Question

what is the role of ethics in sociological research? what ethical violations occurred in Laud Humphreys study of tearooms

Answer 1

The ethics play a crucial role in defining who we are and how we should engage in things that matter the most to us. They determine the rights and wrongs, evil and good, honest and unlawful behavior. We have to abide by them on humanitarian grounds so that no miss happens from our end at any cost.Humphreys' study has been criticized on ethical grounds in that he observed acts of homosexuality by masquerading as a voyeur, did not get his subjects' consent, used their license plate numbers to track them down, and interviewed them in disguise without revealing the true intent of his studies Humphreys' study exposed the inner workings of tearooms and helped elucidate the motivation of men (who variously self-identified as heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual) seeking sexual gratification from other men in public restrooms.Because the researcher misrepresented his identity and intent and because the privacy of the subjects was infringed during the study, Tearoom Trade has caused a major debate on privacy for research participants and is now often used as an example of highly controversial social research.