Ethical Issues During A Survey

Survey research is defined as, "A research method in which an investigator asks questions of a respondent" (Beins, 2013). This type of research is particularly useful for numerous reasons, but also has drawbacks that threatens its validity. Some of these benefits include a large population to select a sample from, the ease of gathering data from the sample, as well as the ability to quickly come to a conclusion regarding the data at hand. However, there are more disadvantages present with survey research. Some such disadvantages include the type of question and its ambiguity, response bias, as well as ethical and cultural issues that present during a survey.

There are two main type of questions within a survey used for research. The first

"Ethical standards also protect the confidentiality and anonymity of the subjects. This is the primary ethical issue in survey research, especially if the survey contains sensitive questions" (Ethical Concerns, n.d, para.7). In addition to keeping respondents anonymous and their data safe, there is numerous other issues that can present during this type of research. One such issue is unlike in a laboratory setting, the researcher cannot aid the respondent if they require aid. Also, unlike in other research settings, researchers conducting survey research cannot guarantee beneficence to the respondents, as while most surveys have descriptions of what it will be used for and by who, there are some that do not, which indicates an ethical

I began with questions that would give me insight as to whether any affective disorders were present with the individual prior to the onset of dementia. I then developed questions that would gauge at what severity did the individual with dementia's demeanor changed, as well as how quickly the change took place. In addition I asked several open ended questions regarding whether the affective disorder caused a greater burden on the respondent, and how the affective disorder affected the individual's cognitive impairment. In the Journal of Neuropsychiatry a paper titled "Prevalence of Apathy, Dysphoria, and Depression in Relation to Dementia Severity in Alzheimer's Disease", researchers found that apathy was a very common disorder in those with severe mental degradation. "This study examined the relative frequency of these syndromes and their relation to disease characteristics in 131 research participants with probable or possible AD. Apathy was more prevalent than dysphoria or major depression and was more strongly associated with global disease severity, cognitive impairment, and functional deficits" (Landes, Journal of Neuropsychiatry,