Ethics for information

professionals
Ethics for searchers
Ethical concerns connect them

tefkos@rutgers.edu;
http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefk
o/
Tefko Saracevic

Central ideas
Tefko Saracevic

Information professionals
should, indeed must, perform
their services ethically
Searching is particularly
sensitive to ethical behavior
it involves close connections to & even
confidences of users

Table of Content

1. Information organizations:
Professional ethics
2. Searchers ethics
3. Strategic & competitive
intelligence (SCI) ethical
concerns

Tefko Saracevic

Information-oriented
organizations

1. Professional ethics
Tefko Saracevic

 [ethos]

Defnition

Greek word for custom or habit, the

characteristic conduct of an individual
human life.
A Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names

Why is Ethics important?

Tefko Saracevic

Ethics is a requirement for human life.

It is our means of deciding a course of
action.
Sense of Life Objectives. The importance of ph
ilosophy

more

Ethics is studying and talking about what is

right and wrong, good and bad. It is also
studying what makes something good or
bad. This helps decide whether other
things are good or bad.
Understanding ethics can help people decide
what to do when they have choices. Many
philosophers think that doing anything or
making any choice is a part of ethics.
Wikipedia

P.S. if interested, for an in depth discussion immerse

into Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Tefko Saracevic

Computer ethics

more

Ethics is the field of study that is

concerned with questions of value, that
is, judgments about what human
behaviour is "good" or "bad". Ethical
judgments are no different in the area
of computing from those in any other
area. Computers raise problems of
privacy, ownership, theft, and power, to
name but a few.
Free online dictionary of philosophy

Tefko Saracevic

Professional ethics

Professional ethics concerns

one's conduct of behavior and
practice when carrying out
professional work
Practically every professional
organization has an official
code of ethics

Tefko Saracevic

but for searchers and searching there

is not a single official ethics code
search ethics is derived from other
professional codes & practices
8

Codes of ethics: library &

information associations

Library & information science

associations have a long standing
concern with ethics examples

Tefko Saracevic

IFLA Professional Code of Ethics for

Librarians (list by country)
USA: ALA has a Code of Ethics with
basic concern for intellectual freedom
Association of Independent Information
Professionals has a Code of Ethical
Business Practice
ASIST has Professional Guidelines
Strategic and Competitive Intelligence
Professionals has a brief Code of Ethics
for CI Professionals
9

Principles ALA ethics

code

We provide the highest level of service to all library

users
We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and
resist all efforts to censor library resources
We protect each library user's right to privacy and
confidentiality
We recognize and respect intellectual property
rights
We treat co-workers and other colleagues with
respect, fairness and good faith
We do not advance private interests at the expense
of library users, colleagues, or our employing
institutions
We distinguish between our personal convictions
and professional duties
We strive for excellence in the profession by
maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and
skills

Tefko Saracevic

10

Professional codes of ethics:

other associations

Ethical principles of psychologists and code

of conduct American Psychological Association
Principle A: Benefcence and Nonmalefcence
Psychologists strive to benefit those with whom they work
and take care to do no harm.
Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility
Psychologists establish relationships of trust with those with
whom they work.
Principle C: Integrity
Psychologists seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and
truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of
psychology.
Principle D: Justice
Psychologists recognize that fairness and justice entitle all
persons to access to and benefit from the contributions of
psychology and to equal quality in the processes, procedures,
and services being conducted by psychologists.
Principle E: Respect for People's Rights and Dignity
Psychologists respect the dignity and worth of all people, and
the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and selfdetermination.

Tefko Saracevic

11

Another example

ACM Code of Ethics and

Professional Conduct Association for
Computing Machinery
This Code, consisting of 24 imperatives formulated as
statements of personal responsibility, identifies the
elements of such a commitment.
Among them:
As an ACM member I will ....
1.1 Contribute to society and human well-being.
1.2 Avoid harm to others.
1.3 Be honest and trustworthy.
1.7 Respect the privacy of others.
1.8 Honor confidentiality.
2.2 Acquire and maintain professional competence.
2.5 Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of
computer systems and their impacts, including analysis
of possible risks.

