex in public places was worthy of study
c. being a voyeur in sexual encounters is something that “caught on” resulting in many replications of his study
d. anonymous sex in public bathrooms could not be studied any other way
35. Haney, Banks and Zimbardo designed a simulated prison to measure
a. the dispositional hypothesis
b. the degree of violence that prison guards innately have
c. the situational hypothesis
d. how violent inmates can be subdued
36. Attempts to guard against harm to the participants in the simulated prison were accomplished by all of the following
except
a. making certain that all participants were psychologically healthy
b. insisting that those who were assigned the guard role would not use physical force against those assigned to
the role of prisoner
c. any participant who showed distress was released from the simulation early
d. allowing participants to select their preferred role (prisoner or guard)
37. Which of the following is not an accurate description of the simulated prison project?
a. subjects accepted their roles very readily with guards becoming aggressive while prisoners became passive
b. debriefing sessions were held at the conclusion of the project to insure that there was no long term damage to
the participants
c. participants were allowed to select their preferred role (guard or prisoner)
d. videotapes and audio tapes were made of the entire simulation
38. Ethical issues surrounding the prison simulation include all of the following except
a. subjects were not fully informed of the procedures they would undergo
b. the researchers were not fully aware of what they could expect from the simulation
c. the project utilized only 21 participants
d. guards were allowed to make up and modify rules as the project progressed
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
39. In order for there to be no ethical considerations in doing criminal justice research, the researcher must do all of the
following except
a. ensure that participation in the study is voluntary
b. make sure that no physical, emotional or psychological harm comes to the subjects
c. adhere to either confidentiality or anonymity – whichever is promised to the subjects
d. make each subject fully aware of purpose, reasons and outcomes of the research
40. With regard to drug formulation research, which of the following is a consequence of not publishing unsuccessful
research findings?
a. accusations of fraudulent practices
b. legal liability
c. research bias
d. studies on ineffective drugs are repeated unnecessarily
41. Crime surveys where respondents are asked about their experiences as victims of crime have the potential to cause
a. physical trauma to the researcher
b. psychological harm
c. false data as participants always fabricate information to avoid revealing embarrassing details
d. crime rates to increase
42. The National Crime Victimization Survey prevents researchers of the public from having information on a victim’s
a. age
b. relationship to an offender
c. place of residence
d. gender
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
43. Which of the following comes closest to the purpose of an institutional review board?
a. to determine if adequate safeguards for general welfare of subjects is in place
b. to determine if the proposed research is worthy of study
c. to turn violators of ethical principles over to the police
d. to make it difficult for any social science research to be completed
44. Which of the following represents voluntary participation?
a. giving small amounts of money to a subject
b. asking people on the street at the noon hour if they would like to participate in research
c. using a class of students at the local college
d. full disclosure of research purpose with informed consent
45. Those doing research in the fields of criminal justice and criminology have ethical standards set by
a. the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
b. the American Society of Criminology
c. the Committee for Ethical Science Standards
d. the National Academy of Sciences
46. Immunity as part of federal protection from legal action requires
a. researchers to prominently display all licenses
b. researchers to testify in open court
c. confidential information to be protected
d. confidential information to be revealed
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
47. Which of the following have the potential to present ethical dilemmas/challenges to researchers?
a. mandatory reporting requirements
b. withholding desirable treatments
c. staff misbehavior
d. all of the above
48. When information is gathered by researchers and there are no identifying characteristics allowing the researchers to
match up results to individual subjects, this illustrates:
a. confidentiality
b. the absence of deception
c. anonymity
d. assurance of voluntary participation
49. Virtually all research that uses human subjects is:
a. subject to international review board review
b. considered to be unethical
c. considered unreliable
d. subject to institutional review board review
50. Many police departments around the country now have the ability to produce crime maps identifying where crimes
happen. Are there any problems with giving the public access to these maps?
a. no, because they are public record if the police produce them
b. no, because the maps only identify locations where crimes happen, not the individuals involved
c. yes, because if the maps are detailed, someone may recognize their neighbors’ victimization
d. yes, because the victims did not volunteer to be part of the maps
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
51. If a researcher uses only those subjects who volunteer for a study, then which of the following may result?
a. non-volunteers feel left out
b. the results could not be generalized to a larger group of people
c. no one would be interested in the outcome because non-volunteers are not included
d. none of the above
52. Explicitly telling people that their participation is voluntary is
a. a necessary component of informed consent
b. a necessary component of confidentiality
c. a necessary component of anonymity
d. a necessary component to obtain grant funding
53. A researcher may face legal liability when
a. they observe crime occurring during the course of their study but decide not to report it to the police
b. they become a participant in the criminal activity they are observing
c. they have knowledge that research subjects have committed illegal acts
d. all of the above
54. A promise of anonymity is unlikely to be extended in which of the following techniques?
a. use of department of corrections summary data
b. personal interviews
c. questionnaires that do not request identifying information
d. anonymity is really impossible in all forms of research
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
55. Which statement is the most accurate?
a. harm to subjects is never a real concern
b. harm to subjects is never appropriate
c. harm to subjects may occur if the benefits outweigh the harm
d. harm to subjects is appropriate if it is only psychological in nature
56. Prisoners are considered as a special population because they are
a. readily accessible for experimentation and interviews
b. exposed to risks
c. a true representative population sample
d. segregated from the main population sample
57. Which of the following is generally recognized as an ethical procedure for subject/participant selection?
a. assimilation
b. correlation
c. randomization
d. deception
58. The excitement and commitment to scientific advancement may lead researchers to
a. overlook possible harms to participant wellbeing
b. overlook possible participant harms
c. allow the ends to justify the means
d. all of the above
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
59. You are conducting research dealing with recreational marijuana use. You plan to ask questions of subjects brought
into the laboratory and in order to pay them you need their name and address. You tell the subjects that you plan not
to reveal their answers to your questions. What type of technique are you using?
