Research Methodology

Unit 14

Unit 14

Ethics in Research

Structure: 14.1 Introduction Objectives 14.2 Meaning of Research Ethics 14.3 Ethical Issues in the Overall Research Process 14.4 Ethical Issues in Gaining Access to Participants 14.5 Ethical Issues in Data Collection 14.6 Ethical Issues related to Data Analysis & Reporting 14.7 Ethically Questionable Research Situations 14.8 Responsibility for Ethics in Research Responsibilities of Clients Responsibilities of Suppliers of Research Self Assessment Questions 14.9 Summary 14.10 Terminal Questions 14.11 Answers to SAQs and TQs

14.1 Introduction
Apart from being well designed and accurate, one of the most important characteristics of good research is that it should be conducted in an appropriate manner that does not encroach upon the rights of the various parties involved in the process. In other words, research should not have an adverse impact either on clients, respondents or on those conducting the actual research. This final unit will begin by defining ethics in research and will go on to emphasize that ethical research is the responsibility of both clients and suppliers of research. The various types of ethical issues that could arise during the different stages of the research process will also be examined in detail. Objectives: After studying this unit, you should be able to : Explain what is meant by ethical research Describe the main ethical issues that could arise in the research process Prepare a code of ethics for the conduct of research Recognize how ethical research contributes to better quality research
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14.2

Meaning of Research Ethics

According to Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill (2003), ethics in a research context refers to the appropriateness of your behavior in relation to the rights of those who become the subject of your work, or are affected by it. Wells (1994) defines ethics as a code of behavior appropriate to academics and the conduct of research. In simple words, ethics in research refers to whether a particular practice or behavior is right or wrong. The appropriateness of behavior means that your behavior as a researcher should be acceptable to those who are involved in the research process. This in turn will depend on broad social norms, or the type of behavior that is expected in a particular situation. A code of ethics is essentially a set of guidelines and procedures to be followed when conducting research. Every industry and profession has its own code of ethics.

14.3

Ethical Issues in the Overall Research Process

Ethical issues in research may be broadly classified into 1) general issues that may arise during any stage of the research process and 2) issues that arise during a specific stage of the research process. The most important ethical concern that may crop up across the various stages of research is the invasion of privacy of participants or respondents of a research study. Invasion of privacy is essentially a violation of any of the following rights of respondents The right of respondents not to participate in a research study The right to refuse to participate beyond a certain limit Example A respondent may refuse to participate in an interview beyond an agreed duration or time limit. The right to refuse to be contacted during unreasonable times of the day Example Respondents would not like to be contacted at their workplace during working hours or late at night. The right to refuse to answer any questions that are perceived to be sensitive or of a confidential nature Examples A respondent may not want to reveal his/her monthly income or expenditure.
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Some respondents may find questions related to religion or political ideology to be too sensitive. The right to retain their anonymity and the confidentiality of information provided, especially when reporting the findings of the study .

14.4 Ethical Issues in Gaining Access to Participants

The initial stage of trying to approach respondents to participate in a study is the stage when ethical issues are bound to be most frequent. Getting people to participate in a research project without their knowledge or consent is clearly unethical. For example, a researcher may study rural communities without their knowledge, in the fear that their awareness of the study may affect their responses and behavior. However, getting the consent of the participant to take part in a research study alone is not sufficient. You may still deceive the participant by hiding the real purpose of the study, or by not revealing that the information gathered from them will be used for commercial purposes. This is where the concept of informed consent comes in. Informed consent means that the participant gives his/her consent freely, based on complete and accurate information regarding the purpose of the study, the use of information gathered and other aspects. Some of the other aspects of the research about which participants need to be informed before getting their consent are The purpose of the research The name of the person/organization that will be undertaking the research The size of the sample and the type of participants The type of information that will be required to be gathered The method of data collection (e.g., face to face interview, online questionnaire, etc.) The time required for gathering the data The time frame for participation in the research The rights of the participant, as listed in section 15.4 The use of data that will be gathered The manner in which the findings of the research will be reported The manner in which the anonymity and confidentiality of participants will be guaranteed.
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14.5

