Chapter 02: Ethics in Business Research

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 Learning Objectives

• Understand . . .
• What issues are covered in research ethics.
• The goal of “no harm” for all research
activities and what constitutes no harm for
participant, researcher, and research sponsor.

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 Learning Objectives

• Understand . . .
• Differing ethical dilemmas and responsibilities
of researchers, sponsors, and research
assistants.
• Role of ethical codes of conduct in
professional associations.

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 PulsePoint:
Research Revelation

89
The percent of consumer PCs
infected with spyware.

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 Data Collectors Face
Responsibilities

“[Privacy pragmatists are] often willing to allow

people to have access to, and to use, their
personal information where they understand the
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 Taylor
chairman of The Harris Poll®
Harris Interactive.
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 Types of Ethical Violations

Violating
Misrepresenting
disclosure
results
agreements

Breaking Deceiving
confidentiality participants

Padded Avoiding
invoices legal liability
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 Procter & Gamble

•Admits to competitive
intelligence gathering
•Contracted BI firm took
documents from
Unilever trash
receptacles
•Out-of-court settlement
rumored (and reported)
at $10m

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 Ethical Approaches

Ethical
Ethical
Deontology
standards Relativism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deontological_ethics

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 Ethical Approaches

How would you assess the P&G case using

the two ethical approaches?

Ethical
Deontology
Relativism

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 Ethical Codes of Conduct

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 In this class, we prefer for APA
• American Psychology • This is well-known code
Association Style. of conducts in the world
and will be applied in
our class.

Link: https://apastyle.apa.org/

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 PulsePoint:
Research Revelation

$944
The amount, in millions,
that employers will lose
this year due to employee
fraud.

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 Ethical Issues at all Stages of the
Research Process

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 Ethical Treatment of Participants

Explain study benefits

Explain participant
rights and protections

Obtain informed
consent

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 Components of Informed Consent

•Identify researchers •Give “good-faith”

•Describe survey topic estimate of required
•Describe target time commitment
sample •State participation is
•Identify sponsor voluntary
•Describe purpose of •State item-non
research response is acceptable
•Promise anonymity •Ask for permission
and confidentiality
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 Components of Informed Consent

Competence

Knowledge Elements Voluntary

Informed

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 Ethical Responsibilities

•Special guidelines
•apply to children!
•Informed consent
means parental
approval.

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 Deception

Disguising
non-research
activities

Camouflaging
true research
objectives

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 Debriefing

Explain any deception

Describe purpose

Share results

Provide follow-up

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 Participant Confidentiality

Obtain signed
nondisclosure

Non-
Restrict
disclosure of
access to ID
data subsets

Minimize Reveal only

instruments with written
requiring ID consent

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 Right to Privacy

Right to refuse

Prior permission to
interview

Limit time required

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 The U.S. Safe Harbor Agreement

Notice Choice Access

Onward Data
Security Transfer Integrity

Enforcement

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 Confidentiality

Sponsor Nondisclosure

Purpose Nondisclosure

Findings Nondisclosure

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 What To Do If Coerced?

Educate Explain
on problems
purpose

Emphasize Terminate
fact-finding relationship
role

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 Effective Codes of Ethics

Enforceable Regulate

Specify
Protect
Behavior

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 Key Terms

• Code of ethics • Nondisclosure

• Confidentiality – Findings
• Debriefing – Purpose
• Deception – Sponsor
• Ethics • Right to privacy
• Informed consent • Right to quality
• Right to safety

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