RCH 311 Business Research Methods
(BBA-BI: 4th Semester)
Ethical Considerations in Business Research
• Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with
the conduct of people and guides the norms or
standards of behaviour of people and
relationships with each other (Kovacs, 1985;
Blumberg et al, 2005).
• It refers to an “ethos” or “way of life”, “social
norms for conduct that distinguishes between
acceptable and unacceptable behavior” (Shah,
2011; Akaranga & Ongong’a, 2013).
Ethics in Business Research
• Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide moral
choices about our behavior and our relationship with others.
• As in other aspects of business, all parties in research should
exhibit ethical behavior.
• The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that no one is
harmed or suffered adverse consequences from research
activities.
• This objective is usually achieved.
• However, unethical activities are pervasive and include
violating non disclosure agreement, breaking respondent
confidentiality, misrepresenting results, deceiving people,
invoicing irregularities, avoiding legal liability, and more.
Ethics in Business Research (contd.)
As research is designed, several ethical considerations
must be balanced:
• Protect the rights of the participant or subject.
• Ensure the sponsor receives ethically conducted and
reported research.
• Follow ethical standards when designing research.
• Protect the safety of the researcher and team.
• Ensure the research team follows the design.
Ethics in Business Research (contd.)
• In general, research must be designed so a respondent does not
suffer physical harm, discomfort, pain, embarrassment, or loss of
privacy.
• Begin data collection by explaining to respondent the benefits
expected from the research.
• Explain that their rights and well being will be adequately
protected and say how that will be done.
• Be certain that interviewers obtain in the inform consent of the
respondent.
• The use of deception is questionable; when it is used, debrief any
respondent who has been deceived.
Ethics in Business Research (contd.)
• Bell and Bryman(2007)in their article ”The Ethics of Management
Research: An Exploratory Content Analysis” published in British
Journal of Management, Vol. 18, pages 63–77, identified Eleven
categories of ethical principles.
• These are listed below with a brief definition of each.
1.Harm to participants – the potential to cause harm through the
research process and the need to ensure physical and psychological
wellbeing either of research participants, the researcher, or others.
2.Dignity – the requirement to respect the dignity of research
participants, researchers or others and avoid causing discomfort or
anxiety.
3.Informed consent – the need to ensure the fully informed consent
of research participants.
Ethics in Business Research (contd.)
4.Privacy – the need to protect privacy of research subjects or
avoid invasions of privacy.
5.Confidentiality – the requirement to ensure confidentiality of
research data whether relating to individuals, groups or
organizations.
6.Anonymity – the protection of anonymity of individuals or
organizations.
7.Deception – the potential for deception through the research
process, either through lies or behaviour that is misleading.
8.Affiliation – the need to declare any professional or personal
affiliations that may have influenced the research, including
conflicts of interest and sponsorship, including information
about where funding for the research has come from.
Ethics in Business Research (contd.)
9.Honesty and transparency – the need for openness
and honesty in communicating information about the
research to all interested parties, including the need
for trust.
10.Reciprocity – the idea that the research should be
of mutual benefit to researcher and participants or
that some form of collaboration or active
participation should be involved.
11.Misrepresentation – the need to avoid misleading,
misunderstanding, misrepresenting or false reporting
of research findings.
