Laud Humphreys Tearoom Trade Ethical Issues

Stormie perea laud humphreys tea room trade.

Laud humphreys tearoom trade ethical issues. The tearoom trade study from 1965 to 1968 laud humphreys an ordained episcopalian minister conducted dissertation research on men who have impersonal sex with men humphreys 1970. There is a lot of controversy on whether or not the tea room study was ethical considering he disguised himself lied about why he was interviewing. Guided questions on the ethical issues on methodology of laud humphreys tearoom trade. Impersonal sex in public places is a 1970 book by laud humphreys humphreys book is based on his 1968 ph d.

A study of homosexual encounters in public places the study is an analysis of male male sexual behavior in public toilets. Impersonal sex in public places 1970 is commonly presented in many sociological methods texts as an example of covert and deceptive research methods that endangered subjects without their consent lenza 2004 p. In 1970 laud humphreys then a washington university phd student wrote his infamous thesis tearoom trade which was a study of homosexual behaviour between men in public toilets in a u s. The men involved in this tearoom trade as it is called came from all walks of life and many were married and living otherwise straight lives.

Impersonal sex in public places 1975 in the 1960 s it seemed there was a large problem plaguing our nation and that problem was males being caught in the act of oral sex in public restrooms. Humphreys asserted that the men participating in such activity came from diverse social backgrounds. Most of the homosexual arrests. States that humphrey s tearoom study made significant positive contributions to the population he studied.

Dissertation which was entitled tearoom trade. The tearoom trade study by laud humphreys for example involved a researcher providing false information about the researcher s identity and purposes in order to find out aboutmen having sex togetherinpublic restrooms generating considerable methodological and ethical debates. By pretending to be a simple voyeur humphreys explains that he systematically observed these activities and even recorded the license plate numbers of a sample of tearoom. In tearoom trade 1970 1975 laud humphreys writes about the homosexual relations that took place in various tearooms i e public bathrooms in an unidentified american city during the mid to late 1960s.

Concludes that few studies in sociology have accomplished as much in a single work. Argues that humphrey s tearoom trade study misinforms readers as much as it informs regarding moral and ethical foundations for research with human subjects. Without telling people that he was studying them laud humphreys 1975 observed hundreds of homosexual acts among men in st. Perhaps not surprisingly given the topic the research was highly controversial however this was not just due to its sensitive subject matter.

Was laud humphreys s tea room study ethical.