Ethical Issues in Data Collection in

Research
Data collection is vital to any research, no matter your topic. As
mentioned briefly above, ensuring that the data collection you do as part
of your research is as ethical and 'above board' as possible is essential.

What does it mean to be ethical, and why is it so important where

research is concerned? The following section will help to fill in these
blanks.

Ethical Issues in Data Collection:

Definition
When discussing being ethical, is it as simple as just doing things the
right way? Let's take a look at a definition:

'Ethical' refers to the understanding of the principles of morality. If

someone is ethical, they understand the difference between what is
morally right and wrong and decide to behave in a morally correct way.
The opposite would be someone understanding the difference between
right and wrong and deciding to do the wrong thing.
What are some examples of general ethical behavior?

 Handing in a dropped wallet to a police station

 Whistleblowing within a company or industry to ensure unjust acts
can be addressed appropriately
 Being loyal in a relationship
 Maintaining confidentiality and privacy within professional and
personal situations
 Letting a server know you've been undercharged in a restaurant
 Showing compassion to others
 Not telling lies

Now that we've got a better understanding of what it means to be ethical,

how do we apply this to data collection?
Being ethical in data collection simply means using data collection
methods that will not have a negative impact on anyone or anything or
have as little negative impact as possible.

We'll now look at different kinds of data collection activities before

exploring the ethical issues that might arise during data collection.

Everything you'll need for your studies in one place for Ethical
Issues In Data Collection
StudySmarter's FREE web and mobile app

Get Started Now

Ethical Issues in Data Collection:

Activities
What kinds of activities count as data collection methods? In other
words, what techniques or strategies can we use to collect data?
First, let's establish the two main types of data
collection: qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative data collection gathers descriptive or quality-related
information, such as people's feelings or opinions on a particular topic.
Qualitative data is less concerned with statistics or numbers and focuses
more on people's experiences, judgments, feelings, and understandings.
Some examples of qualitative data collection methods include:

 Observations
 Interviews
 Focus groups

Quantitative data collection refers to gathering quantifiable or

countable information. Quantitative data is heavily influenced by
numbers and statistics and often relates to things that follow patterns,
trends, or correlations.
Some examples of quantitative data collection methods include:

 Polls

 Surveys
  Questionnaires

These are examples of data collection activities you can carry out during
your research phase. The methods you choose will depend on the kind of
data you're trying to gather (i.e., qualitative or quantitative).

Ethical Issues in Data Collection:

Examples
Now that we know a little more about the different kinds of data
collection and a few examples of data collection activities, we can get
into the real meat of the article.

Here are some of the most common ethical issues that arise during data
collection:

