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Session 12

Ethical Considerations

Holm-Hansen, Cheryl (2007) "Ethical Issues;" AEA Guiding Principles; Church, Cheyanne and Rogers, Mark (2006) Designing for Results: Integrating Monitoring and Evaluation in Conflict Transformation Programs - Chapter 11(Ethics); Research, Risk-Benefi t Analyses and Ethical Issues - A guidance document for researchers complying with requests from the European Commission Ethics Reviews

Topics:

  • Risk / benefit ration.
  • Informed consent.
  • Confidentiality.
  • Generalization of findings.
  • Other ethical considerations:
    • Utility – Evaluations should address important questions, provide clear and understandable results, and include meaningful recommendations. ?
    • Feasibility – Evaluations should be realistic and practical, so that they can be completed in a time- and cost-efficient manner. ?
    • Propriety – Evaluations should be legal and ethical. ?
    • Accuracy – Information should be collected, analyzed, reported, and interpreted accurately and impartially.
  • Ethical goals of evaluation research:
    • Protecting People:
      • Avoiding personal duress
      • Guaranteed confidentiality
      • Considering safety
      • Setting realistic expectations
      • Protecting organizational credibility
      • Avoiding subject research fatigue
    • Freedom from Political Influence
    • Adherence to Professional Standards and Ethical Values

Homework:

  1. Identify the ethical issues summarized in this session's reading that are exemplified in a recent news report involving unethical usage of Facebook information in research. One of rules of ethical research conduct found in the Research, Risk-Benefi t Analyses and Ethical Issues handbook suggests that the researcher is expected to:
    • Be prepared to listen: Many stakeholders are passionate about defending nature, and tend to vilify those who do not perceive the environment in the same manner. Dialogue and engagement across a multitude of disciplines will help in the search for common ground.
    • Stress the environmental benefits: It is rare to find black or white environmental issues and where you can stress the environmental advantages (or benefits to humans), a more balanced debate will ensue.
  1. Consider the controversy over a research report into Coca Cola's environmental impact in its bottling operations in India. Describe the nature of the controversy. Then consider the evaluation report that eventually caused the company to shut down this India bottling operation. Explain the methodological approach the researcher took and how the researcher's efforts should be characterized in terms of complying with the ethical considerations to listen to stakeholders and look for environmental benefits when doing environmental research involving businesses or organizations rather than automatically assuming that the organizations targeted in these evaluations are deliberating polluting and despoiling the environment.
  2. Also comment upon the news and responses this research has generated since publicaiton.

NOTE: Submit your assigned homework in Word format as an attachment to Canvas email and submit this homework - complete with APA citations and references - to the instructor by no later than 5 pm on the last day of Session 12 (as designated on the course schedule page that is linked above).