Week 15 Lesson 1 Research Ethics in research – Ethical behaviour of research;

ETHICS IN DATA COLLECTION

Several ethical issues should be addressed while collecting primary data. As
previously noted, these pertain to those who sponsor the research, those who
collect the data, and those who offer them. The sponsors should ask for the
study to be done to better the purpose of the organization, and not for any other
self‐serving reason. They should respect the confidentiality of the data
obtained by the researcher, and not ask for the individual or group responses to
be disclosed to them, or ask to see the questionnaires. They should have an open
mind in accepting the results and recommendations in the report presented by
the researchers.
Ethics and the researcher
1. Treating the information given by the respondent as strictly confidential and
guarding his or her privacy is one of the primary responsibilities of the
researcher. If the vice president or some other top executive wishes to take a
look at the completed questionnaires, the obligatory need to preserve the
confidentiality of the documents should then be pointed out. They should be
reminded that prior understanding of this had already been reached with them
before starting the survey.
Also, data for a subgroup of, say, less than ten individuals, should be dealt with
tactfully to preserve the confidentiality of the group members. The data can be
combined with others, or treated in another unidentifiable manner. It is difficult
to sanitize reports to protect sources and still preserve the richness of detail of
the study. An acceptable alternative has to be found, since preserving
confidentiality is the fundamental goal.
2. Personal or seemingly intrusive information should not be solicited, and if it
is absolutely necessary for the project, it should be tapped with high sensitivity
to the respondent, offering specific reasons.
3. Whatever the nature of the data collection method, the self‐esteem and
self‐respect of the subjects should never be violated.
4. No one should be forced to respond to the survey and if someone does not
want to avail themselves of the opportunity to participate, the individual’s
desire should be respected. Informed consent of the often perceived as “spam
”. Make sure that you are familiar with, and that you act in accordance with,
anti‐spam legislation and guidelines.
7. There should be absolutely no misrepresentation or distortion in reporting
the data collected during the study.
Ethical behaviour of respondents
1. The subject, once having exercised the choice to participate in a study, should
cooperate fully in the tasks ahead, such as responding to a survey.
2. The respondent also has an obligation to be truthful and honest in the
responses. Misrepresentation or giving information, knowing it to be untrue,
should be avoided.
How ethical issues can arise right through the research process

Here is a brief list of the kinds of issue, which can arise at different points in the
research process:

Access-physical, cognitive, continuing-just getting at the appropriate people can

be frustrating and tempt researchers to cut comers. Don't be tempted.
Participant acceptance/access (not just those in authority)-for example, you
have permission to ask people in customer-facing positions some questions, but
they don't know you and are not sure how far to trust you-are you a
representative of management?

Time-people just don't respond in time for you to achieve project Your identity
as researcher-what do they know about your study? And how the data you
collect will be used? And whose data is it, if they spoke or wrote it? Re-phrasing
research questions on basis of feasibility (not wrong) ie you find that your initial
idea won't work because you cannot gain access to the right people, so you may
need to review your research question to one which is feasible, provided it is
still valid and ethical Convenience sampling-eg using people we know to take
part, which could produce participants who simply want to please you with their
answers; or excluding troublesome views or statistics. Eg including a poor sales
year in an otherwise rising trend. Reality is messy-do we want to smooth the
mess and create simple answers, or do we want understand messy reality in
order to change or anticipate it? Data recording-what if tape or digital recorder
doesn't work? Can data be recreated from your notes? Do we pretend it
worked?

Interviewing-eg. what if the first interview tums up new ideas, which are then
used in subsequent interviews-can you include that first one in your data ser?
What if an interviewee starts to see things in a new light and uncovers painful
memones or ideas? Latter can also happen in focus groups-conflict, personal
animosity could develop-how can this be handled? Your role in the data - we
have already mentioned this, the researcher is not an object but a human being
to whom people will react What effect does this have on your data? Does it
affect validity of results?.
Transcripts-if you transcribe an interview or conversation, what happens to it?
Whose is it? How do you label it (Jo Bloggs interview) And how exactly do you
transcribe? Do you include repeated phrases or words? Do you attempt to
record body language which may affect the meaning of what is said?

Cheating in analysis when results don't fit-this can affect both quantitative and
qualitative research methods Remember that provided the process was justified
and conducted ethically and professionally, then a not very exciting outcome
does not really matter. We cannot a discover gravity or relativity, but we can all
design sound research plans and carry them out professionally

Confidentiality in the report of your research-how do you ensure it?

Anonymity in the report-how do you deal with it?