Ethical issues in analyzing FBI surreptitious tapes

Ten ethical principles developed by the American Psychological Assoc (APA) to guide research involving human Ss are examined in the context of legal & ethical issues raised by covert tape recordings obtained by the FBI & other law enforcement agencies. The FBI's guidelines for such material are compared with APA guidelines & found to be less comprehensive. Issues raised relating to the involvement of linguists or psychologists with such material are addressed. It is argued that guidelines for publication of material drawn from FBI recordings may differ from the standard APA principles; & that publication of analyses of such recordings is ethical so long as appropriate ethical principles are followed from the point at which the researcher enters the investigation. 2 References. B. Annesser Murray