 Lack of consent. When collecting data, regardless of your

method, you must obtain consent from your participants. This
could be as simple as asking for their permission to be observed or
getting them to sign a consent form before partaking in a study.
When you visit a website, you've probably noticed a little box that pops
up asking you to consent to cookies. 'Cookies' on the internet are small
data files that track your search and browsing habits so websites can
remember your patterns and preferences. The little box that pops up
usually asks you to accept or reject that website's cookies - this is an
example of a data collection process asking for consent.
 Being unclear about intent. If you are collecting data, you need
to let your participants know what the collected data will be used
for. This ties in closely with consent as it allows the participants to
make a more informed decision about the extent of their
involvement.
 Lack of confidentiality or anonymity. In most cases, people are
happy to give their answers to surveys, questionnaires, or
interviews if they remain anonymous or if the information they
provide will be kept confidential. Sharing identifying information
about your participants without them knowing is a significant
ethical issue.
You should let participants know of any scenarios that would lead you to
share confidential information (e.g., if you were worried about their
safety or thought they posed a risk to themselves or others).
 Lack of appropriate compensation. Where data collection is
concerned, the researcher needs to understand that they are
subjecting their participants to a certain degree of inconvenience.
If a participant needs to travel to a certain location to take part in a
focus group or interview, for example, they will have incurred
some transport costs. It is then fair to offer logical and appropriate
compensation to reimburse out-of-pocket expenses.
It won't always be necessary to compensate participants – for example,
asking someone to fill in a quick, three-question poll with multiple
choice answers provided would not impose a significant inconvenience
upon them. However, participants should be reimbursed if your research
incurs costs for them. Methods such as sleep studies and focus groups
often provide financial compensation to participants.
 Taking advantage of vulnerable people or groups that are easy
to access. This probably goes without saying, but data collection
should never take advantage of vulnerable people (data collection
shouldn't take advantage of anyone). Data collection should be as
representative as possible and shouldn't be gathered only from
convenient or 'easy' sources.
 Lack of relevance. It can be tempting to approach people or
groups you know will give you the answers or data you're looking
for, but you must ensure your data collection spans the relevant
demographics. One person might give you an easy answer, but if
they aren't part of your target demographic or if they aren't going
to contribute to the relevance of your study, then they should be
avoided.
Suppose you were gathering data about menstrual pain using a
questionnaire. In that case, a cis-gendered man might be able to give the
information he's learned from women he knows, but this would not be
relevant or helpful as it is not a first-person account. Instead, asking
people who have (or have had) periods would be more relevant.
 Being biased. When collecting data, you need to be as impartial as
possible. If the topic you're researching is too close to you or if
your participants are people you know, it might be best to change
your focus or find another group of participants. You should also
ensure that your own beliefs and biases do not impact your
perception of data.
This is not an exhaustive list of ethical issues to consider during data
collection, but it should give you a decent idea of what to keep in mind.
Ethical Issues in Data Collection:
Analysis
It is best practice to ensure you have done everything in your power to
consider all potential ethical risks before proceeding with your research.

If a complicated situation arises, and you aren't sure whether something

is ethical or not, think to yourself, 'would I be happy with this if I were
the participant?'. If the answer is 'no,' you probably shouldn't be doing
it.

If you are required to collect data that requires input from other people,
you must consider all the possible ethical implications of your research.
As part of this consideration process, you will likely need to fill out
an ethics form or application outlining all the factors you have taken
into account. Some of the factors you will be asked about on the form
include:

 The aims of your research – Outline why the research you want to

carry out is necessary.
 The methods or strategies you will be using – Explain how you
will carry out your data collection.
 What will be expected of participants – State the imposition or
demands the study might place on participants.
 Any potential risks to the participants – Explain these risks and
how you will set about minimizing and mitigating them.
 How the data collected from the study will be used, and how you
will obtain consent from the participants

This is not an exhaustive list of considerations but should give you an

idea of what to expect from an ethics application.
Ethical Issues in Data Collection - Key Takeaways

 There are two main kinds of research; qualitative and quantitative.

You need to decide which type you're going to conduct before you
start gathering data.

 Each kind of research has different data collection methods.

  Being ethical means knowing the difference between right and
wrong and choosing to do the right thing.

 Some ethical issues in data collection include: confidentiality,

consent, bias, relevance, convenience, and compensation.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ethical Issues In

Data Collection
Why do we need to consider ethical issues in collecting data explain? 

It is important to consider ethical issues when collecting data collection because as

researchers, we must ensure we are being as ethical and unbiased as possible. This
will help us to ensure we are not causing undue harm, and that we are respecting our
participants and sources properly.  

What are the 3 ethical issues in research? 

Three potential ethical issues in research include:

 lack of consent
 lack of anonymity or confidentiality
 being biased rather than impartial

What are ethics in data collection? 

In data collection, 'ethics' refers to the moral standards that researchers must adhere
to, to ensure that their data collection is fair, thorough, and does not take advantage
of participants or sources.

What are some examples of ethical issues? 

Some examples of ethical issues include: 

 lack of consent
 being unclear about the intent of research
 lack of confidentiality
 taking advantage of participants
 lack of appropriate compensation
 lack of relevance
  being biased

What are ethical concerns in research? 

An ethical concern in research is when you are worried that a part of your research
or data collection processes are unethical, harmful, biased, irrelevant, or unclear in
intention. Research must aim to be purposeful, fair, and ethical.