What guiding principles are used in research involving human subjects? Why are these important when conducting program evaluation in social service agencies?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The guiding principles are: (1) assume harm and risk: this is particularly important for social service agencies whose purpose is to help clients and those it serves so that any potential harm or risk is not overlooked. (2) identify and address risks: each agency evaluation should explicitly identify and document all procedures that will be used in order to minimize risk and clarify all steps in the evaluation; (3) cultivate mutual responsibility in risk assessment and planning: both the agency and the evaluator are responsible for identifying and addressing research risks and for developing a plan for protecting human subjects. If an agency does not have a process for risk assessment and planning, including protecting human subjects, then one should be established; (4) incorporate scrutiny: Acknowledge that even good people can cause harm, and unintentional harm is still harm. Researchers need to use self evaluation and scrutinize their procedures, and ask key stakeholders to do so as well; (5) understand the setting: outside evaluators need to understand the agency’s culture and context, including vulnerabilities of their clients and study participants; (6) avoid deception: researchers should avoid using any deceptive tactics and deliberate withholding of information to ensure innocent and honest responses.