CSP Ethics & Professional Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which scenario represents a violation of research integrity in sociological practice?
- Using mixed methods to triangulate findings
- Selectively reporting only data that supports the sponsor's preferred conclusion (Correct answer)
- Sharing preliminary findings with participant communities for feedback
- Adjusting research questions based on IRB recommendations
Correct answer: Selectively reporting only data that supports the sponsor's preferred conclusion
Selective reporting to satisfy a sponsor constitutes research misconduct and violates principles of scientific integrity.
Question 2: What does 'minimal risk' mean in the context of research ethics review?
- The study involves no risk whatsoever to participants
- The probability and magnitude of harm are no greater than those encountered in daily life (Correct answer)
- Risk has been eliminated through participant screening
- Fewer than 10% of participants report discomfort
Correct answer: The probability and magnitude of harm are no greater than those encountered in daily life
Federal regulations define minimal risk as risk no greater in probability or magnitude than that ordinarily encountered in everyday activities.
Question 3: A practitioner conducting focus groups learns that one participant is sharing confidential organizational information. The ethical response is to:
- Encourage the participant to share more details for richer data
- Intervene to redirect the discussion and remind participants of confidentiality limits (Correct answer)
- Remove that participant's data from the study without notice
- Report the information to the organization immediately
Correct answer: Intervene to redirect the discussion and remind participants of confidentiality limits
Facilitators must manage group dynamics to protect third parties and prevent participants from inadvertently breaching other confidentialities.
Question 4: The principle of 'reciprocity' in applied sociological work most closely means:
- Paying participants a high cash incentive for all studies
- Ensuring communities and participants receive tangible benefit from their engagement (Correct answer)
- Exchanging data with competing researchers
- Requiring clients to refer additional business
Correct answer: Ensuring communities and participants receive tangible benefit from their engagement
Reciprocity means that research should give back to participants and communities, not only extract data from them.
Question 5: Under the ASA Code of Ethics, sociologists must maintain competence in their areas of practice. This means a practitioner should:
- Accept any project offered regardless of expertise to build experience
- Decline work outside their competence or obtain necessary supervision and training (Correct answer)
- Self-certify competence without peer review
- Delegate all unfamiliar tasks to junior staff without oversight
Correct answer: Decline work outside their competence or obtain necessary supervision and training
Practicing within one's competence boundaries—or seeking supervision—protects clients from harm due to practitioner inadequacy.
Question 6: Which situation most clearly constitutes a dual role conflict for a CSP practitioner?
- Conducting research on a topic the practitioner has studied for ten years
- Evaluating a community program while simultaneously serving as its paid consultant (Correct answer)
- Using both qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study
- Publishing findings in both academic and practitioner journals
Correct answer: Evaluating a community program while simultaneously serving as its paid consultant
Simultaneously evaluating and consulting for the same program creates conflicting loyalties that compromise objectivity.
Question 7: When translating sociological research instruments for non-English-speaking populations, ethical practice requires:
- Machine translation to save project costs
- Back-translation and cultural adaptation reviewed by native-speaking community members (Correct answer)
- Using bilingual staff regardless of formal translation training
- Translating only the consent form, not the instrument
Correct answer: Back-translation and cultural adaptation reviewed by native-speaking community members
Back-translation with cultural review ensures measurement equivalence and that participants fully understand what they are consenting to.
CSP Ethics & Professional Standards 3
Which scenario represents a violation of research integrity in sociological practice?