Ethical Considerations in Business Research

Business research must be conducted in a manner that results in quality results to assist in making productive decisions. In order for the research to be of good quality there are some ethical considerations that must be taken into consideration.

The rights of the participant or subject must be protected so that, during the course of the research, no one suffers any physical harm or embarrassment. There also must be a level of safety for the researcher, sponsor and participants to know that any sensitive information is guaranteed to be kept safe and the right to personal privacy will be upheld. After the research is complete psychological evaluations must be done to ensure there are no long-term negative affects from the research.

Sponsors of the research must receive ethically conducted and reported research. Adhering to this consideration will reduce the opportunity for participants to form biased opinions and answers. As part of this effort the research design needs to be appropriate for the questions asked in order to maximize the value of the resources being used. The final piece to be considered in making sure that the research is conducted in an ethical manner is to ensure that all parties involved adhere to a level of personal integrity for the purpose of instilling confidence in the results of the research.