Concept of Ethics in Criminal Justice Research
Ethics is one of the most important issues in the field of criminal justice given its consideration as the mainstay of professionalism in this discipline. The significance of ethics in the criminal justice field is attributable to the fact that the various professionals or actors in this field exercise discretion when making decisions and need to enforce the law in the process. Therefore, ethical considerations are critical in decision-making processes involving discretion, due process, and force. Additionally, such considerations are necessary in criminal justice research, which plays a crucial role in criminal justice practices. This paper focuses on examining the concept of ethics in criminal justice research and potential ethical questions/issues that criminal justice researchers are likely to face.
As previously indicated, professionals and actors in the criminal justice field are faced with various situations that require ethical decision-making. An example of these professionals who need to make ethical considerations and decision-making in their work is criminal justice researchers. Ethics and scientific research are interrelated concepts, particularly in the criminal justice discipline (Wolfgang, 2010). Research processes and activities in criminal justice studies requires making ethical decisions in light of what is right and wrong and/or good and evil. Therefore, the concept of ethics in criminal justice research refers to principles governing the conduct of a criminal justice researcher as he/she acquires information/knowledge relating to the practice. Based on these governing principles, the criminal justice researcher needs to consider the perceptions of right and wrong or good and evil when acquiring information.
Some examples of situations that pose ethical questions include publication of research findings, potential obstruction of justice during the research process, and how to protect the privacy of research participants (Wolfgang, 2010). Criminal justice researchers can address these ethical issues through seeking for written informed consent from participants when conducting the study, maintaining confidentiality and privacy of these participants, and adhering to ethical principles and standards like utilitarianism throughout their work.
In conclusion, ethics is one of the major issues in the field of criminal justice given that the various professionals and actors in this discipline face situations that require ethical considerations. Criminal justice researchers are among professionals who need to make ethical considerations in their line of work. Ethics in criminal justice research entails the principle governing standards utilized by researchers to acquire and utilize information/knowledge for research purposes and for enhancing criminal justice practices. As a result, these professionals are faced with varying situations relating to safeguarding research participants and information obtained from the study. Criminal justice researchers can get around the emerging ethical issues/questions through...
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