Please discuss the following three questions: (on about one page in total) a) How do fundamental ethical Issues of empirical research have to be evaluated In the Internet age.
Internet has become an absolute necessity to meet business, educational and social needs. However it's utility comes along with several ethical challenges. Some of these include - a number of issues like privacy, anonymity, confidentiality, permission and potential harm or intrusion.These issues need to be addressed. The researchers should have a set of rules and regulations which promote use of online methods to gather data directly from Individuals. analyzing online Interaction within virtual environments.
and large-scale analysis of online domains. Researchers also need to go beyond their own company policies on ethics i. e. over and above the institutional and legal requirements, such as what they might do as individual researchers out ofa sense of fairness.Additionally, they should self-reflect and understand that they too could be subjected to the same unethical research practices. It Is also necessary to think 'globally on the aspect of research ethics as values such as privacy may be culturally specific.
The thin line between privacy and freedom of expression varies between cultures. For example, in majority of the cultures people are conservative about homosexuality and would not like anyone knowing about it through their internet browsing data. ) What does confidentiality mean when analyzing online data (e. g.
, browsing behavior)? Confidentiality should anonymize the browser or his online data to the greatest possible extent. Any information that identifies the browser work collected/ used for assessment, personal data like - contact details, an email address, home ddress, phone number, date of birth or banking / credit card details, etc should not be cross referenced by / to other service companies to build a detailed database of his buying habits, surfing patterns and Interests. ) Can firms rely on different standards than academic institutions? Academic standards set the benchmark of quality and excellence in education such as the rigour of curricula and the difficulty of examinations. At the same time, there is a huge importance given to Academic Integrity. Academic integrity is paramount. It implies doing one's own work honestly and at the same time giving due credit to thers' work and Ideas.
Academic Integrity along with an environment to foster innovative thoughts together constitutes a great learning experience.Continued...
The flrms can definitely adopt the rigour, the integrity, the process of learning, policies including protection from physical and psychological harm, etc. However, the standards should ensure that they are able to match the interests of the stake- by the protocols and set standards. Thus, I believe that the firms can definitely adopt the best academic standards and modify some or include others keeping the corporate framework in mind.
