Ethics in Business Research Chapter 2 Ethics in Business Research This chapter explains the ethical issues faced by researchers. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

Learning Objectives Understand . . . What issues are covered in research ethics. The goal of “no harm” for all research activities and what constitutes no harm for participant, researcher, and research sponsor.

Learning Objectives Understand . . . Differing ethical dilemmas and responsibilities of researchers, sponsors, and research assistants. Role of ethical codes of conduct in professional associations.

PulsePoint: Research Revelation 89 The percent of consumer PCs infected with spyware. See the text Instructors Manual (downloadable from the text website) for ideas for using this research-generated statistic.

Data Collectors Face Responsibilities “[Privacy pragmatists are] often willing to allow people to have access to, and to use, their personal information where they understand the reasons for its use, where they see tangible benefits for so doing, and when they believe care is taken to prevent the misuse of this information.” Humphrey Taylor chairman of The Harris Poll® Harris Interactive.

Types of Ethical Violations Violating disclosure agreements Misrepresenting results Breaking confidentiality Deceiving participants Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about our behavior and our relationships with others. The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activities. Unethical activities are pervasive and include many types of activities. Some of these are listed in the slide. For some researchers, ethical and legal norms are the same. The text authors feel that legal constraints are the minimum standard but not the ideal. Padded invoices Avoiding legal liability

Procter & Gamble Admits to competitive intelligence gathering Contracted BI firm took documents from Unilever trash receptacles Out-of-court settlement rumored (and reported) at $10m In April 2001, Procter and Gamble notified its competitor Unilever that more than 80 discarded documents detailing Unilever’s marketing plan for its hair care business had been collected by P&G information agents. Unilever sought financial restitution and restrictions on P&G’s marketing activities, but the two companies settled out of court.

Ethical Approaches Ethical Deontology Relativism Ethical standards There is no single approach to ethics. Deontology advocates that ethical behavior should be directed by duties regardless of the positive circumstances that might result from behavior that is in contradiction to the duty. An example might be “Do not lie,” even when lying might result in a positive outcome. Another approach is that of ethical relativism. Ethical relativism is based on an individual’s sense of morality. Therefore, each person decides for his or herself what is ethical behavior. A middle ground is necessary and provided through ethical standards of behavior for researchers.

Ethical Approaches How would you assess the P&G case using the two ethical approaches? Deontology Ethical Relativism

Ethical Codes of Conduct Three organizations offering codes specifically for researchers are the Marketing Research Association (MRA), the American Marketing Association (AMA), and the Council for American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO). The logos in the slide are linked to the respective organization’s website where you can view the codes of ethics.

PulsePoint: Research Revelation $944 The amount, in millions, that employers will lose this year due to employee fraud. See the text Instructors Manual (downloadable from the text website) for ideas for using this research-generated statistic.

Ethical Issues at all Stages of the Research Process Exhibit 2-1 highlights the many ethical issues that arise at all stages of the research process.

Ethical Treatment of Participants Explain study benefits Explain participant rights and protections Research must be designed so that a participant does not suffer physical harm, discomfort, pain, embarrassment, or loss of privacy. This slide lists the three guidelines researchers should follow to protect participants. When discussing benefits, the researcher should be careful not to overstate or understate the benefits. Informed consent means that the participant has given full consent to participation after receiving full disclosure of the procedures of the proposed study. Obtain informed consent

Components of Informed Consent Identify researchers Describe survey topic Describe target sample Identify sponsor Describe purpose of research Promise anonymity and confidentiality Give “good-faith” estimate of required time commitment State participation is voluntary State item-non response is acceptable Ask for permission Exhibit 2-2 illustrates the informed consent procedures used by the Indiana Center for Survey Research. The components highlighted in its procedures are listed in the slide.

Characteristics of Informed Consent Competence Elements Knowledge Voluntary Since 1966, all projects with federal funding are required to be reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). An IRB evaluates the risks and benefits of proposed research. The review requirement may be more relaxed for projects that are unlikely to be risky – such as marketing research projects. Many institutions require that all research – whether funded or unfunded by the federal government – be reviewed by a local IRB. The IRBs concentrate on two areas. First is the guarantee of obtaining complete, informed consent from participants. The second is the risk assessment and benefit analysis review. Complete informed consent has four characteristics and these are named in the slide. The participant must be competent to give consent. Consent must be voluntary, and free from coercion. Participants must be adequately informed to make a decision. Participants should know the possible risks or outcomes associated with the research. Informed

Ethical Responsibilities Special guidelines apply to children! Informed consent means parental approval. Special consideration is necessary when researching the behavior and attitudes of children. Besides providing informed consent, parents are often interviewed during the selection process to ensure that the child is mature enough and has the verbal and physical capabilities necessary.

