A researcher wishes to conduct a study of the effects of a person's upbringing on the likelihood of that person's becoming a child abuser. She plans to interview people and talk about their parents' child-rearing practices. She will also try to interview a third person (an old family friend or relative, for example) who can independently report on how a person's parents raised him or her and on whether that person is abusive to his or her children. Finally, the researcher will collect information from official records and interview family physicians in an attempt to obtain valid, reliable data on the actual incidence of child abuse.
1. List the potential costs of this project to the individuals involved.
2. List the potential benefits of this project to the participants as well as to society in general.
3. In view of the costs and benefits you listed, would you consider this research project acceptable on ethical grounds and important enough to be conducted? Why or why not?