Chapter 11 Managing Ethics in Research Projects

Abstract

The ethical dimension research is the one of the major topics that should be addressed before beginning any empirical work. In practice, what this means is that any research project, which is likely to involve distributing questionnaires, conducting interviews or conducting focus groups, brings with it various dilemmas in terms of moral conduct towards the people you are expecting to fill in questionnaires, be interviewed or take part in focus groups. Such dilemmas will be dependent on the design of your particular study. However, typical ethical dilemmas in relation to business management research include: the manner in which you intend to recruit people to your study, the extent to you will inform participants of what you research is about, dealing with research participants who may be concerned about how they are portrayed in your final dissertation. There are some simple steps which can help ensure that your research embodies the kinds of ethical principles that many institutions require, and we will use a range of real life ethical dilemmas to help you as you formulate your own research. The chapter concludes with checklist questions to consider.