Deception Disguising non-research activities Camouflaging true research objectives   Deception occurs when the participants are only told part of the truth or when the truth is fully compromised. Deception can take two forms. One form relates to disguising nonresearch activities as opinion or business research. For instance, research might be used to collect data that are used to sell merchandise. Personal information could be collected for illegal purposes. Sometimes researchers use deception as part of a research design. It involves camouflaging the true research objects or the identity of the sponsor. This form of deception is used to prevent biasing respondents or to protect the confidentiality of a third party. Some researchers believe that deception should never occur. It is generally accepted in the industry that the benefits to be gained by appropriate research design-based deception should be balanced against the risks to the participants.

Debriefing Explain any deception Describe purpose Share results In situations where participants are intentionally or accidentally deceived, they should be debriefed once the research is complete. Debriefing describes the goals of the research, as well as the truth and reasons for any deception. Results are shared after the study is complete. Participants who require any medical or psychological follow-up attention will receive it during the debriefing process. Provide follow-up

Participant Confidentiality Obtain signed nondisclosure Non- disclosure of data subsets Restrict access to ID All individuals have a right to privacy, and researchers must respect that right. Once a guarantee of confidentiality is given, protecting that confidentiality is essential. Researchers protect participant confidentiality in several ways. Obtaining signed nondisclosure documents – only researchers who have signed nondisclosure forms should be allowed access to the data. Restricting access to participant identification. Revealing participant information only with written consent. Restricting access to data instruments where the participant is identified. Nondisclosure of data subsets. Methods 2-5 deal with minimizing the chance for a participant to identified and matched with his or her responses. Links between data and identifying information must be minimized. Interview response sheets should be inaccessible to everyone except the editors and data entry personnel. Data collection instruments may be destroyed once data are in a data file. For very small groups, data should not be made available if it would be easy to pinpoint a person in the group. Minimize instruments requiring ID Reveal only with written consent

Prior permission to interview Right to Privacy Right to refuse Prior permission to interview   For researchers to fully address participants’ right to privacy, they must also 1) inform participants of their right to refuse to answer any questions or participate in the study; 2) obtain prior permission to interview or observe participants; and 3) limit the time required for participation to limit the amount of information collected to only that which is deemed critical. Limit time required

The U.S. Safe Harbor Agreement Notice Choice Access Onward Transfer Security Data Integrity The convenience of collecting data online has created new ethical issues. Data mining offers infinite possibilities for research abuse. The primary ethical data mining issues in cyberspace are privacy-related including consent to information collection and control of information dissemination. Legitimate data miners publicly post their information security policies. The EU countries have passed the European Commission’s data protection directive. Under the directive, commissioners can prosecute companies and block Web sites that fail to live up to its strict privacy standards. Exhibit 2-3 identifies the seven basic principle that companies must comply with to be granted immunity from legal action under the EU’s directive. These seven principles are: Notice: Companies must notify consumers/participants about what information is being collected, how that information will be used, who that information will be shared with, and how individuals can contact the organization with inquiries or complaints. Choice: Consumers/participants must be provided with an opt-out mechanism for any secondary uses of data and for disclosures to third parties. For sensitive information, participants must opt in before providing data that will be shared. Access: Individuals must have access to personal information that the organization holds and be able to correct, amend, or delete information where it is in accurate, except where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to the individual’s privacy. Security: Organizations must take reasonable precautions to protect personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Onward transfer: Companies disclosing personal data to a third party must adhere to the notice and choice principles. A third party must subscribe to the safe-harbor principles. Data integrity: Reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that data collected are reliable, accurate, complete, and current. Enforcement: Companies must ensure there are readily available and affordable independent mechanisms to investigate consumer complaints. Enforcement

Confidentiality Sponsor Nondisclosure Purpose Nondisclosure   Some sponsors wish to undertake research without revealing themselves. They have a right to several types of confidentiality. Sponsor nondisclosure is used when the sponsor of the research restricts revealing the sponsorship. In this case, the sponsor may hire an outside firm to complete the research projects. Purpose nondisclosure is used when the sponsor camouflages the true research objective of the study. Findings nondisclosure is used when the sponsor restricts the researcher from discussing the findings of the research project. Findings Nondisclosure

What To Do If Coerced? Educate Explain on problems purpose Emphasize fact-finding role Terminate relationship Occasionally, researchers may be asked by sponsors to participate in unethical behavior. What can the researcher do to remain ethical? There are four suggestions provided in the slide. The researcher can attempt to educate the sponsor to the purpose of the research, explain the researcher’s role as a fact-finder, explain how distorting the truth or breaking faith will lead to future problems, and if the others fail, terminate the relationship.

Effective Codes of Ethics Enforceable Regulate Protect Many organizations have codes of ethics. A code of ethics is an organization’s codified set of norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about research behavior. Effective codes are those that 1) are regulative, 2) protect the public interest and the interests of the profession served by the code, 3) are behavior-specific, and 4) are enforceable. Exhibit 2-5 provides additional sources for ethics resources. Specify Behavior

Key Terms Code of ethics Confidentiality Debriefing Deception Ethics Informed consent Nondisclosure Findings Purpose Sponsor Right to privacy Right to quality Right to safety