Toward a more public discussion of the ethics of federal social program evaluation

Bibliographic Data

ID11680602
AuthorsJan Blustein (New York University, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume24
Issue4
Pages824-846
Publication date2005-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Policy Analysis and Management (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0276-8739 • E-ISSN: 1520-6688
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/pam.20141
OpenAlexW2020304945
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited20

Federal social program evaluation has blossomed over the past quarter century. Despite this growth, there has been little accompanying public debate on research ethics. This essay explores the origins and the implications of this relative silence on ethical matters. It reviews the federal regulations that generally govern research ethics, and recounts the history whereby the evaluation of federal programs was specifically exempted from the purview of those regulations. Through a discussion of a recent evaluation that raised ethical concerns, the essay poses—but does not answer—three questions: (1) Are there good reasons to hold federal social program evaluations to different standards than those that apply to other research?; (2) If so, what ethical standards should be used to assess such evaluations?; and (3) Should a formal mechanism be developed to ensure that federal social program evaluations are conducted ethically? © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Engineering ethics · Political science · Public relations · Quarter (Canadian coin · Research ethics · Silence · Engineering · Ethics in Clinical Research · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life · Law · Public Administration

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