A survey of doctoral education in communication research ethics

Abstract

This study attempted to determine the status of Ph.D. communication education in research ethics. Four areas were examined: coursework offered in research ethics, research issues addressed in the cousework, reading material used in the cousework, and how course instructors acquired their knowledge of research ethics. Results indicate that no Ph.D. communication program surveyed currently devotes an entire course to communication research ethics. Seventy percent of the programs surveyed offered a course partly dealing with research ethics. In these courses, research ethics tended to be discussed 15 percent or less of total course time. Course issues that were and were not discussed in these courses are also examined. In addition, an ethics reading list used in Ph.D. courses is included. Current graduate instruction in communication research ethics is seemingly not extensive. The discussion examines the implications of these findings.