Case Study

Diagnose the potential ethical issues in Dr. Smith's recruitment strategy and justify why these practices violate ethical standards regarding research inducements.

Case context: Dr. Smith is recruiting participants for a demanding longitudinal study on sleep deprivation. To encourage participation, she offers $5,000 to each participant who completes the month-long study. Additionally, she offers free psychiatric evaluations, but does not provide details on what the evaluations entail or if there are any potential drawbacks to receiving them.

Question: Diagnose the potential ethical issues in Dr. Smith's recruitment strategy and justify why these practices violate ethical standards regarding research inducements.

Sample answer: Dr. Smith's offer of $5,000 may be considered an excessive financial inducement, which is unethical because it can become coercive by unduly influencing potential participants to ignore the study's risks. Furthermore, by not detailing what the psychiatric evaluations entail or their potential drawbacks, she fails to clearly explain the nature, risks, obligations, and limitations of the professional services offered as an incentive.

Key points:

  • Identify the $5,000 as a potentially excessive financial inducement
  • Explain that excessive inducements can become coercive
  • Identify the failure to explain the nature of the psychiatric evaluations
  • Note the failure to disclose the risks, obligations, and limitations of the professional services

Rubric: A strong response will identify both the potential coercion of the large financial reward and the failure to disclose the nature and risks of the professional services.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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