Cases and Studies ~~ Sociological Associations: Codes and Best Practices
Allen and Unwin - Sociology Extra
http://www.allen-unwin.com.au/academic/soccase.asp
This site is divided into two modules with 6 different cases in each module
that cover issues such as gender & violence, globalization and race. Dr.
Peter Kelly with the Behavioral Studies Program at the University of Queensland
developed the cases that are posted at this site.
Chowan Links to Ethics and Community
Resource Sites
http://www.chowan.edu/acadp/ethics/links_to_ethics_and_philosophy.htm
Faculty at Chowan College in Murfreesboro, North Carolina voted to establish
the Chowan Center for Ethics in 1997. The Center's principle objective is "to
heighten ethical awareness and 'moral imagination'" by encouraging discussion
about today's ethical issues. Numerous resources can be found in sections like
the Ethics and Community Resource Sites.
Cyber-Stalking
http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psychology/cyberstalking/5.html?sect=19
Wayne Petherick, an adjunct teaching fellow in criminology at the University
of Queensland, has developed this case study on cyber-stalking. His research
interests involve criminal profiling, and Petherick has examined that technique
to see how it affects the new crime of cyber-stalking.
Do the Ends Justify the Means?
http://onlineethics.org/reseth/appe/vol1/justify.html
This is one of the many case studies presented at the Onlineethics.org site.
Most of the cases found at this site have an engineering focus, but there are
a few that could be of interest to those in social science areas as well.
Ethical Dilemma, Right vs. Right
http://www.globalethics.org/dilemmas/dilemma_list.tmpl
The Institute for Global Ethics, an organization whose mission is to promote
ethical behavior in individual institutions and nations through research, public
discourse and practical action, has developed this page of ethical dilemmas.
A variety of topic areas are covered including children & family and police
& corrections. The narrative of each case is presented along with an analysis
and resolution.
Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues
(ELSI): Genome Research
http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/elsi/elsi.html
ELSI is associated with the Human Genome Project so the issues presented at
this site have a bioethics slant to them. The societal impact of some events
affecting biotechnology, though, may be of interest in those involved in sociological
research.
Ethics Decisions Exercise
http://www.outopia.org/teach/intro/EthicsEx.pdf
Thirteen different scenarios are provided that may involve possibly questionable
ethical situations. A set of four instructions are outlined and are to be applied
to each of the thirteen cases presented at this site.
Ethics Updates
Greene's Resignation Sparks Ethical
Debate
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0209170222sep17.story
The highly respected Chicago Tribune columnist, Bob Greene, resigned
during the weekend of September 15, 2002 over an incident that happened several
years ago with a female, high school student. Greene's resignation and the investigation
of the allegations by the Tribune have sparked lots of dialogue over
the ethics surrounding this situation.
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
http://www.scu.edu/ethics
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics was founded in 1986 and has grown into
one of the most active university applied ethics centers in the country. It
is based at Santa Clara University, and was initially funded by an endowment
by Linda and A. C. "Mike" Markkula Jr. Articles, cases, briefings
and dialogue in all areas of applied ethics can be found at this online center.
Background: Stanley Milgram conducted his "Obedience to Authority" experiments from 1961-1962 at Yale University. The experiments tested whether or not subjects would do what they were told even when they considered those actions to be morally wrong.
Blass has also written an article
that appeared in Psychology Today called "The Man Who Shocked
the World", and it can be found at http://www.psychologytoday.com/htdocs/prod/ptoarticle/pto-20020301-000037.asp.
National Center for Case Study
Teaching in Science
The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University of
Buffalo is not an ethics case site like Ethics Online (http://ethics.sandiego.edu/index.html)
or the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (http://www.scu.edu/ethics),
but it does discuss dilemmas faced in various subject areas.
Social Ethics
http://www.uno.edu/~phil/soceth.html
Social Ethics is a class taught by Jim Mazoué at the University of New
Orleans. The second half of this course description page lists numerous links
to news articles on ethical concerns that affect society such as gender issues,
the death penalty and abortion.
A Sociological Tour through Cyberspace
http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/index.html
Michael C. Kearl, Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology
at Trinity University (San Antonio, TX) created this site that covers some issues
surrounding sociology today.
Sociology Cases Database Project
http://www.nd.edu/~dhachen/cases
This project is designed to provide access to college-level cases for teachers
to use in their sociology courses. It is currently in its initial stages so
they are still gathering cases and ideas for cases. At the moment, it appears
that just one case has been posted at the site.
Links to other sites on cases are also available at http://www.nd.edu/~dhachen/cases/links.html, but some of the sites charge for the cases. One example is the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (GUISD) at http://www.guisd.org/case_page.cfm. An abstract is provided for each case posted at GUISD so it may be a place to gather ideas for discussion if you don't want to purchase a case study.
SOSIG Education and Teaching of
Sociology
http://www.sosig.ac.uk/roads/subject-listing/World-cat/socteach.html
SOSIG, part of the UK Resource Discovery Network, is a good place to explore
issues of importance to those in the field of sociology. Articles, reports,
educational materials, and other resources are available. Descriptive abstracts
are provided for each link posted at the site.
SocioRealm
http://www.digeratiweb.com/sociorealm/
Jessica Champlin, a sociology graduate, began compiling the list of materials
found at SocioRealm when she was conducting research for her undergraduate studies
at Queen's University. SocioRealm does not solely deal with sociology ethics,
but it does include a few resources that address ethical topics affecting the
field of sociology. This site has been available online since July 1996.
SocioSite
http://www.sociosite.net
The purpose of SocioSite is to provide a "comprehensive listing of all
sociology resources on the Internet" that are important to sociologists,
social scientists and others. SocioSite is a project based at the University
of Amsterdam and is a member of the International Consortium for the Advancement
of Academic Publications (ICAAP). The site is currently available only in English,
but a Dutch version is in the works.
The Stanford Prison Experiment
The Stanford Prison Experiment is very much like the Milgram Obedience to Authority
experiment in that it was designed to be a psychology experiment. As was true
with the Milgram experiments, though, the Stanford Prison Experiment is an interesting
commentary on power and our society.
Background: Philip Zimbardo began his prison experiment during the summer
of 1971 at Stanford University. The study was designed to answer the following
questions.
Teaching Ethics for Research,
Scholarship & Practice
http://www.research.umn.edu/ethics/
This site is a database of instructional materials gathered by the University
of Minnesota. It's designed to "increase awareness of ethical issues throughout
the University community". The case study section at http://www.research.umn.edu/ethics/case.html
links to cases covering a wide range of topics. Each case lists the title, author,
and discipline.
Sociological Associations: Codes and Best Practices
American Association of Public
Opinion Research: Ethics and Standards
http://www.aapor.org/default.asp?page=survey_methods/standards_and_best_practices/code_for_professional_ethics_and_practices
American Sociological Association (ASA)
British Sociological Association:
Ethical Practice
http://www.britsoc.org.uk/about/ethic.htm
European Sociological Association:
Statutes
http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/esa/statutes.htm
International Sociological Association
The Midwest Sociological Society
Additional ethics resources can be found at the following sites.
Bioethics. See also the Biotechnology Web Page (UIUC)
Social Science Ethics: A Bibliography
Created by Sharon
Stoerger MLS, MBA
©September 30, 2002
Updated November 16, 2003