Ethical Issues in Data Collection

A number of ethical issues may also arise during the data collection stage, irrespective of the method used to gather data. A key issue during this stage is to maintain objectivity. Objectivity means that you have to record information without being selective or influencing the responses with your own opinions and judgments. Lack of objectivity will lead to interviewer bias and affect the accuracy of data. Each method of data collection also gives rise to different ethical concerns. For example, during face to face interviews, you should not force participants to provide answers. The questions asked should also be tactfully worded and should not come across as sensitive. The time should be fixed depending on the convenience of the participant. In the case of telephone interviews, the respondents should not be contacted at unreasonable times of the day, as mentioned earlier. When using observation as a method of data collection, care should be taken not to invade the privacy of those being observed. For example, you should not observe any behavior related to the private life of the participants. Similarly, when using qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews and projective techniques, researchers should take care not to probe into the private lives of respondents or try to get information on personal matters such as religion or political ideology. Another ethical concern of a general nature includes the use of the Internet to collect both primary and secondary data. A separate code of ethical use of the Internet, popularly known as netiquette needs to be developed and strictly followed for this purpose. While the internet may make it easier to contact respondents more easily and repeatedly, it may also lead to greater invasion of privacy. One example of observing netiquette is to administer online surveys or questionnaires via a website, rather than via email. The questionnaire may be advertised on email and the respondents invited to fill in an online questionnaire by accessing a website. This method ensures that respondents retain their anonymity.

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14.6 Ethical Issues during the Data Analysis & Reporting stages
Being objective is a major ethical issue during the data analysis and reporting stages as well and is a reflection of the honesty and integrity of the researcher. This means that the statistical accuracy of the data gathered should not be misrepresented. The researcher should also not be selective in reporting only some of the data at the cost of other data. Such subjectivity will distort the conclusions and recommendations made after the research has been completed. The issue of confidentiality and anonymity that was discussed earlier is also equally important during this stage. Sometimes you may have to seek permission from an organization before revealing their name while reporting your findings. This may involve explaining to them the context in which their name would be used. The same caution needs to be exercised when naming particular individuals is true of individuals

14.7 Ethically Questionable Research Situations

Research situations and practices that have a hidden or ulterior purpose may be considered to be clearly unethical, since they are either manipulated, involve invasion of privacy or deception of respondents or clients. Some examples of such situations and practices are described below Undertaking research dictated by top management, in order to arrive at findings that have already been identified as desirable. Deliberately using jargon or technical terms more than is needed to give the reader the impression of being competent. Pretending to do a survey when you are actually making a door to door or telephone sales pitch. Trying to extract information from someone by falsely stating that his or her superior has authorized this. Continuing a research study without revealing to the client that major mistakes have been identified and costly corrections may be needed. Obtaining information to compile mailing lists in the name of doing a survey.
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Seeking the co-operation of respondents by promising to give feedback on the research results and then not keeping up the promise. Specifying certain techniques to be used in a study and then failing to apply these techniques. Using hidden tape recorders and other devices when conducting depth interviews and other qualitative techniques to probe into respondents motivations. Conducting research under a false or fictitious name, in order to obtain information that would be difficult to get otherwise. Accepting to undertake a research study, fully knowing that it cannot be completed on time. Including questions developed for one clients questionnaire for another client, without getting the permission of the first client.

14.8 Responsibility for Ethics in Research

The situations described above imply that the responsibility for ethical research lies with three parties that are directly involved in the research process the client or manager, the supplier of research and the respondents or the participants. Of these, the respondents respondents are minimal, since they are only expected to be honest in their behavior and responses. The responsibilities of the clients and suppliers of research are described in detail below. 14.8.1 Responsibilities of Clients The primary responsibility of clients or managers is to be honest with the researcher, as well as with those to whom the findings of research are being reported. Being honest with the researcher means - 1) not disguising the real purpose of the study and 2) encouraging the researcher to be objective in the process of gathering information. Objectivity in turn implies that the researcher should refrain from expressing his or her own judgments while recording responses or from interpreting the findings of the research in a manner that suits his or her own interests. Regarding honesty towards those to whom the findings of the study are being disseminated, the client or manager should not deliberately distort the results to his own advantage.

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Example A study may reveal that 97% of respondents did not express their preference for any particular brand, 2% preferred brand A and the remaining 1% preferred brand B. Based on these results, a marketer of a particular brand of detergent A should not claim that a majority of respondents favored brand A as compared to another brand B. 14.8.2 Responsibilities of Suppliers of Research The bulk of the responsibility for ethical research lies with the researcher. The researcher may be an individual or an organization, such as an independent research firm that supplies research studies to client companies. This is because it is the researcher who deals directly with participants of a study as well as with clients. The researcher has responsibilities towards all the parties involved in the research process, including clients, respondents, competitors and society at large. The primary responsibilities of the researcher towards clients are honesty, integrity and confidentiality. For example, if the research can be done with less money than what the client has available, it would be dishonest to inflate the cost just to match the clients budget. The same is true of time constraints. Confidentiality means not revealing the findings of the research to the clients competitors. The researchers responsibility towards respondents includes respecting their time and their privacy. Researchers doing telephone surveys in particular call respondents at odd hours of the day to obtain various kinds of information. Some researchers even conduct fake surveys that deceive respondents by delivering a sales pitch. This is tantamount to abuse of respondents. As emphasized earlier in this chapter, respondents have various rights, including the right to choose not to participate in a study, the right to safety, including the desire to remain anonymous and free from physical or psychological harm and the right to be informed about the sponsor of the study, its purpose and its impact on them as participants. Regarding the researchers responsibilities towards competitors, the researcher has to work within ethical limits. For example, espionage or

