Research Ethics for Social Scientists - Softcover

Ethics is becoming an increasingly prominent issue for all researchers across the western world. This comprehensive and accessible guide introduces students to the field and encourages knowledge of research ethics in practice.

Research Ethics for Social Scientists sets out to do four things:

The first is to demonstrate the practical value of thinking seriously and systematically about what constitutes ethical conduct in social science research.

Secondly, the text identifies how and why current regulatory regimes have emerged.

Thirdly, it seeks to reveal those practices that have contributed to the adversarial relationships between researchers and regulators.

Finally, the book hopes to encourage both parties to develop shared solutions to ethical and regulatory problems.

Research Ethics for Social Scientists is an excellent introductory text for students as it:

- introduces students to ethical theory and philosophy;

- provides practical guidance on what ethical theory means for research practice;

- provides case studies to give real examples of ethics in research action.

The result is an informative, accessible and practical guide to research ethics for any student or researcher in the social sciences.

Mark Israel is Winthrop Professor of Law and Criminology in the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Australia. He has a degree in law and postgraduate qualifications in sociology, criminology and education. He has published on research ethics and integrity, higher education and research policy, political exile and migration, criminology and socio-legal studies. His books include South African Political Exile in the United Kingdom (Palgrave Macmillan, 1999), Crime and Justice (Thomson Reuters, 2006 eds with Goldsmith and Daly), and Research Ethics for Social Scientists: Between Ethical Conduct and Regulatory Compliance (Sage, 2006 with Hay).

He has won teaching and research prizes in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, including the Prime Minister’s Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year in 2004. Mark has undertaken consultancy for, among others, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Federal and State governments in Australia, as well as the European Research Council, and a range of higher education institutions and professional associations in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.