Ethical Issues in Teaching About Research Ethics

Ethical issues in the conduct of research is an important topic in research methods courses for graduate students in many Faculties of Education. The authors relate their experiences in teaching this topic over several semesters using a simulation of the well-known research into obedience by Stanley Milgram in the early 1960s. Students’ reactions to the use of the simulation at both emotional and intellectual levels are describedanddiscussed, as is the ethicaldilemma those reactionshave createdfor their teachers in contemplating future use of such emotion-charged teaching approaches.