Marketing Research Ethics
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Transcript of Marketing Research Ethics
Asi f Jamal
Vis i t ing Lecturer
Univers i ty Of S indh, Mi rpurkhas campus
MARKETING RESEARCH
ETHICS
BASIC MARKETING RESEARCH
Expands existing knowledge base
Becomes part of public domain
Published in scholarly journals
Conducted primarily by individuals with terminal degrees
Used for purposes of theory discovery and theory verification
APPLIED MARKETING RESEARCH
Conducted in order to solve specific real -world problems
Usually propriety information
Employs knowledge gained in basic research
FULL SERVICE
Syndicated Data Services - collect information that is
available to multiple subscribers
Standardized Services - the service used to collect
the data is standardized but the data collected is
unique to each buyer
Customized Services - the research service provided
to each client is tailored to meet needs of that client
LIMITED SERVICE
Field Services - specialize in data collection
Market Segment Specialists - specialize in conducting research pertaining to particular market segments
Data Entry Services - specialize in editing and coding questionnaires and entering data
Sample Design & Distribution Services - provide distribution lists to firms and/or conduct surveys
Data Analysis Services - analyze data already collected
Specialized Research Technique Firms - employ highly -specialized services such as eye-tracking, skin-response testing, brand naming, packaging services
ETHICS IN MARKETING RESEARCH
Objectivity in Interpretation
purposely withholding information
changes in wording from original survey
overstating generalizability of findings
Integrity in Data Collection
false data
failure to abide by agreed-upon data collection
procedures
ETHICS IN MARKETING RESEARCH
Proper treatment of subjects
lack of privacy in responses
harmful treatment of subjects
Plagiarism
copying another’s survey instrument
reporting another’s results as your own
ETHICS IN MARKETING RESEARCH
Deontology - Focuses on individuals ’ rights
Teleology - Focuses on trade-offs between individual costs and
group benefits
ETHICS IN MARKETING RESEARCH
Sugging - selling under the guise of a survey (Illegal)
Frugging - fund raising under the guise of a survey (Unethical)
ETHICS IN MARKETING RESEARCH
If you think you might be doing something unethical,
it probably is unethical.
What are ethics?
What are ethical
principles
Ethical business
behaviour
Brief history of
evolution of ethics in
research
Ethical principles
Ethics in research
Qualitative vs
quantitative data
WHAT ARE ETHICS?
Societal norms adopted by a group
A conception of conduct that is right or wrong
Deal with fundamental human relationships
Are a universal human trait
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES – WHAT ARE THEY?
Guides to moral behaviour
Good: honesty, keeping promises, helping others, respective
rights of others
Bad: lying, stealing, deceiving, harming others
Universality of ethical principles: should apply in the
same manner in all countries, cultures, communities
Relativity of ethical principles: vary from country to
country, community to community
ETHICAL RELATIVISM
Defined by
Various periods of time in history
A society’s traditions
The special circumstances of the moment
Personal opinion
Meaning given to ethics are relative to time, place,
circumstance, and the person involved
REASONS FOR ETHICAL BUSINESS
BEHAVIOUR
Fulfill public expectations for business
Prevent harming others
Improve business relations
Improve employee productivity
Reduce penalties
Protect business from others
Protect employees from their employers
Promote personal morality
BUSINESS ETHICS ACROSS
ORGANIZATIONAL FUNCTIONS
Accounting ethics – honesty, integrity, accuracy
Marketing ethics (Professional Codes of Conduct in Marketing
& Information Systems – from American Marketing
Association)
Information systems ethics
Others
HISTORY OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH
In the past – not given attention
Changed with Nuremberg trial findings
Nuremberg Code (1948)
Thalidomide (late 1950s)
Declaration of Helsinki (1964)
Tearoom Trade (1960s)
Milgram (1963)
Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972)
ETHICS IN RESEARCH – WHY?
