Discussion 1 : Research

Much of the growth in forensic psychology over the last few decades is owed to research. General research requires ethical codes and guidelines to follow when working with human subjects.

Conducting research in forensic psychology requires a more specific set of guidelines to follow. In particular, working with incarcerated populations to conduct research requires more restrictive parameters to avoid ethical and legal violations.

The basis for most ethical codes and guidelines is rooted in historical cases where conducting research resulted in participants being placed in harm's way. The Nazi experiments in concentration camps and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment are examples of cases where individuals were injured in the name of "science." Modern day researchers learned from those examples and others to adopt and follow ethical codes and guidelines to insure the safety of human subjects.

Conducting research with forensic populations brings a set of unique ethical challenges, especially when working with populations that may be viewed as marginal by society. Therefore, it is beneficial to you as a student studying forensic psychology to understand unique ethical challenges that may arise when working with incarcerated forensic populations.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Peruse on the American Psychological Association website "Responsible Conduct of Research," thinking about ethical issues related to conducting research with human participants.

• Review the articles "About the USPHS Syphilis Study" and "Nazi Medical Experiments." Think about the unethical nature of the research conducted on the participants in each of the cases.

• Use the Internet, research databases, and/or other academic resources to gather information about unethical research on incarcerated individuals (Note: do not use the experiments in concentration camps or the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment for your discussion).

• Take note of the various research violations that might occur when conducting research with incarcerated populations.

• Based on your search, select a challenge related to conducting research on incarcerated individuals to use for this Discussion.

• Revisit the APA and AP-LS website to refresh your knowledge of ethical codes and guidelines. Think about codes/guidelines that might be violated and how the violations might occur when conducting research on incarcerated individuals.

• Consider the consequences that might arise as a result of the violations.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 3 a brief description of the challenge you selected. Explain which codes/guidelines may be violated and how the violations may occur. Explain the consequences that might arise as a result of the violation. Finally, share your thoughts and insights about challenges related to conducting research with incarcerated individuals.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Discussion 2 - Training and Supervision

Ethical behavior is not just an expectation between professional and client, there are also ethical considerations related to training and supervision of forensic psychology professionals.

In some forensic settings graduate students of forensic psychology may receive training and supervision provided by established forensic psychology professionals. Like other professional areas in Forensic Psychology, supervisor-supervisee relationships are governed by codes of ethics and specific forensic psychology guidelines.

Offering training to aspiring professionals of forensic psychology creates recruitment opportunities for institutions and agencies associated with forensic psychology. As with any professional setting, ethical challenges may arise for supervisors as well as for students in training.

It may seem obvious that supervisors are obligated to provide their supervisees with thorough ethically-based training but it is important to note that students too must practice ethical behavior in their professional relationships with both clients and their supervisors. Failure for all parties to act ethically may lead to ethical breaches with consequences for all involved.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the case study, provided in the introduction area of this week's discussion, paying attention to training and supervision issues in forensic psychology settings.

• Consider ethical issues present in the case and focus on ethical obligations and ethical dilemmas faced by the supervising staff in the case study.

• Select at least one specific ethical obligation and one specific dilemma from the case study to use for this discussion.

• Peruse the APA and AP-LS websites in order to refresh your knowledge of ethical codes and guidelines in forensic psychology.

• Think about which specific codes or guidelines might involved in handling the obligation and the dilemma.

• Consider how you might respond ethically to the obligation and the dilemma that you selected.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 a description of at least one ethical obligation and one dilemma that you identified in the case study. Cite or reference specific codes/guidelines that you might apply to the obligation and the dilemma you chose. Finally, explain how you might respond to the ethical obligation and the ethical dilemma as a forensic psychology professional.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Attachment:- Case_study.rar