Ethical Approval Application Form, modified Spring 2012 TPM

Approval Code:
E1- APPLICATION FORM FOR APPROVAL TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
BUSINESS SCHOOL ETHICS COMMITTEE

Dept/School Department of Management and Business Systems, University of Bedfordshire Business School
and unit code: BSS045-3 Dissertation

Please select Postgraduate Project Undergraduate Project

(Double click on the box then click ‘Checked’ for a cross to appear in the box)

Project Title: Role of motivation in employees at Amazon Inc

Researchers Cristina-Sandra Chirita

Name(s):

Supervisor(s): Amanda Price

Date: 10/02/2022

Applications should be submitted electronically to the Secretary of the School Research Ethics Committee as one single
file. One original hard copy must also be submitted with the signatures of all applicants and Supervisors.

Page 1
 Ethical Approval Application Form, modified Spring 2012 TPM

Rationale: Please give a BRIEF description of the project in ‘lay language’. This summary will be reviewed by UREC
and may be published as part of its reporting procedures.
Owing to the fact that employees at Amazon Inc. tends to remain motivated while seeing to generate desired productivity for the
organization to incur profitability, the considerate purpose of the study is to determine the factors that tends to provide the
required motivation for the employees. On that basis, the study intends to understand what how motivation drives the
performance of employees and contribute beneficially to the organization.

Ethical Considerations: Please give a BRIEF description of the ethical considerations of this project. Please mention
questions raised specifically in the form and, where appropriate, show that the basic ethical criteria have been met in
any use of (a) participant information sheets (b) consent forms (c) debriefing procedures.

This summary will be forwarded to and reviewed by UREC and may be published as part of its reporting procedures.
The participants being led to participate in the course of the study will be required to provide their consent for approving of their
voluntary participation in the study. Furthermore, the identity of the respondents will not be revealed and be kept anonymous
while bearing adherence with Data Protection Act of 1998. It ensures the information being generated in the study are not to be
utilized for any other purpose aside from fulfilling educational criteria.

Section A: PROJECT INFORMATION

1. Estimated start date.

When do you plan to begin your project? February 2022

2. Estimated duration.
How long do you think it will take? 3 months

3. Does this research proposal involve...

3a. Potential conflicts of interest, eg. roles in research, intellectual property,
Yes No
responsibilities of funders, research with policy or other social implications etc?

3b. Only unpublished data obtained with the permission of the owner/archive curator? Yes No

3c. Primary data collection (obtained through interviews, surveys, observation, etc...)? Yes No

If you answer ‘YES’ to any of these questions (3a 3b or 3c), you should elaborate in Q27.

4. Is this research proposal exclusively concerned with...

Page 2
 Ethical Approval Application Form, modified Spring 2012 TPM

Only published secondary data sources (eg, material already in the public domain)*? *Yes No

*If you answer ‘YES’ to Q4, go directly to Q. 26, and Q. 27 

5. Your informants...
5a. Who are the intended participants? (eg. students) Employees of Amazon

5b. How will you recruit them? Advertise in the BHX4 Employee Facebook group

6. Estimated duration of participants’ involvement...

(Eg, questionnaire 10 mins, Interview 20 mins, etc.) Questionnaire 10 mins

7. Location of Research/Fieldwork to be conducted:

Online – Researcher’s home
7a. Where will you conduct your research? (eg, LRC foyer) 36 Northcote Road, Birmingham
B339BB

7b. Do you need to secure permission to conduct research at this location? Yes *No
The research will be conducted online and will not require
*If you answered ‘NO’, say why permission is not needed.
permission

8. Is this research funded by an external sponsor or agency?

Yes No

If ‘YES’ please provide the name(s) and elaborate in Q. 27

Section B: ETHICAL CHECKLIST

For Qs 9-21, tick the box to show if your answer is YES, NO or Not Applicable. Please elaborate in Q. 27 if necessary.
If you tick ‘NO’ to any question 9-21, please give a brief explanation in Q. 27.
If you answer ‘YES’, it must be clearly illustrated in the relevant paperwork which must be attached
(ie, Participant Information Sheet, Consent Form, Debriefing Form, Questionnaires, Advertisement, etc…)

9. Have you obtained permission to access99 the site of research? Yes No N/A
If YES, provide the name, position and Daniel Peet-Operations Manager,
business address of the person. Also, give Amazon UK Coventry BHX4
the name of the organisation. Lyons Park, Sayer Drive, Coventry
CV5 9PF
A letter of confirmation is to be attached
to this form.
Yes No N/A
10. Does this research entail collaboration with other researchers?
If YES, provide the names and institutions of your collaborators.

11. Collaborative projects.

11a. If the research is collaborative, have you considered issues to do with roles in
research publication strategies/authorship?
Page 3
 Ethical Approval Application Form, modified Spring 2012 TPM

11b. If the research is collaborative, have you devised a framework to ensure that all
participants are given appropriate recognition in any outputs?

12. Volition. Will you tell participants that their participation is voluntary?

13. Informed Consent. Will you describe the procedures to participants in advance so that
they can make an informed decision about whether or not to participate?

