Ethical Principles Relating to Participants or Respondents

Some particular ethical issues tend to recur in business and management research. Diener and Crandall (1978) divided these into four main areas, which are still useful today:

• harm to participants,
• informed consent,
• invasion of privacy, and
• deception.

These issues are dealt with in some depth in the course textbook, so we won’t belabor the points here. Generally, universities and professional associations have codes of ethics that govern the research process. The principles are usually quite sensible and relatively straightforward (if sometimes time-consuming) to apply.

Penn State provides a code of ethics. However, this code does not normally apply to research projects that are completed simply to get a grade, rather than to add to a broader body of knowledge. Nonetheless, if you were gathering primary data for research purposes in the future, you should bear the following principles in mind, understanding how they relate to your participants and acting accordingly:

• protection from harm: You must make every effort to minimize the risks of any harm to research participants.
• informed consent: You must always inform potential participants in advance (and in understandable terms) of any benefits, risks, inconveniences, or obligations associated with the research that might reasonably be expected to influence their willingness to participate.
• respect: The research should not undermine or contradict the values, credibility, or roles and responsibilities of your participants. For example, does the research require them to share information that they should keep confidential or to do something with which they are uncomfortable? Being respectful also involves considering the power dynamic between you, as the researcher, and the participant. If the researcher is the potential participant's boss, would they feel comfortable refusing to participate? No one should ever be coerced into participating in research.
• openness and integrity: You must be open and honest about the purpose and content of any research project, always behaving professionally. Participants should be given opportunities to access the outcomes of the research they have participated in and should be debriefed, if appropriate, after they have provided data.
• confidentiality: Except where participants have given explicit written consent, the confidentiality of their identities and data must always be respected and preserved.