Harry Perlstadt, Ph.D., M.P.H., is Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Michigan State University and served for five years as Director of the MSU Bioethics, Humanities, and Society Program. He has worked on evaluations of community health delivery for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, safe and drug-free school curricula for the Michigan Department of Community Health, and national environmental health polices and action plans in Europe for the World Health Organization/Europe. He is active in the American Public Health Association having served on its Science Board and represented the Ethics Section on its Governing Council. His publications include chapters on applied sociology in 21st Century Sociology: A Reference Handbook, Ethics and Values in Sociological Practice in Doing Sociology: Case Studies in Sociological Practice, and The Healthy Cities/Communities Movement in Community Intervention: Clinical Sociology Perspectives. He has published articles on Milgram’s Obedience to Authority and Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiments. He received the American Sociological Association’s 2014 Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology.

“The book’s contribution is a very significant one, methodically presenting a history of research ethics in the US along with an exploration of the ethical codes that shaped research ethics in the country. The book’s noteworthy contribution is its thorough consolidation of controversial, yet seminal, studies that hold perennial fascination for both fledgling students and seasoned scholars, supplementing these foundational narratives with its own distinctive insights. … the book transcends its niche appeal, offering accessibility to a wider readership.” (Ugljesa Radulovic, Clinical Sociology Review, Vol. 19 (1), 2024)

• 1. Introduction.- Part 1: Essays.- 2. A History of Social Science Ethics and Regulations in the US. 3. IRBs and Police Power: The Intersection of Law and Ethics.- Part 2: Case Studies.- 4. The US Public Health Tuskegee Syphilis Study: A Sociological Perspective.- 5. The Wichita Jury Study: Violating a Sacred Trust.- 6. Obedience to Authority: A Whirlwind of Controversy.- 7. Tearoom Trade: The Ethics of Studying Social Problems.- 8. The Stanford Prison Experiment: The Power of the Situation.- 9. The Yanomami: A Case of Retrospective Ethics.