14. The right to withdraw. Will you tell participants that they may withdraw from the research
at any time and for any reason, without having to give an explanation?

15. Written consent. Will you obtain written consent from participants?

16. Recording. If the research involves making recordings (manuscript, digital, audio or
video), will you ask participants for their consent to be observed, videoed or taped?

17. Confidentiality. Will you tell participants that their data will be treated with full
confidentiality and that if published, it will not be identifiable as theirs?

18. Data Security. Will participants be clearly informed of how the data will be stored, who
will have access to it, and when the data will be destroyed?

19. Debriefing. Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation, i.e. give them a
brief explanation in writing of the study?

20. Omission. With interviews and questionnaires, will you give participants the option of
omitting questions they do not want to answer?

21. Relationships. Are any of the participants in a dependent relationship with the
investigator (eg lecturer/student)?
If YES, please give full explanation in Q27.

Page 4
 Ethical Approval Application Form, modified Spring 2012 TPM

Section C: RISK AND SAFETY

For Qs 22-25, tick the box to show if your answer is YES, or NO. You should elaborate in Q. 27 where appropriate.

Yes No
22. Deception. Will your project involve deliberately misleading participants in any way?

If YES, explain in Q. 27 why it is necessary and how debriefing will occur.

23. Risk to Participant(s). Is there any realistic risk to any paid or unpaid participant, field
assistant, helper or student involved in the project? (Nb, ‘risk’ means experiencing any
physical, psychological distress or discomfort)

If YES, please explain in Q.27, saying what you will do if they should
experience any problems, eg who to contact for help.

24. Risk to Researcher(s) Is there any realistic risk to the investigator?

If YES, have the appropriate risk assessment forms been submitted to

the appropriate Safety Committee(s)?

25. Risk of Harm or Damage. Do you think the results of your research have the potential to
cause any damage, harm or other problems for people in your study area?

If YES, explain in Q. 27 why it is necessary and how debriefing will occur

Section D: WORKING WITH CHILDREN/VULNERABLE PEOPLE

For Qs 26a-g, tick the box to show if your answer is YES, or NO. You must elaborate in Q. 27 any ‘YES response in this section.

26. Vulnerable individuals. Do participants in this study fall into any of the following special groups?
If they do, please tick the appropriate answer, refer to the relevant guidelines and complete Q.27.
Yes No

a. Children (under 18 years of age).

b. People with learning or communication difficulties.

c. Patients (including careers of NHS patients).

d. People in custody.

e. Institutionalised persons.

f. People engaged in illegal activities, eg drug-taking.

g. Other vulnerable groups. (please specify)

There is an obligation on the Lead Researcher & Supervisor to bring to the attention of the School Ethics Committee
(S.E.C.) any issues with ethical implications not clearly covered by the above checklist.

Page 5
 Ethical Approval Application Form, modified Spring 2012 TPM

Section E: ETHICAL STATEMENT

27. Write a clear but concise statement of the ethical considerations of this project, clearly stating how you intend to
address each of them.

While the research intends to gather primary data from a selected set of samples, the only ethical concern is to gain consent of
the participants while trying to cite the sources of the secondary information with proper citation. Addressing the anonymity of the
participants is the prime ethical concern that will be maintained through assurance of confidentiality. All the data will be on the
researcher’s personal computer protected with a password. All the data will be deleted after the research paper will be submitted.
The purpose of the research will be presented to all participants for their consent giving them the option to withdraw at any time.

28. Assuring Confidentiality. As we regard informants’ consent to be finite, please say how and where you will store
your data (to guard against accidental data loss) and the date by which your data will be destroyed (usually,
within 6 months after the completion of your course).

The confidentiality is maintained through bearing adherence with Data Protection Act of 1998 that retains confidentiality of the
participants. The names of the participants will be changed to fictive names.

Page 6
 Ethical Approval Application Form, modified Spring 2012 TPM

Section E: DECLARATION

I, the researcher declare that...

(i) I am familiar with the UBBS Guidelines for Ethical Research Guidelines
for Research practices, and I have discussed them with all researchers involved
in this project.
No Yes
(ii) I have attached all relevant No Yes
paperwork linked to this project.
(Nb, supervisors may need to seek guidance before giving approval.)
No Yes
(iii) I understand that any substantive changes to this proposal will require
a new application to the School Ethics Committee.

Cristina-Sandra Chirita
Researcher(s)
Cristina-Sandra Chirita
Signature
10/03/2022
Date

Supervisors must ensure they have read both the application and the guidelines before signing below.
Amanda Price
Supervisor(s)

Signature
10/03/2022
Date

OFFICIAL USE ONLY

STATEMENT OF ETHICAL APPROVAL

This project has been considered using agreed University Procedures and has been:
Not Approved Approved
More Clarification Required
New Submission Recommended
Referred to UREC

Convener’s Name

Signature

Date: dd/mm/year

Adapted by TM Nov 2011 from: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/utrec/SCHOOLFORMS/index.shtml

Page 7