ethics in b research

Fundamentals Of Research Methods

Ethics in Business Research

PresentedBy:ViqarA.Usmani 1

Learning Objectives

Understand . . .

What issues are covered in researchethics.

The goal of no harm for all researchactivities and what constitutes no harm for participant, researcher, and researchsponsor.


Learning Objectives

Understand . . .Differing ethical dilemmas and

responsibilities of researchers, sponsors,and research assistants.

Role of ethical codes of conduct in professional associations.


PulsePoint:Research Revelation

The percent of consumer PCs infected with spyware.


Data Collectors Face Responsibilities

[Privacy pragmatists are] often willing to allow people to have access to, and to use, their personal information where they understandthe reasons for its use, where they see tangible benefits for so doing, and when they believe care is taken to prevent the misuse of this information.

Humphrey Taylorchairman of The Harris Poll

Harris Interactive.


Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about our behavior and our relationships with others.The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activities.Unethical activities are pervasive and include many types of activities.Some of these are listed in the next slide.For some researchers, ethical and legal norms are the same.We feel that legal constraints are the minimum standard but not the ideal.


Types of Ethical Violations

Violating disclosure

agreements

Breaking confidentiality

Padded invoices

Misrepresenting results

Deceiving participants

Avoiding legal liability


Procter & Gamble

Admits to competitive intelligence gathering

Contracted BI firm took documents from

Unilever trash receptaclesOut-of-court

settlement rumored (and reported) at

$10m


In April 2001, Procter and Gamble notified its competitor Unilever that more than 80 discarded documents detailing Unilevers marketing plan for its hair care business had been collected by P&G information agents.Unilever sought financial restitution and restrictions on P&Gs marketing activities, but the two companies settled out of court.


Ethical Approaches

Ethical standards

Ethical RelativismDeontology


There is no single approach to ethics.

Deontology advocates that ethical behavior should be directed by duties regardless of the positive circumstances that might result from behavior that is in contradiction to the duty.An example might be Do not lie, even when lying might result in a positive outcome.Another approach is that of ethical relativism. Ethical relativism is based on an individuals sense of morality.Therefore, each person decides for his or herself what is ethical behavior.A middle ground is necessary and provided through ethical standards of behavior for researchers.


Ethical Approaches

Ethical RelativismDeontology

How would you assess the P&G case usingthe two ethical approaches?


Three organizations offering codes specifically for researchers are the : Marketing Research Association (MRA), The American Marketing Association

(AMA), and The Council for American Survey

Research Organizations (CASRO).

The logos in the next slide are linked to the respective organizations website where you can view the codes of ethics.


Ethical Codes of Conduct


PulsePoint:Research Revelation

The amount, in millions, that employers will lose this year due to employee fraud.


Ethical Issues at all Stages of the Research Process


Sponsored research activities may require access to information that is proprietary or otherwise considered by the sponsor to be privileged and confidential.Such information must be specifically identified by the sponsor and must be determined to be confidential

Sponsors usually require formal agreements prior to the exchange of confidential information (nondisclosure or secrecy agreements)


Business Research Methods


Sponsors Right to Quality ResearchAn important ethical consideration for the researcher and the sponsor is the sponsors right to quality research.This right entails:

Providing a research design appropriate for the research question.

Maximizing the sponsors value for the resources expended.

Providing data handling and reporting techniques appropriate for the data collected.


Sponsors Right of Purpose Non Disclosure

A research sponsor may be testing a new idea that is not yet patented and may not want to know of its plans:

It may be investigating employee complaints and may not want to spark union activity or

The sponsor might be contemplating a new public stock offering, where advance disclosure would spark the interest of authorities or cost the firm heavily.


