This document discusses ethical considerations in business research. It defines ethics as norms that distinguish between right and wrong conduct. There are four parties with rights in research: society, subjects, clients/managers, and researchers. Ethical issues can arise regarding subjects' privacy and consent, clients' confidentiality and research quality expectations, and ensuring research objectives benefit society. New technologies also present challenges around subjects' privacy and direct marketing versus research. Upholding codes of ethics and gaining public trust requires communicating research benefits, adopting ethical practices, and auditing compliance.
1. Ethical Considerations in Business Research
Mehdi Daryaei
Business Research For Decision Making, Duane Davis, Canadian Edition
2. What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?
Most common way of defining "ethics":
Norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable
behavior. The distinguishing between right and wrong.
• The Golden Rule
("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you")
• Code of professional conduct
Hippocratic Oath ("First of all, do no harm")
• A religious creed like the Ten Commandments
("Thou Shalt not kill...")
2 www.niehs.nih.gov
3. Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in
other social settings.
Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during
childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human
beings pass through different stages of growth as they mature.
3 www.niehs.nih.gov
What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?
4. E t h i c s
Proper conduct of the research process in business inquiry rights and
responsibility of various parties involved in the research
Affects the rights of individuals
The quality of data obtained
Four parties have rights:
◉ Society
◉ Subjects
◉ Clients/managers
◉ Researchers
Definition
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5. ◉ Telephone privacy
◉ Do not call listing
◉ Electronic monitoring
◉ Data privacy
◉ Internet privacy
◉ Antispam legislation
◉ Mugging (Marketing under the guise of research)
Issues
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6. The conduct of the business research requires the participation of
general public.
It is important to affect the willingness of the public to participate
So it is important to conduct the research in an ethical manner
he effect of Ethical and Unethical Business Research on Public Acceptance
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7. C o m m o n R i g h t s
Societal Rights
Subjects’ Rights
Clients’/Managers' rights
Researchers’ rights
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8. S o c i e t a l r i g h t s
The rights to be informed
The rights to expect objectives research result
The right to privacy
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9. T h e r i g h t s t o b e i n f o r m e d
Factors that may affect the health and well-being
i.e. Arsenic in Mohsen Rice Report
S o c i e t a l r i g h t s
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10. T h e r i g h t s t o e x p e c t o b j e c t i v e s r e s e a r c h
r e s u l t
General public expectations
Findings should be unbiased, objective, scientifically sound
S o c i e t a l r i g h t s
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11. T h e r i g h t t o p r i v a c y
The right to be let alone
Personal information gained should not be disclosed
EU legislation on privacy
S o c i e t a l r i g h t s
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12. S u b j e c t s ’ r i g h t s
The rights to choose
The right to safety
The right to be informed
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13. T h e r i g h t t o c h o o s e
Should be informed of the study they are participating
Awareness of the right not to participate
Awareness of the adequate information to make an informed
choice
Awareness of opportunity to end participation, if so desired.
C1: All subjects must be aware of the right to choose
C2: All individuals must be given adequate information
beforehand
C3: About the condition
S u b j e c t s ’ r i g h t s
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14. T h e r i g h t t o s a f e t y
Avoid any physical and mental harm
Guarantees of protection of anonymity
S u b j e c t s ’ r i g h t s
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15. T h e r i g h t t o b e i n f o r m e d
Debriefing
Research data should be available to the participants
The consequences of not being informed
S u b j e c t s ’ r i g h t s
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16. C l i e n t s ’ / M a n a g e r s ' r i g h t s
The right of confidentiality
The rights to be expect high-quality research
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17. T h e r i g h t o f c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y
Confidentiality of proprietary data
Confidentiality of anonymity of client
C l i e n t s ’ / M a n a g e r s ' r i g h t s
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18. T h e r i g h t s t o b e e x p e c t h i g h - q u a l i t y
r e s e a r c h
Protection against unnecessary research
Protection against unqualified research
Protection against misleading presentation of data
C l i e n t s ’ / M a n a g e r s ' r i g h t s
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19. R e s e a r c h e r s ’ r i g h t s
The right to expect ethical client behavior
The right to expect ethical subject behavior
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20. T h e r i g h t t o e x p e c t e t h i c a l c l i e n t b e h a v i o r
The right to the honest solicitation of proposal
The right to expect the accurate representation of findings
The right to expect confidentiality of proprietary information
R e s e a r c h e r s ’ r i g h t s
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21. T h e r i g h t t o e x p e c t e t h i c a l s u b j e c t b e h a v i o r
The right to expect accurate reporting of data
The right to expect confidentiality of data
R e s e a r c h e r s ’ r i g h t s
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23. Technology is changing fast
Researchers are posing new set of ethical concerns
Unethical direct marketing
Consequences lead to breakdown in public trust and responses
Consider research Vs direct marketing quagmire
R e s e a r c h V s D i r e c t M a r k e t i n g
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24. P r o t e c t i o n o f s u b j e c t s ’ r i g h t s
The tracking capability of using internet
The ability to trace respondents via “cookies”
How should we deal with IoT and high-tech devices
Associations that may help us:
CASRO Council of American Survey Organization
ESOMAR esomar.org I World Association of Opinion and Marketing
Research
Plagiarism.org
www.imro.org/profstds/code.cfm I Interactive Marketing research
Organization
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/
R e s e a r c h V s D i r e c t M a r k e t i n g
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25. Q u a l i t y o f R e s e a r c h
R e s e a r c h V s D i r e c t M a r k e t i n g
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The ease of requesting sample on the net
26. R e s e a r c h V s D i r e c t M a r k e t i n g
Don’t act like spammers
Individuals who are doing research shouldn't be engaged with direct
marketing affairs
R e s e a r c h V s D i r e c t M a r k e t i n g
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27. C o d e s o f E t h i c s
American psychological association
The essentials of knowing ethical codes for Iranian researchers
R e s e a r c h V s D i r e c t M a r k e t i n g
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28. M a n a g e r i a l C o n s i d e r a t i o n s
Managers are responsible to set the tone
C1: Communicate the benefit of research to subjects and society and adopt
ethical research practices
Develop or adopt codes of ethics that will serve as the corporate policy in the
conduct of business research
Communicate ethical behavior down through the organization hierarchy
through the use of formal sanctions
Institute the formal procedure to check that all research performed or bought
be the organization follows the highest ethical standards as dedicated by the
code of ethics.
Conduct periodic ethical audits to ensure that the research function is in fact
being performed to the highest standers.
R e s e a r c h V s D i r e c t M a r k e t i n g
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29. A plausible explanation:
People interpret, apply, and balance them in different ways in light
of their own values and life experiences.
For example, two people could agree that murder is wrong but
disagree about the morality of abortion because they have different
understandings of what it means to be a human being
On the other hand, if morality were nothing more than
commonsense, then why are there so many ethical disputes and
issues in our society?
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