Cases and Studies
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/criminology/cyberstalking/5.htm
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
- Ethics
Case Studies
http://ethics.acusd.edu/resources/cases/HomeOverview.asp
This much cited page presents numerous case studies dealing
with ethical issues surrounding academics, family, gender,
social ethics and more.
- Ethics
Updates Home Page: Moral Theory; Relativism; Pluralism;
Religion; Egoism; Utilitarianism; Deontology; Duty; Human
Right
http://ethics.acusd.edu
Lawrence Hinman founded this site in 1994 and continues
to edit and maintain it. He intended Ethics Updates to
be primarily used by ethics instructors and their students.
Resources on ethical theory, applied ethics and additional
resources such as case discussions and ethical forums
can be located at this site.
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.
NOTE:
Even though the Markkula Center and Ethics Updates (http://ethics.acusd.edu)
are not sociology specific, they are often cited on pages
dealing with sociology ethics.
The Milgram Obedience to Authority Experiments
The Milgram experiments are considered to be psychological
experiments, but the results are telling from a sociological
perspective as well.
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.
- Milgram
Reenactment: About Milgram and the Obedience Experiments
http://www.milgramreenactment.org/pages/section.xml?location=3
As the title of the site suggests, this page is about
the "reenactment" of the Milgram obedience experiments
and not the actual experiment. Even though that is the
case, a lot of information about Stanley Milgram and his
experiments are presented as background information for
the "reenactment".
- Stanley
Milgram - The Stanley Milgram Website
http://www.stanleymilgram.com/?location=6&page=1&text=1
Thomas Blass, a psychology professor at the University
of Maryland, Baltimore County, has developed this site
to "be a source of accurate information about the
life and work of one of the most outstanding social scientists
of our time". This is the place to start for details
about Milgram and his experiments.
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://207.159.134.31/pt62milgram.html.
Napster
- The
Napster Episode
http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME04/Napster_episode.html
Timothy J. Dowd, Assistant Professor in the Department
of Sociology at Emory University, discusses issues surrounding
Napster and suggests that dealing with new media should
be old hat for record companies. This article originally
appeared in the April/May 2001 issue of The Academic
Exchange.
- Who
Owns the Music After Napster?
http://www.emory.edu/ETHICS/news/2001/fall/napster.htm
This excerpt from the Napster Forum at Emory University
on September 5, 2001 briefly discusses ethical issues
surrounding music file swaps and MP3s.
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.acusd.edu)
or the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (http://www.scu.edu/ethics),
but it does discuss dilemmas faced in various subject areas.
SHiPS
Ethics & the Environment
http://www1.umn.edu/ships/ethics/environ.htm
The motto of the Ships Teachers' Network is to help "teachers
share experiences and resources for integrating history, philosophy
and sociology of science in the science classroom". Ethics
& the Environment is just one of the sections covered
by Ships
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.
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.
- What
happens when you put good people in an evil place?
- Does
humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?
- Philip
G. Zimbardo: Prison Experiment
http://www.zimbardo.com/flash.html
This is Stanford Professor Philip Zimbardo's home page.
It contains information about him, his research interests
and the prison experiment.
- The
Stanford Prison Experiment: A Simulation Study of the
Psychology of Imprisonment
http://www.prisonexp.org
This site has all the details about the Stanford Prison
Experiment and the events that led to the project ending
a week before it was fully completed.
- The
Stanford Prison Experiment: Still Powerful After All These
Years
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/relaged/970108prisonexp.html
A Stanford University news release that discusses the
effect the prison experiments had and continue to have
on research and ethics.
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.
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Sociological Associations: Codes and Best Practices
American
Association of Public Opinion Research: Code of Professional
Ethics and Practices
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
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