Researchers Right to Absence of Sponsor CoercionSometimes researchers will be asked by sponsors to participate in unethical behavior.To avoid coercion by sponsor the researcher should:

Educate sponsor to the purpose of research Explain researchers role Explain how distortion of the truth leads to

future problems If necessary, terminate relationship with

sponsor


Participant Deception

Deception occurs when the participants are told only part of the truth or when the truth is fully compromised.Two reasons suggested for deception are:

1. To prevent biasing the participants before the survey or experiment; and

2. To protect the confidentiality of a third party (e.g., the sponsor)



to nform

'Y


Participants Right of informed Consent

Securing informed consent from participants is a matter of fully disclosing the procedures of the proposed survey or other research design before requesting permission to proceed with the study.

If there is a chance the data could harm the participant (offering only limited confidentiality, a signed form detailing the types of limits should be obtained.

For most business research, oral consent is sufficient.


Participants Right to Privacy (Refusal)Privacy is more than confidentiality.

A right to privacy means one has the right to refuse tobe interviewed or to refuse to answer any question inan interview.

To address these rights, ethical researchers do the following:

Inform participants of their right to refuse to answer any question or participate in the study.

Obtain permission to interview participants. Schedule field and phone interviews. Limit the time required for participation. Restrict observation to public behavior only.


Researchers Right to Safety

Safety Ethical behavior of assistants Protection of anonymityResearchers are bound by a code of ethics that includes the following protections for subjects

1.Protected from physical or psychological harm (including loss of dignity, loss of autonomy, and loss of self-esteem) 2.Protection of privacy and confidentiality3.Protection against unjustifiable deception4.The subject must give voluntary informed consent to participate in research.Guardians must give consent for minors to participate.In addition to guardian consent, minors over age 7 must also give their consent to participate.


Ethical Treatment of Participants

Explain study benefits

Explain participant rights and protections

Obtain informed consent


Research must be designed so that a participant does not suffer physical harm, discomfort, pain, embarrassment, or loss of privacy.The previous slide lists the three guidelines researchers should follow to protect participants.

When discussing benefits, the researcher should be careful not to overstate or understate the benefits. Informed consent means that the participant has given full consent to participation after receiving full disclosure of the procedures of the proposed study.


Begin data collection by explaining to the participant the benefits expected from the research

Explain to the participants that their rights and well-being will be adequately protected, and say how this will be done

Be certain that interviewers obtain the informed consent of the participant


Components ofInformed Consent

Identify researchersDescribe survey topicDescribe target sampleIdentify sponsorDescribe purpose of researchPromise anonymity and confidentiality

Give good-faith estimate of required time commitmentState participation is voluntaryState item-non response is acceptable

Ask for permission

The informed consent procedures used by the Indiana Center for Survey Research


Characteristics of Informed Consent

Elements

Competence

Informed

Knowledge Voluntary


Since 1966, all projects with federal funding are required to be reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

An IRB evaluates the risks and benefits of proposed research.

The review requirement may be more relaxed for projects that are unlikely to be risky

such as marketing research projects. Many institutions require that all research whether funded or unfunded by the federal

Government be reviewed by a local IRB..


The IRBs concentrate on two areas.First is the guarantee of obtaining complete, informed consent

from participants.The second is the risk assessment and benefit analysis review.Complete informed consent has four characteristics and these are

named in the slide.1.The participant must be competent to give consent. 2.Consent must be voluntary, and free from coercion. 3.Participants must be adequately informed to make a decision. 4.Participants should know the possible risks or outcomes

associated with the research


Ethical Responsibilities

Special guidelines apply to children! Informed consentmeans parental

approval.


Special consideration is necessary whenresearching the behavior and attitudes ofchildren.Besides providing informed consent, parents are often interviewed during the selection process to ensure that the child is mature enough and has the verbal and physical capabilities necessary


Deception

Disguising non-research activities

Camouflaging trueresearch objectives


Debriefing

Explain any dec

Describe

Sh

eption

purpose

are results

Provide follow-up


In situations where participants are intentionally or accidentally deceived,they should be debriefed once the research is complete.Debriefing describes the goals of the research, as well as the truth and reasons for any deception.Results are shared after the study is complete. Participants who require any medical or psychological follow-up attention will receive it during the debriefing process.


