CJ 412: Mass Media Ethics 'Post-Test'
 
Welcome!  This questionnaire is designed to be used in research on how to improve CJ 412: Mass Media Ethics and similar courses in other universities.  The data gathered here will be compared with your answers to the pre-test at the start of the semester, but in both cases, the data will be anonymous and aggregated.  The intent of these questions is not to measure how ethical you are but to measure what changes have occurred in how you and your classmates think about ethics during the span of this semester in CJ 412.  Thank you for your cooperation!   

-- Mike Dorsher, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, UW-Eau Claire
First, please enter your mother's maiden name (last name only), as you did at the top of your ethics pre-test. This way, you preserve your anonymity but still make it possible for me to compare your pre-test and post-test.
1. Which one of these categories best describes your major or minor?
Advertising  Public Relations  Print Journalism  Broadcast Journalism  Other 
2. Which sex are you?
Woman   Man

3. When I was growing up, my mother was very religious.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree NA; i.e., no mother at home
4. When I was growing up, my father was very religious.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree NA; i.e., no father at home
5. When I was growing up, I was very religious.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
6. I am very religious now.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
7. If I consistently maintain high ethical standards, most of my audience will trust me.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
8. If I do what is legal, what is ethical will take care of itself.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
9. If there’s a story that needs to be reported, I would do whatever is necessary to get it.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
10. Whether an advertising action is judged to be ethically right or wrong depends entirely upon the circumstances surrounding the action.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
11. My ethical decisions will be based on what I perceive to be the ethical standards prevailing in my industry.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
12. Ethics as an organized field of thought is just not important to me.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
13. An ethical course of action is always the best one a public relations professional can take.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
14. Ethics should be left to philosophers.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
15. Whether a public relations action is judged to be ethically right or wrong depends entirely upon the circumstances surrounding the action.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
16. An ethical course of action is always the best one an advertising professional can take.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
17. Desirable public relations outcomes are most frequently obtained by following an ethical course of action.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
18. Jeopardizing the well-being of some people is sometimes necessary to achieve the desired ends in public relations.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
19. I’m more concerned with advancement than with questions of ethics.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
20. An ethical course of action is always the best one a journalist can take.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
21. There are some stories for which I would be willing to look through garbage cans.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
22. Jeopardizing the well-being of some people is sometimes necessary to achieve the desired ends in journalism.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
23. Ethics should not interfere with the public’s need to know.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
24. As mass communicators, we should seek to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
25. Religion is the true basis for professional ethics.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
26. Desirable advertising outcomes are most frequently obtained by following an ethical course of action.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
27. My ethical decisions will be based on standards established by my employer.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
28. Ethical standards are individualistic, because what one person considers ethical may be judged as unethical by someone else.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
29. Whether a journalistic action is judged to be ethically right or wrong depends entirely upon the circumstances surrounding the action.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
30. Desirable journalistic outcomes are most frequently obtained by following an ethical course of action.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
31. Jeopardizing the well-being of some people is sometimes necessary to achieve the desired ends in advertising.
Strongly Agree  Agree   Neutral  Disagree   Strongly Disagree
Lastly, to save and send your answers, please remember to click once on the "Submit" button below.  Less than a minute later, your screen should switch to a "receipt" that lists your answers.