1. Business Research Methods
Ethics

2. Ethical Issues
Each profession has some ethical dimensions & so has research
A typical research project involves
---Respondents
---Client
---Researcher
Each participants has some responsibilities & rights

3. Rights and Obligations of the Respondent
The obligation to be truthful: the respondent is expected to be truthful in answering questions
Right to Privacy: Collecting & giving out personal information about the respondents is a violation of privacy. Research findings should always maintain participants’ anonymity.
Deception: Deception is intentional misleading of respondents in a survey by withholding relevant information about the purpose & other facts of research. Deception is sometimes necessary to avoid possible biased reactions. Deception is generally acceptable if there is no risk to the respondent & it is not done to mislead participants to enhance response rate. (hidden Camera in a supermarket) The researcher can inform respondents of concealment after the project ends
The right to be informed & to get consent: Providing respondents with full information about the research & to get their consent for participation. It is most required in research resulting in medical & psychological implications

4. Rights and Obligations of the Researcher
The purpose of research is research: Sales promotion activity should not be a part of research
Objectivity: Ensure accuracy in data collection
Misrepresenting research :Use honest means in data analysis & reporting. Should not allow variation from proper procedures of analysis or overstate significance of results to prove a particular point. If out of 100 respondents 80 prefer both brands & out of remaining 20 ,13 prefer A & 7 prefer B: Ad states “out of those expressing preference 65% preferred brand A” .CORRECT13% preferred A,7%B, 80% no preference( or 53% & 47%)
Protect the right to confidentiality of both subjects and clients: To preserve privacy & anonymity of respondents & to keep confidential clients’ business information
In addition there could be issues regarding Bribery, Welfare & Safety of research staff

5. Rights and Obligations of the Client Sponsor (User)
Right to confidentiality: Research firm should keep information given by or about the client confidential.
Right to quality research :Through protection against unnecessary research, unqualified researchers & misleading presentation of data
Obligations
Predetermined supplier: If it is decided to give project to a particular research firm , it is unethical to seek bids to fulfill requirements of corporate policy
Free Methodology : Methodology & questionnaire from each bidder is given to the selected firm or used internally. This is unethical
Making False promises: To give full fledged study in return for low billing for the current “pseudo pilot studies”
An open relationship with research Firm: Disclosing full & correct details to the research firm to help them in framing the correct research design

6. Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or “publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work

7. Plagiarism
plagiarism is considered as academic dishonesty and a breach of journalistic ethics
It is not a crime but a moral offence
It can involve liability for copyright infringement

8. Advocacy Research
Research to support a specific legal claim

9. Pseudo-Pilot Studies
The researcher is told that the study is the first of many in a more comprehensive study