BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

LECTURE 6
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR
THE CONDUCT OF MEANINGFUL
RESEARCH
BASIC ETHICAL CONCEPTS
 Responsibility: Accepting the potential costs,
duties, and obligations for decisions
 Accountability: Mechanisms for identifying
responsible parties
 Liability: Permits individuals (and firms) to
recover damages done to them
 Due process: Laws are well known and
understood, with an ability to appeal to higher
authorities

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 ANALYSING ETHICAL
TENSIONS

Stages for analyzing ethical tensions:

 Identify and clearly describe the facts.

 Define the conflict or dilemma and identify the
higher-order values involved.
 Identify the stakeholders.
 Identify the options that you can reasonably take.
 Identify the potential consequences of your
options.

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 PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ETHICS
Golden Rule
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative (Universalism)

• If an action is not right for everyone to take, it is not right for anyone
• Cuts across the entire society, e.g. an employee who steals money from his
employer…if all employees attempted to do so the company will fall

Descartes' rule of change (Slippery slope)

• If an action cannot be taken repeatedly, it is not right to take at all, while stealing one
cedi will not cause any problem, repeatedly stealing a cedi can finally lead to the
collapse of the company.

Utilitarian Principle
Take the action that achieves the higher or greater value

Risk Aversion Principle

Take the action that produces the least harm or least potential cost
Ethical “no free lunch” rule
Assume that virtually all tangible and intangible objects are owned by someone unless
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there is a specific declaration otherwise
 ETHICAL MATTERS
Harm
 Research should be conducted in such a way so as not to
cause harm to anyone – participants and researchers
 Participation in the research should not damage either
the subject's physical or mental well being
Honesty
 Research should be conducted in an honest fashion –
findings should be reported accurately and as fully as
required so as not to mislead
 The research must not use the intellectual property of
others without first gaining the permission of the owners
 The input of others should be acknowledged
 ETHICAL MATTERS CONT’D
Right to withdraw
 Every precaution should be taken to respect the rights
and integrity of subjects – they have the right to
withdraw from the research

Confidentiality
 Data should be treated confidentially

 Data collected should not be used for another purpose

than that intended
 DEMONSTRATING
ORIGINALITY
 What is original work?
 Below is the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden:
A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce
Williams et al:
The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of
the population were the three great developments of late
nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-
powered factories became a feature of the American
landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into
industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of
immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of
large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens
lived) which became the centers of production as well as of
commerce and trade.
 RESEARCHER 1

The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the

explosion of the population were three large factors of
nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies
became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they
changed farm hands into factory workers and provided
jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came
the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens
lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as
well as production.

What makes this passage unoriginal and therefore

plagiarism?
 RESEARCHER 1

 The writer has only changed around a few words

and phrases, or changed the order of the
original's sentences.
 The writer has failed to cite a source for any of
the ideas or facts.

If you do either or both of these things, you are

plagiarising.
 RESEARCHER 2

The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the

explosion of the population were three large factors of
nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies
became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they
changed farm hands into factory workers and provided
jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came
the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens
lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as
well as production (Williams, 1981).

What makes this passage unacceptable?

 RESEARCHER 2

Although the researcher has cited the source, the

writer has only changed around a few words and
phrases, or changed the order of the original's
sentences.

This is still plagiarism even though the

original source has been cited.
 RESEARCHER 3

Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of

northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century.
Steam-powered production had shifted labor from
agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in
the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result,
populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River
was one of these manufacturing and commercial centers
(Williams, 1981).

Why is this passage acceptable?

 RESEARCHER 3 CONT’D

This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:

 accurately relays the information in the original
 uses her own words, but
 lets her reader know the source of her
information.
 RESEARCHER 4

Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of

northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. As
steam-powered production shifted labor from agriculture to
manufacturing, the demand for workers "transformed farm
hands into factory workers," and created jobs for
immigrants. In turn, growing populations increased the size
of urban areas. Fall River was one of these manufacturing
hubs that were also "centers of commerce and trade"
(Williams, 1981:1)

Why is this acceptable?

 RESEARCH 4 CONT’D

This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:

 records the information in the original
passage accurately.
 gives credit for the ideas in this passage
by citing the source
 indicated which part is taken directly from her
source by putting the passage in quotation marks
and citing the page number.
 PLAGIARISM

Using another person's phrases or sentences

without putting quotation marks around
them is considered plagiarism.
However - only a few sentences can be put
within quotation marks.
 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
You are guilty of plagiarism if you:
Do not cite your source
Do use other people’s words without permission
Use other students’ work
Collude with other students
Do not put other peoples’ word in quotes and give
the page number from which you took the quote
Use too long a quote (more than 25 words)
NIGERIA'S B UHARI ADMITS TO PLAGIARIZING LINE FROM OBAMA SPEECH
SOURCE: REUTERS: HTTPS://WWW. YAHOO. COM/ NEWS/ NIGERIAS-BUHARI- ADMITS-
PLAGIARIZING -LINE-OBAMA-SPEECH-000429716.HTML
DATE: 17/09/2016

 ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu

Buhari plagiarized quotes from U.S. President Barack
Obama in a speech promising change in the West African
country, his office said on Friday.

 Last week, Buhari gave a speech to launch a campaign

titled "Change begins with me," part of his credo to end
graft in Africa's biggest economy which is gripped by
mismanagement and poverty despite sitting on vast
energy reserves.
NIGERIA'S B UHARI ADMITS TO PLAGIARIZING LINE FROM OBAMA SPEECH
SOURCE: REUTERS: HTTPS://WWW. YAHOO. COM/ NEWS/ NIGERIAS-BUHARI- ADMITS-
PLAGIARIZING -LINE-OBAMA-SPEECH-000429716.HTML
DATE: 17/09/2016 CONT’D

 But one paragraph in the speech urging Nigerians not to fall

back "on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that
have poisoned our country so long" was copied from Obama's
victory speech after his election in November 2008.

 "It was observed that the similarities between a paragraph in

President Obama's 2008 victory speech and what President
Buhari read in paragraph nine of the 16-paragraph address...
are too close to be passed as coincidence," Buhari's office said
in a statement.