Ethical Implications

• •Ethical guidelines were introduced in the 1960s to protect the rights of research participants involved in research whilst they are doing the research.
• •Ethical implications are the impact/consequences of the research on the rights of (other) people. This includes how the findings are communicated to the public (represented in the media), and how the findings are used e.g. influencing public policy and the perception of particular groups in society.•
• •Socially sensitive research refers to studies that have potential consequences or implications for either the participants themselves or those represented by the study. Researchers should have an awareness of the potential ethical issues and implications of their research and put in place strategies to deal with (counter) them.••
• Research on caregiver-infant interactions

  • Suggests that children may be disadvantaged by particular child-rearing practices
  • Mothers who return to work shortly after a child is born restrict the opportunities for achieving interactional synchrony
  • Interactional synchrony is important in developing caregiver-infant attachment
• Mothers returning to work soon after birth


  Could create guilt in those who need to return to work soon after the birth of their child
• Research on the role of fathers

  • The claim that children without fathers are no different from those with fathers suggests that the father's role is secondary
  • This could suggest that fathers do not play a significant role in their children's lives
• Fathers not playing a significant role

  Could create distress for fathers and may even lead to reduced rights for fathers in legal proceedings and wider society
• The Concerns With Socially Sensitive Research

  Implications, Public policy and Validity of research
• Benafits Of SSR

  •It has been argued that studies of underrepresented groups and issues may promote a greater sensitivity and understanding of these. This can help to reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance. Additionally, socially sensitive research has benefitted society e.g. research into the unreliability of eyewitness testimony has reduced the risk of miscarriages of justice within the legal system. This suggests that socially sensitive research may play a valuable role in society.
• At present, ethical guidelines don’t ask researchers to consider how their research might be used by others.  As there is increased potential for more indirect impact on a participant’s family, co-workers or even the group that they represent with socially sensitive research, it does not seem sufficient to simply safeguard the interests of the individual in the research. There must also be some consideration of the likely impact of the research on the larger group of which the participant is a member.