Moral dilemmas in criminological research
Recent years have seen a growing interest in scientific fraud and its causes, sparked by a number of high-profile scandals. As a response, universities improved the monitoring and enforcement of scientific integrity. Although these are important steps in preventing scientific misconduct, it is also crucial that universities support and guide researchers. Scientific integrity is not only about preventing fraud, it is also about conscientiously dealing with moral dilemmas in which the rules do not provide a clear-cut answer.
In this article, we discuss some specific moral dilemmas faced by criminological researchers, addressing issues concerning informed consent, the relationship with respondents and the reporting of results. The dilemmas are analysed by means of a particular decision making model against the background of the Belgian code of scientific research. The article concludes with some recommendations.