Background Information: The study for this discussion was performed during the early part of the last century and involved several hundred African American males who had syphilis. Participants were not notified that they were actually part of the study and were not given treatment for syphilis, which was available during the study.
This study is a good example of how research on human subjects should not be conducted. Unfortunately, this study was fundamentally unethical in its execution and was not set up according to the scientific method. However, a discussion on this study is an excellent opportunity for students to learn how to apply the scientific method to a real- life situation.
Instructions: Go to the CDC website and review the history of the study: http://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/
Answer one of the following questions:
1)How could a better knowledge of biology have possibly protected the participants?
2)Explain how a study of this kind could have been properly designed using the five basic steps of thescientific method.
3)Was there a hypothesis that scientists were trying to answer? If so, what was it?