Session 7 Outline
Ethics, Politics, and Cultural Competency in Research

· NASW code of ethics

• Obligation to human subjects
• Gender and culture in research
• Diverse and vulnerable populations
• Politics of social work research

The goal of this week's class is to prepare students to evaluate the ethical and political context of social work-relevant research.  In my view, an overview of issues in this area is fundamental to understanding why it is difficult or impossible to conduct the perfect study.

We will look at materials related to ethics and politics of social work research, as well as to cultural competence in research. I will introduce the history of some studies presenting ethical dilemmas, and will lead a discussion on the article written by William Epstein of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, which is assigned for this week.