To protect rights and welfare of
research participantsand
to protect the wider society or community within which the
research is being conducted
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
In research, help to make and to justify decisions
Are abstract and difficult to implement in practical
situations
Key phrases:
Voluntary participation
Informed consent
Risk of harm
Confidentiality
Anonymity
HUMAN SUBJECTS
Canada
Tri-council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving
Humans
Medical Research Council of Canada
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/policystatement/policystatement.cfm
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES GUIDING
RESEARCH
Respect for human dignity
Respect for free and informed consent
Respect for vulnerable persons
Respect for privacy and confidentiality
Respect for justice and inclusiveness
Balancing harms and benefits
Minimizing harm
Maximizing benefit
1. HUMAN DIGNITY
Cardinal Principle
Basis of ethical obligations
Two essential components
The selection and achievement of morally acceptable ends
The morally acceptable means to those ends
Protect the multiple and interdependent interests of
the person (bodily, psychological, cultural integrity)
2. CONSENT
Presumption that individuals have capacity and right
to make free and informed decisions
In research = dialogue, process, rights, duties,
requirements for free and informed consent by the
research subject
Your research cannot proceed without consent
Consent must be maintained throughout
3. VULNERABLE PERSONS
Ethical obligations towards vulnerable persons
Diminished competence
Diminished decision-making capacity
Entitled to special protection, special procedures to
protect their interests
Entitlement (based on grounds of human dignity,
caring, solidarity, fairness) to special protection
against abuse, exploitation, discrimination
4. PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY
Fundamental to human dignity
Standards protect the access, control, dissemination of
personal information
Helps to protect mental, psychological integrity
9-11
5. HARMS AND BENEFITS
Balance critical to ethics of human research
Foreseeable harms should not outweigh anticipated benefits
Harms-benefits analysis affects welfare and rights of subjects
6. JUSTICE AND INCLUSIVENESS
i .e., fairness and equity
Procedural justice
Application process
Distributive justice
Harms and benefits
7. NON-MALFEASANCE
Duty to avoid, prevent or minimize harm
No unnecessary risk of harm
Participation must be essential to achieving scientifically and societally important aims that cannot be realized without the participation of human subjects
Minimizing harm requires smallest number of human subjects that will ensure valid data
8. BENEFICENCE
The duty to benefit others
The duty to maximize net benefits
Produce benefits for subjects themselves, other individuals
Produce benefits for society as a whole and for the
advancement of knowledge (usually the primary benefit)
QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE DATA
Quantitative
Logic rests on generalizability & representativeness
Sample size is criterion for judging rigour
Respondents can refuse to answer questions
Qualitative approaches
Designed to best reflect experiences
Therefore most qualitative research less formally structured
Logic rests on notice of saturation – the point at which no new insights are likely to be obtained
Saturation guides sample size
QUALITATIVE ISSUES
More invasive therefore ethical issues more subtle
Tendency to investigate more completely
Reliance on observations, interviews, stealthy methods can
lull subjects
Easy to violate confidentiality and trust
Power and status dif ferentials
CONFIDENTIALITY & ANONYMITY
Quantitative
Techniques
Can be easier
Anonymity of the firm
sometimes impossible
Pseudonyms common
but do not eliminate
problem
Qualitative
Techniques
Smaller sample sizes
Informed consent more
critical
Problems with data
presentation/
publication
OBLIGATIONS OF THE RESEARCHER
Follow code of ethics
Objectivity
No misrepresentation
Preserve anonymity and confidentiality
Competing research proposals
RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS OF SUBJECT
Right to informed consent
Obligation to be truthful
Right to privacy
Right to confidentiality
Right to no harm
Right to be informed
RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS OF CLIENT
(USER)
Ethical conduct between buyer and seller
Obligation to reduce bias
Do not mis-represent data
Privacy
Commitment to research
Pseudo-pilot studies
Advocacy
LANGUAGE
The language you use is very, very important. What may be
clear to you may not be clear to the reader. The reader, who
is your prospective participant, is in a dif ferent world than you
– don ’t expect the reader to read your mind, to know your
intentions….