Lecture note on research ethics issues and advices: for MBA students
Regarding part-time MBA students doing dissertation
projects, please suggest 2 main research ethics issues likely to be encountered
and suggest 2 practice advices to the students with reference to the following
research method cases:
1. Conducting online questionnaire survey to friends to
learn their opinions on corporate work-life balance policy.
2. Conducting participant observation in the company's
office to study employee morale.
3. Conducting semi-structured interview with a company's
administration staff to learn their view on their superiors' leadership style.
Two main ethics issues for part‑time MBA
students
For all three
cases, two cross‑cutting ethics issues are especially likely for part‑time MBA
students researching in their own social and work networks:
1.
Informed consent
and voluntary participation
o Students often collect data from friends,
colleagues, or subordinates, where there is implicit pressure to “help out,” so
consent may not be genuinely free and voluntary.utwente+2
o In practice, people may not fully understand
what the project is about, how their data will be used, or that they can
decline or withdraw without any negative consequence.egyankosh.ac+1
2.
Confidentiality,
anonymity, and protection from harm
o In small firms or tight social circles, even
“anonymous” data can be re‑identified, risking embarrassment, damaged work
relationships, or even negative career impact, especially when topics include
morale, superiors’ leadership, or work–life balance.cuhk+3
o MBA dissertations must minimise risk of harm,
avoid invasion of privacy, and prevent disclosure of identifiable or sensitive
information.cuhk+3
Now, let’s link
these two issues, plus two practical pieces of advice, to each of your
three cases.
Case 1: Online questionnaire to friends about
work–life balance
Key ethics issues
- Blurred
voluntariness in friendship networks
Friends may feel obliged to participate or answer positively because they want to support you, or fear damaging the friendship by declining, which undermines genuinely free consent.egyankosh.ac+2 - Risk of
indirect identification and sensitive HR data
Work–life balance opinions can reveal frustrations with employers, workload, or supervisors, which might harm participants if management could guess who said what in a small circle.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+2
Two practice
advice points
1.
Use a clear,
written information sheet with an explicit right to decline
o At the start of the online survey, include a
short information page explaining purpose, what questions will cover, how long
it takes, that participation is voluntary, and that they can exit anytime
without explanation.cuhk+2
o State explicitly that friendship will not be
affected by non‑participation, to reduce perceived pressure.
2.
Design for strong
anonymity and data protection
o Avoid collecting names, emails, or obvious
identifiers; use only broad demographics if needed (e.g., age ranges, industry,
role level, not company name).cuhk+2
o Store the raw data securely, and in the
dissertation avoid any quotes or combinations of variables that could make a
specific friend or their firm identifiable.cuhk+2
Case 2: Participant observation in the
company office on employee morale
Key ethics issues
- Invasion
of privacy and possible covert observation
Observing colleagues’ behaviours, emotions, and informal discussions can easily drift into monitoring their private feelings, especially if they are not fully aware that they are research participants.papers.ssrn+3 - Power
and dependency in the workplace
Co‑workers, subordinates, or even peers may feel they cannot say no to being observed or may fear that negative observations could be reported to management, causing psychological or career harm.utwente+3
Two practice advice
points
1.
Use overt
observation with clear boundaries and consent
o Inform relevant staff (and, where necessary,
management) that you are conducting research, what you will observe (e.g.,
general interactions, not private conversations), and how notes will be
anonymised.cuhk+3
o Make it clear that participation is voluntary
and that staff can indicate times or spaces where they do not wish to be
observed.
2.
Protect identities
in fieldnotes and reporting
o In notes, use pseudonyms or role labels
(e.g., “Team member A”), not real names or precise job titles that only one
person holds.cuhk+3
o Avoid including specific incidents that are
easily traceable (e.g., “the only person who argued with the CEO in last
Monday’s meeting”), or mask details so no individual can be reasonably
identified.
Case 3: Semi‑structured interview with admin
staff about superiors’ leadership
Key ethics issues
- Risk of
harm and reprisals
Discussing one’s superiors’ leadership is highly sensitive: negative comments, if traced back, could trigger conflict, damaged relationships, or even retaliation.taylorfrancis+3 - Confidentiality
limits and trust
If the admin staff member is in a relatively exposed position (e.g., only one person in that role), protecting anonymity is particularly challenging, and the interviewee needs to understand both protections and limits.ul+3
Two practice
advice points
1.
Use a robust
consent process emphasizing risks and protections
o Before the interview, provide an information
sheet covering: purpose, topics, recording (if any), how quotes will be anonymised,
who will see the transcript, and that they can skip questions or stop at any
time.cuhk+3
o Explicitly discuss the sensitivity of
criticising superiors so the participant can make an informed choice about what
they share.
2.
Anonymise at the
organisational and role level where feasible
o In the dissertation, consider masking even
the organisation (e.g., “a medium‑sized service company in Hong Kong”) and
describe the participant in a more general way (e.g., “a mid‑level
administrative employee”) rather than “the company’s HR administrator.”utwente+2
o Remove or alter any specific details in
quotes that could reveal the identity of the superior or the staff member while
keeping the analytic meaning.
Overall practice advice for part‑time MBA
students
Beyond case‑specific
points, two general practices are particularly important for students
researching in their own networks:
1.
Seek ethics
guidance and approval early
o Check your university’s ethics requirements
for student dissertations, complete any required forms, and discuss sensitive
issues (friends, colleagues, workplace data) with your supervisor before
collecting data.cuhk+3
2.
Constantly check
“power, pressure, and protection”
o For each method, ask: “Is anyone feeling
pressured to help me? Could what they say or do in this study realistically
harm them if known? Are my safeguards sufficient?” and adjust sampling,
consent, and anonymisation accordingly.
A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.
