Ethical Dilemma
The ethical dilemma is that Robert has been made aware that his research participant is going to commit a burglary. His dilemma is whether or not he protects the confidentiality of his participant or report the information to the appropriate authorities and/or individuals who appear will be impacted by the crime.
Responsibility
Robert has a responsibility to uphold the American Sociological Association’s Code of Ethics. The ethics state that he is required to maintain the confidentiality of his research participant. Per the Code of Ethics, sociologists are obligated to “take reasonable precautions to protect the confidentiality rights of research participants” (ASA Code of Ethics, 1999) and “to ensure that confidential
