Problem
Identify the ethical issue in each example. Are the procedures acceptable or unacceptable? Why?
• A researcher studies speeding on urban expressways by using a small radar gun to detect speeders, while an assistant records the license plate numbers of cars traveling more than 10 miles per hour over the posted limit. The speeders' addresses are traced, and they receive a mailed questionnaire with a cover letter beginning: "You were observed traveling more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit on [date and location]."
• As part of a course on domestic violence, a professor requires students to telephone a domestic violence hotline, pretend to be a victim, and request help. Students then write up a description of the assistance offered by hotline staff and turn it in to the professor.
• Studying aggression in bars and nightclubs, a researcher records observations of a savage fight in which three people are seriously injured. Ignoring pleas for help from one of the victims, the researcher retreats to a restroom to write up notes from these observations.