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stealing product information from competitors is clearly unethical. Other examples of situations that are unethical include Developing a strategy to distort the results of a competitors test marketing experiment. Hiring a competitors employee in order to gain access to competitor information Finally, researchers have an ethical responsibility to society at large. This implies that it is up to researchers to build a positive image of research as a profession in the eyes of the general public. This can best be achieved by being honest and objective, both while conducting the research and when disseminating the results to society at large. Failure to observe these ethical principles will only lead to a negative attitude towards research by the public. Self Assessment Questions Are the following statements true or false? 1. One of the rights of respondents is to refuse to be contacted over the telephone. 2. Participants of a study should be informed about the sampling procedure before getting their consent. 3. Filling in incomplete answers in a questionnaire is an example of lack of objectivity. 4. Observation is not an ethical method of data collection. 5. Confidentiality implies that you may have to change the name of the organization that was researched when reporting the findings. 6. Using cameras to observe respondents reactions to advertisements is unethical. 7. The bulk of responsibility for ethical research lies with clients or managers. 8. It is ethical for top management to modify the findings of a study to highlight the strengths of the organization.

14.9 Summary
Ethics in the context of research refers to whether a researchers behavior is appropriate and acceptable to all the parties that are involved in the
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research process. These include clients, participants of a study, competitors and society at large. Ethical issues in research may crop up during the overall research process or at a specific stage of the research. Some of the ethical concerns that arise during the overall process are with regard to the rights of respondents. It is unethical to violate the rights of respondents such as the right to privacy, the right to confidentiality and anonymity and the right to refuse to participate in a study. While trying to gain initial access to participants of a study, it is important to get their informed consent. This means getting their consent to participate based on complete information on various aspects of the research, including the purpose of the study, the type of information that will be gathered, how it will be gathered, how it will be reported and used, etc. Regarding the data collection stage, each method of data collection gives rise to different ethical concerns. While administering questions face to face, care must be taken to avoid sensitive questions and to word questions tactfully. Telephone interviewers must refrain from calling participants at odd times of the day. While using observation and qualitative research techniques, researchers should avoid probing into the private lives of participants. Similarly, when using the internet to collect primary data, researchers should not invade the privacy of respondents. During the data analysis and reporting stages, the primary ethical concerns are objectivity, confidentiality and anonymity. Objectivity means reporting the statistical accuracy of the data and the findings of the study without distorting them. Confidentiality and anonymity imply that the permission of organizations or individuals would have to be sought before revealing their names and identities. Research situations and practices that are manipulated, have ulterior motives, or try to deceive respondents are clearly unethical. The responsibility for ethical research lies with respondents, clients and researchers. However, respondents have minimal responsibilities for ethical research, while researchers have the maximum number of responsibilities. The responsibilities of respondents and clients include honesty respondents are expected to be honest while providing information, while
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clients need to be honest regarding the purpose of the research. The researcher has ethical responsibilities towards clients, including honesty regarding the cost and time involved in conducting the study and objectivity in collecting, analyzing and reporting the data, Responsibilities toward respondents include being honest and respecting their various rights. Responsibilities towards competitors include avoiding practices such as stealing confidential information. Finally, researchers also have responsibilities towards society at large in terms of building a positive image of the research profession.

14.10 Terminal Questions

1. Think of three different research questions that might be perceived by respondents as sensitive or of a confidential nature and are therefore unethical. 2. Explain with an example how a researcher can deceive participants even after getting their consent to participate in a study. 3. Develop a code of ethics for use of the internet to conduct online surveys, listing out the dos and dont s. 4. Give examples of two ethically questionable research situations, in addition to what is mentioned in this unit. 5. Briefly describe three different ways in which a researcher can introduce subjectivity into a study.

14.11 Answers to SAQs and TQs

SAQs 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. False False True False False True False False

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TQs 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Refer 14.3 Refer 14.4 Refer 14.5 Refer 14.7 Refer 14.8.1

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References: 1. Krishnaswamy O.R., Methodology of Research in Social Sciences, Himalaya Publishing House, 1993 2. Saunders M., Lewis P. and Thornhill A., Research Methods for Business Students, Pearson Education (Singapore), 2003. 3. R. Pannershelvam, Research Methodology, Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi, 2004. 4. P. L. Bhandarkar and T. S. Wilkinson, Methodology and Techniques of Social Research, Himalaya Publishing House, Delhi. 5. Ackoff R. L., The Design of Social Research, Chicago, 1953.

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