a. confidentiality
b. anonymity
c. secrecy
d. privacy
60. A researcher is least likely to encounter legal liability in which of the following situations?
a. in an observational study you see juveniles spray-painting walls at their school and you say nothing
b. you watch one of your subject deal drugs on the corner and you alert him when a police car turns the corner
c. one of your subjects tells you he committed a rape and you do not tell anyone even though you know what he
told you is true
d. you refuse to reveal confidential information under a claim of immunity
61. When reporting your findings, which of the following is not necessary for you to disclose?
a. any failures of your study
b. who your subjects are and what city they live in
c. any negative finds
d. technical shortcomings
62. Which of the following is not considered a special population that requires more careful treatment?
a. prisoners
b. juveniles
c. mental patients
d. ethnic minorities
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
63. Which of the following is most correct with respect to the concept of ethical issues?
a. ethical issues are always obvious
b. ethical issues are not always apparent
c. ethical issues can often be ignored
d. ethical issues are only problems if the subject realizes they have been treated unethically
64. The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in
a. a maximum security prison
b. a laboratory
c. a death row wing of a federal penitentiary
d. a mental hospital
65. Which of the following is not considered a requirement of informed consent?
a. informing subjects of the research purpose
b. alerting the subjects to possible risks
c. telling the subject where the funding for the research came from
d. letting the subjects know about the specific procedures that will be used
66. In which of the following research settings would you not need to get approval from an institutional review board?
a. research involving interviews of undercover police officers
b. research involving surveys given to students in all sociology classes at your university where student names
are not given
c. interviews with faculty in your major about the most pressing issues that they see with respect to their
students
d. research involving observations in a county clinic regarding the prescription dosages for adult patients
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
67. Which of the following may not constitute voluntary participation?
a. give students who complete the research questionnaire extra credit
b. allow students to fill out a questionnaire on their own time and when they finish put them in a box outside the
departmental secretary’s office
c. ask that students fill out a questionnaire and not include their name or student identification number
d. on in-class questionnaires have the professor leave the room while they are being filled out and turned in and
allow students to remain anonymous
68. Sources of distinction between “right and “wrong” include:
a. religion
b. political ideology
c. pragmatic observations of successes and failures
d. all of the above
69. Ethical issues found in the Stanford Prison Experiment included all of the following except:
a. signed consent forms were obtained
b. participants in the role of guards were given minimal instructions
c. subjects were not fully informed of the procedures
d. as the study progressed, guards were permitted to modify or create rules
70. Federal regulations require special provisions for all of the following categories of subjects, except one. The one
not covered is:
a. elderly
b. juveniles
c. prisoners and juveniles
d. prisoners
71. Harm to subjects, researchers, and third parties is especially risky when doing studies.
72. When using students in your class as research subjects and having them complete a questionnaire, there is a potential
for ethical problems in that their participation may not be .
73. When a researcher cannot match a given response to a specific research subject this is known as
____________________.
74. An example of is when a researcher is able to link information with a given person’s
identity but promises not to do so publicly.
75. Research involving observations of subjects involved in criminal activities may expose the researcher to
____________________.
76. The two main ways of promoting compliance with ethical principles are codes of ethics and
___________________.
77. Because of some controversial medical and social science research, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services has had to step in and establish regulations designed to protect subjects.
Chapter_3 Ethics_and_Criminal_Justice_Research
78. As a researcher keep in mind that when individuals are selected to participate in any sort of research study it
their regular activities.
79. The use of agency data, court data, and research that is conducted in an established educational institution represent
from HHS rules governing human subjects.
80. Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo’s prison simulation examined whether the prison environment itself creates brutal,
dehumanizing conditions unrelated to the kinds of people who live and work in the institutions. The term used to
describe this explanation is .
81. A(n) is the general explanation that prisons are brutal and dehumanizing because of the types
of people who run them and are incarcerated in them.
82. In order to make sure that there was no long-term damage done to the participants of the simulated prison, the
researchers held sessions with “prisoners” and “guards” after the termination of the
project.
83. Subjects of the simulated prison accepted the roles they were assigned with great speed. During the study the guards
became ____________________.
84. Not harming people is an easy to accept in theory, but it is often difficult to ensure in
practice.
85. If appropriate steps are taken prior to the start of research to safeguard the data, federal law protects researchers
from ____________________ action.
86. Give an example using research discussed in class of the difference between anonymity and confidentiality. Be
specific with your example.
87. When the term “informed consent” is used in criminal justice research it refers to some very specific ethical
concerns. Discuss what is meant by “informed consent” and why it is important when engaging in research.
88. Researchers strive to do no harm to their subjects. Identify what type of harm may occur to subjects and use
specific examples to illustrate the potential harm. Include in your answer whether harm is ever appropriate when
completing research in criminal justice.
89. There are certain classes of subjects that require special treatment by the researcher. Identify at least two of those
classes and discuss why they constitute a special class. What specific steps should be taken when dealing with these
special classes?
90. Discuss the role of institutional review boards in the research process. In what ways do they influence research and
what is their specific purpose? Give an example of a situation that would not be approved by an institutional review
board and how the researcher could rectify that situation.
