Discussion 2: Ethical Dilemmas Related to Data Interpretation

Discussion 2: Ethical Dilemmas Related to Data Interpretation

Discussion 2: Ethical Dilemmas Related to Data Interpretation

Ethical issues are not just confined to data collection. Once the data have been collected, psychology professionals must be careful to consider the ethics related to data interpretation, as well. Consider a researcher who has conducted a series of studies and is pleased to see his hypothesis confirmed each time. Then just as he is preparing a manuscript for publication, he finds some atypical patterns in one of the datasets. He knows of several factors that might have skewed the results, and he is under a deadline to submit the manuscript. He needs to finish and report his findings. What is the harm in considering this one dataset just a botched attempt and excluding it from the manuscript? Psychology professionals must familiarize themselves with potential ethical data interpretation challenges such as this and consider steps to resolving those challenges.

Post by Day 4 a description of two possible factors that might threaten the validity of your data interpretations (either in your dissertation or some future data analysis role). Describe the strategies you might take to resolve this challenge and explain why each strategy might be effective.

Be specific and include reference to the week’s Learning Resources in your response.