Abstract
It is argued that “successful” social science requires the development of a social ethic or sense of research responsibility. An examination of impediments to ethical reflection in sociology suggests that an individualistic orientation is ineffective in coping with the unintended consequences of social research. Such consequences can be particularly harmful in the sociology of science where policy research and governmental support for its production often entails an “indiscriminate advocacy of knowledge.” Such advocacy raises anew questions of the power of scientific knowledge, the definition of client-professional relationships, and the collection of data which may not only violate the intent of individuals and groups supplying information, but may undermine the credibility of sociology itself.
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An early version of this paper was presented at the Sixth Annual Alpha Kappa Delta Sociological Research Symposium, Richmond, Virginia, February 19–21, 1976.
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Studer, K.E., Chubin, D.E. Ethics and the unintended consequences of social research: A perspective from the sociology of science. Policy Sci 8, 111–124 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01712288
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01712288