Ethics in Research & Dissertation Process; In this unit you were introduced to ethics in the research and dissertation process. For this assignment you will delve further into these topics while also exploring the foundations of a concept paper and the dissertation to follow. You will complete this assignment in two parts. Part I: Describe a problem that you think could be researched explaining how it could be measured or explored. You should articulate this in 250–300 words. Part II: Explain how this problem is related to the dissertation process that you will experience. In this section you should address the components listed below.
- Define the dissertation within business research.
- Explain why ethics are important to businesses and researchers.
- Explain how you will apply an ethical framework while composing your dissertation.
Your completed assignment must be at least two pages in length, and you must use at least two scholarly resources. Adhere to APA Style when constructing this assignment, including in-text citations and references for all sources that are used. Please note that no abstract is needed. Ethics in Research & Dissertation Process
Resources
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Unit Lesson Ethics and Research Ethics
Business research, like all research, is guided foremost by the concept of ethics. Blumberg et al. (2005) offer a general definition of ethics as being a set of moral norms that we use to guide the moral choices underpinning both our behavior and the ways that we create relationships with others. While most individuals have thought about morals and morality, applying the definition of ethics to research requires a consideration of ethics in general and in relation to how ethics pertain to the appropriateness of a researcher’s behavior toward the subjects of research and/or toward those entities affected by the research. All research is based on problems that we find in the real world, and people are impacted by not only the solutions that others might devise for those problems but also by researchers’ investigations into problems. The nuanced moral territory where right and wrong are not clear-cut or immediately discernible and where our actions as researchers can affect others is where our ethical principles are most important to guide our research. The deontological approach to ethics teaches us that ethical principles should never be compromised in favor of getting results. The root deon comes from the Greek for duty or obligation, and it is the researcher’s obligation to avoid doing any harm to research subjects. Thus, a deontological approach to research seeks to protect the subject’s right to privacy, the right to stop taking part in the research at any point, the right to voluntary and informed consent, and the right to self-determination during the course of a study—among other rights. As researchers in a doctoral program, students’ plans for ethical research are reviewed by their university’s institutional review board (IRB). The IRB process ensures that proposed studies contain explanations about how researchers will protect their subjects’ ethically defined rights and abide by the following guidelines: • avoid harm to participants, • ensure informed consent of participants, • respect the privacy of participants, and • avoid the use of deception. The IRB ensures that everyone engaged in research under the university’s auspices, across schools and disciplines, is abiding by the same set of concerns with regard to performing research on human subjects. Avoid Harm to Participants Research focuses on problems that exist in the real world and involves testing variables to see how they affect one another, testing theories to see if they are apt, and looking for solutions to issues that affect human beings. In that respect, all research adds to the body of human knowledge and understanding about our world. As the agents of creating knowledge, participants should gain some benefit for their involvement, including seeing the final results of the research project or gaining some self-insight during the process. Ensure Informed Consent of Participants The basis of informed consent is that participants in a research study receive enough information about the project to allow them to decide whether they want to be involved (Crow et al., 2006). When business researchers are developing a study on an organization or one that is proposed to take place within an organization, the organization’s stakeholders, including senior leadership, make decisions to protect the organization’s interests based on informed consent. Thus, in business research, stakeholders can, and do, influence the course of a research proposal, giving researchers the opportunity to tighten their focus on universal or more general problems that exist in the business world. Respect the Privacy of Participants The right to privacy is one of the tenets of a free, democratic society, and business researchers abide by the participants’ reasonable right to expect privacy, even during the course of a study in which participants willingly join. As a doctoral student designing a business research study, you will ensure that you have measures in place to protect your participants’ anonymity and confidentiality.