This section provides links to ethical case studies. As well as resources relevant to LIS workers, other professions' case studies are included for comparative purposes
- Kelley L. Ross's Friesian school of philosophy website has a page of 14 moral dilemmas. Ross attributes most of the content of this page to Victor Grassian's Moral Reasoning (Prentice Hall, 1981, 1992). Although not particularly relevant to the LIS profession, they do provide a good starting point for understanding the existence of dilemmas in the first place
- ETHICOMP Online, hosted by the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility has links to some excellent case studies in the related field of computer ethics. There is an interactive real-time scenario-based survey questionnaire which presents the user with a variety of ethical questions
- The American Library Association publishes a small number of sketches of scenarios involving librarian ethical dilemmas. Most are short dialogues intended to be debated in the classroom, setting out a librarian's perspective. The situations are quite plausible and provide excellent material for ethical debate. Additional skits are available from the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom
- The National Institute for Engineering Ethics publishes an extensive directory of case studies from the [US] National Society of Professional Engineers. The directory contains discussions around real-life ethical dilemmas, covering around 200 cases from 1976 to 2001. An alternative link lists cases (with full discussions) relating to earlier versions of the NSPE Code of Ethics from the 1950s onwards
Last modified on: 30/11/2009 01:14 PM