Sometimes in evaluating an ethical problem there are moral principles that lead to clear-cut courses of action. More often,however, there are several solutions each of which is morally acceptable. Our values and experiences, which are unique to each of us, will influence our views when considering ethical problems and identifying a solution. Since we have to live with the decisions we make perhaps the most critical element of ethical decision making is being able to explain/justify the reasons behind our decisions. To help you in learning to do this, following each brief case there are a series of questions for you to answer. You will find it most useful to discuss these case studies with your friends, other research group members, and/or your research advisor. Each brief case is based loosely on one or more real life incidents. Following each case references to articles about the real incidents on which these cases has been designed appear so you can learn more about the people and the incidents themselves.
If you click on each question following each case, you can view suggestions for possible answers outlining some of the many relevant issues.