Ethical conduct should also be reflected in the behavior of the researchers who conduct the

investigation, the participants who provide the data, the analysts who provide the results, and the
entire research team that presents the interpretation of the results and suggests alternative
solutions.
Thus, ethical behavior pervades each step of the research process—data collection, data analysis,
reporting, and dissemination of information on the Internet, if such an activity is undertaken.
How the subjects are treated and how confidential information is safeguarded are all guided by
business ethics. We will highlight these as they relate to different aspects of research in the
relevant chapters of this book.
There are business journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics and the Business Ethics
Quarterly that are mainly devoted to the issue of ethics in business. The American Psychological
Association has established certain guidelines for conducting research, to ensure that
organizational research is conducted in an ethical manner and the interests of all concerned are
safeguarded. As stated, we will discuss the role of ethics in the chapters that follow, insofar as it
is relevant to the various steps in the research process.

CHAPTER 2