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Ethical Considerations in Criminal Justice Research

NCJ Number
133637
Journal
American Journal of Police Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: (1991) Pages: 87-104
Author(s)
F Esbensen
Date Published
1991
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Three ethical issues related to criminal justice surveys and field experiments are examined: the role of informed consent; the impact of the research design on outcome; and the necessity of confidentiality and immunity.
Abstract
Informed consent is of particular relevance to criminal justice research as many study subjects are frequently involved in law-violating or norm-violating behaviors, the exposure of which could have negative personal consequences. Researchers are often concerned about the impact that requirements of informed consent will have on response rates. This author suggests that, in the absence of circumstances which will result in harm or deprivation, informed consent may not be mandatory. A number of issues surround the proposed research design and recruitment of subjects, particularly when the research uses human subjects in the implementation of random assignment. Guarantees of confidentiality and immunity are believed to have facilitated the study of law-violating behavior and improved the quality of responses provided in surveys. 38 references

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