Tefko Saracevic

12

Applicability

General principles from APA &

ACM code can be transferred to
searchers

Tefko Saracevic

instead of psychologists put in

searchers
instead of computing systems put in
information systems and resources

13

Guiding professional practice

2. Ethical principles for

searchers
Tefko Saracevic

14

Shaver, D.B., Hewison, N.S., & Wykoff, L.W. (1985). Ethics

for online intermediaries. Special Libraries, 76 (Fall), 238245.

Old but still valid

Tefko Saracevic

15

General concerns

No organizational professional
code of ethics specifc for
searchers
but all general principles apply
with Web searching even more urgent

Close connection with users gatekeepers

Tefko Saracevic

involving possibly their confidence

raises urgency of adherence to ethical
principles
anybody can claim to be a searcher
no license
16

Some ethical concerns for

searchers

Searcher competence
evaluating level of service received

Searcher expertise & search

results
apprising user & user consent

Searcher bias
tendency toward certain resources

Search accuracy
or rather inaccuracy

Privacy and confdentiality

what goes on in searching stays in
searching

Integrity

Tefko Saracevic

serving user as opposed to other interests

17

Guiding principle
Tefko Saracevic

First do no harm

18

First do no harm!

Your job is to provide information

but not judge the uses to which it
is put
exception: short of serious imminent threat
to another person or society

Your job is to appraise sources &

provide information but NOT to
give advice on subject matter
you can provide health information but you
are NOT a doctor or psychiatrist to give
medical or mental health advice
you can provide plumbing information but
you are NOT a plumber [except in your
own dwelling, possibly ]
you are NOT Dear Abby

Tefko Saracevic

19

First do no harm! more

You should know the authority,

quality of information sources
not to provide wrong information
appraise user of possible quality
problems

You should be aware of user

needs, context, limits
to avoid providing information that may
be inappropriate & wrongly interpreted,
used

You should provide information

to user, advise on sources &
give informational guidance, but
you should not do user's job

Tefko Saracevic

20

Shaver et al. Guidelines

21
Tefko Saracevic

Gathering, analyzing & using

information in organizations
3. Competitive intelligence (CI)
ethical concerns
Tefko Saracevic

22

What is strategic &

competitive intelligence?

Systematic program for gathering

and analyzing information about
competitors and their activities
environment - local, national, global
general trends in domains of interest

to further organizational goals

Essential for DECISION MAKING
More on Strategic and Competitive
Intelligence Professionals

Tefko Saracevic

23

Objectives
Collect information
effectively, systematically, economically

Analyze it
appropriately for given contexts, purposes

Disseminate it
to defined users & through effective
presentations & channels

Use it
to make informed DECISIONS

Tefko Saracevic

24

Ethical concerns for

competitive intelligence
What goes on in practice of
collecting information?
legal & illegal practices fairly well
defined
but if it is legal is it also ethical?
increase in competition - incentive to
cut corners

Need to formulate & adhere to

code of ethics
several are formulated as reviewed
Tefko Saracevic

25

Examples of unethical practices

camouflaged questioning
drawing out of competitors
employees at meetings or encounters
direct observation under secret
conditions
false job interviews of competitors
employees
hiring a professional investigator for
specific information
hiring employees away from
competitors to get specific know-how
Tefko Saracevic

26

Examples of illegal practices

trespassing on competitors property
bribing competitors employee or
supplier
planting your agent on competitors
payroll
eavesdropping on competitor (e.g.
wiretapping
theft of documents, drawings, samples
blackmail & extortion
arranging non-competitive practices
among competitors
Tefko Saracevic

27

Summary
Today searching involves an ever
expanding range of sources, users &
uses
it is also vitally important in organizations
it also involves searching for evaluative
information, indication performance & impact
dealing at times with life-important decisions

variety of pressures are extended

Ethical issues must be watched

Professional ethics must be followed

Tefko Saracevic

28

Life and times

of Frida Kahlo

thank you!
Tefko Saracevic

29

Presntation in Wordle

30
Tefko Saracevic

Gracias

Thank you Javier

&
for inviting me!

Tefko Saracevic

31