Sociologists should follow formal guidelines when conducting research because the guidelines direct the responsibilities and the conduct of researchers. The guidelines act as the code that directs the actions, decisions and behavior of sociologists when carrying out their research. According to the American Sociological Association, ASA (1999), the guidelines provide the standards and principles that sociologists should follow in professional conduct. This is necessary in aligning the research work of a sociologist to the best practices that will lead to objective information from the research. According to Kendal (2015), sociological research provides objective and factual information that is free from the subjectivity of the researcher. To achieve this objectivity, sociologists ought to follow the formal guidelines.
Deviation from the guidelines leads to unethical research that violates the basic rights of the participants. This is the case with the Study of Syphilis among black people by the Public Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute. There was no informed consent from the participants and the researchers gave the wrong information to the participants (CDC, 2013). This was completely unethical and gives a good example of a circumstance where researchers disregard ethics and professional guidelines. Researches in this research lacked professionalism and ethics. In addition the research exercise lacked guidelines and professional concern for the wellbeing of the participants.
To prevent such unethical circumstances, the American Sociological Association established a code of ethics in 1997 that provides standards and principles for sociologists to follow (Kendall, 2015). For instance, sociologists should obtain written and informed consent from the people that they study. They should also observe the confidentiality of the people they research and the sources of information by safeguarding the privacy of the participants (Kendall, 2015). It is therefore important that sociologists follow the research guidelines laid by the American Sociological Association.
References
American Sociological Association (ASA) (1999). Code of Ethics and Policies and Procedures of the ASA Committee on Professional Ethics. Retrieved from <http://www.asanet.org/images/asa/docs/pdf/CodeofEthics.pdf > 7 September, 2015
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, (2013). The Tuskegee Timeline. Retrieved from <http://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm> 7 September, 2015
Kendall, D. (2015). Sociology In our Times, 10th edition. Connecticut: Cengage.