Participant Confidentiality

Minimize instruments requiring ID

Non-disclosure of data subsets

Restrict access to ID

Obtain signed nondisclosure

Reveal only with written

consent


As discussed before;All individuals have a right to privacy, and

researchers must respect that right.Once a guarantee of confidentiality is given,

protecting that confidentiality is essential.Researchers protect participant confidentiality in

several ways.1.Obtaining signed nondisclosure documents

only researchers who have signed nondisclosure forms should be allowed access to the data.

2.Restricting access to participant identification.3.Revealing participant information only with written consent. 4.Restricting access to data instruments where the participant is

identified. 5.Nondisclosure of data subsets.


Methods 2-5 deal with minimizing the chance for a participant to identified and matched with his or her responses.

Links between data and identifying information must be minimized.

Interview response sheets should be inaccessible to everyone except the editors and data entry personnel.

Data collection instruments may be destroyed once data are in a data file.

For very small groups, data should not be made available if it would be easy to pinpoint a person in the group.


Right to refuse

Prior permission to interview

Limit time required

Right to Privacy

Prior permission tointerview

Limit time required


The U.S. Safe Harbor Agreement

Security

Notice Access

Enforcement

Choice

Onward Transfer

Data Integrity


The convenience of collecting data online has created new ethical issues.

Data mining offers infinite possibilities for research abuse.

The primary ethical data mining issues in cyberspace are privacy-related including consent to information collection and control of information dissemination.

Legitimate data miners publicly post their information security policies.

The EU countries have passed the European Commissions data protection directive.

Under the directive, commissioners can prosecute companies and block Web sites that fail to live up to its strict privacy standards.


Exhibit 2-3 identifies the seven basic principle that companies must comply with to be granted immunity from legal action under the EUs directive.

These seven principles are: Notice: Companies must notify consumers/participants about

what information is being collected, how that information will be used, who that information will be shared with, and how individuals can contact the organization with inquiries or complaints.

Choice: Consumers/participants must be provided with an opt-out mechanism for any secondary uses of data and for disclosures to third parties. For sensitive information, participants must opt in before providing data that will be shared.

Access: Individuals must have access to personal information that the organization holds and be able to correct, amend, or delete information where it is in accurate, except where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to the individuals privacy.


Security: Organizations must take reasonable precautions to protect personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.

Onward transfer: Companies disclosing personal data to a third party must adhere to the notice and choice principles. A third party must subscribe to the safe-harbor principles.

Data integrity: Reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that data collected are reliable, accurate, complete, and current.

Enforcement: Companies must ensure there are readily available and affordable independent mechanisms to investigate consumer complaints.


Sponsor Nondisclosure

Confidentiality

Purpose Nondisclosure

Findings Nondisclosure


What To Do If Coerced?

Educate on

purpose

Emphasize fact-finding

role

Explain problems

Terminate relationship


Occasionally, researchers may be asked by sponsors to participate in unethical behavior.

What can the researcher do to remain ethical? There are four suggestions provided in the slide. The researcher can attempt to1.educate the sponsor to the purpose of the research,2. explain the researchers role as a fact-finder,3.explain how distorting the truth or breaking faith will

lead to future problems, and4.if the others fail, terminate the relationship.


Effective Codes of Ethics

Enforceable

Specify Behavior

Regulate

Protect


Many organizations have codes of ethics.A code of ethics is an organizations codified set of norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about research behavior.Effective codes are those that1) are regulative,2) protect the public interest and the interests of the

profession served by the code,3) are behavior-specific, and4) are enforceable.Exhibit in previous slide provides additional sources for ethics resources.


Key Terms

Code of ethics Confidentiality Debriefing Deception Ethics Informed consent

Nondisclosure Findings Purpose Sponsor

Right to privacy Right to quality Right to safety


ethics in b research

Documents

ethical behavior

ethical standards of

research activities

research assistants

types of activities

unethical activities

legal norms

goal of ethics