Nicholas Walliman

Research Methods: The

Basics, vol. 2
Kate Zonberga
Business Administration
Erasmus+, study year 3
RESEARCH ETHICS
PART I
Research theory and practice
Research is an activity that involves systematical acquisition of new
knowledge.

Research ethics is the application of moral rules and professional codes of

conduct to the collection, analysis, reporting, and publication of information.

Lack of ethics very often (if not in all cases) leads to the rejection of a research
project, followed by other penalties (sanctions for copyright infringement,
etc.) and humiliation.

"Research is only of any value if it is carried out honestly."

Passing off other people’s work
as your own – plagiarism.
Plagiarism in scientific studies can result in many different sanctions: warning, public
apology, suspension of its activities for a specified period and even dismissal.
There are two aspects of ethical issues in research:
1. The individual values of the researcher relating to
honesty and frankness and personal integrity.
2. The researcher’s treatment of other people involved in
the research, relating to informed consent,
confidentiality, anonymity and courtesy.
Organizations To formulate the research ethics code of
conduct and monitor its application in the
and ethics research carried out by members of the
organization. Application of sanctions in case
committees: the of non-compliance with ethical code of
role conduct.
 Plagiarism – directly copying someone else's work and including as your
own

Intellectual ownership – using the thoughts, ideas and works of others as

your own

Most Citation errors – indication of incomplete or incorrect sources of origin

important Acknowledgment (lack) – indication of assistance or collaboration with others

ethical issues Responsibility (lack) – detailed description of creation of the research and
invested work
found in
researches Data – distorting data or results knowingly

Interpretations – translation of data based on personal prejudice/ bias

Epistemology – unidentified position of the researcher on the research

subject
Situations that raise ethical issues
Research aims - unclearly specified research aims can be misinterpreted as accusing or offensive, targeter to cause harm.

Use of language - patronizing, disparaging, bias, stereotyping, discrimination, prejudice, intolerance and discrimination, also
incorrect use of terminology.

Self presentation - might influence the reader's attitude and expectations towards the research.

Research situation - depending on the research subject and used methods, different expectations of the human subjects can be
expected (e.g. will there be counteractions?).

Selection of participants - participants must feel free to choose - participate in the research or not, while still having a chance to
terminate their participation at any time.

Pre-informatin – lack of introducturial information can lead to false results and very little number of respondents.
 • Potential harm and gain – the main principle is to
cause no harm and produce some gain towards
subjects of the research.
This involves recognizing what the risks might be, choosing methods that minimize
these risks, and avoiding making any revelations that could in any way be harmful
to the reputation, dignity or privacy of the subjects.

• Recording data - the gathering and organizing of

Carrying out research data can couse changes in the original
meaning.
the research Imposing your own interpretation, ignoring vocal inflections, repetitions, asides,
and subtleties of humour causes loosing some of the meanings.

• Participant involvment – all subjects of the research

must not feel presure or be manipulated with to
extract information from them.
You should not take familiarity so far as to deceive in order to extract information
that the participant might later regret giving. Neither should you raise unrealistic
expectations in order to ingratiate yourself.
 • Sensitive material – a researcher must recognise
information sensitive to the participants and decide
if it is crusial to use it for the research.
If this information is relevant to the research, it must be presented in such a way
that individuals are not damaged by assuring confidentiality and anonymity.

• Honesty, deception and covert methods - all

Carrying out information gathered and used for the research
must be obtained in an ethical manner.
the research Honesty is a basic tenet of ethically sound research so any type of deception and
use of covert methods should be ruled out.

• Storing and transmitting data – there are stright

regulations that need to be followed for all
operations with personal data.
Regulations cover the conditions regarding collections of personal data in
whatever form and at whatever scale. They spell out the rights of the
subjects and responsibilities of the compilers and holders of the data.
 • Checking data and drafts – it is allowed to check
the research with third parties before publishing,
but it must be done under regulations.
It is appropriate to pass the drafts of your research report on to colleagues or
supervisors for comment, but only with the provison that the content is kept
confidential.

• Dissemination – in the process of preparing a

Carrying out research for dissemination it is important to not lose
the original context, meaning and results.
the research Dissemination of your results in the form of conference or journal papers, a
website or other types of publication inevitably involves reducing the length of the
material, and perhaps changing the style of the writing.

• Disposing of records – at a certain point

information gathered and used for the research is to
be disposed of to ensure that all the data is
anonymous and non-attributable.
Data should be disposed of in such a way as to be completely indecipherable.
This might entail shredding documents, formatting discs and erasing tapes.
PART I
Research theory and practice

FINDING AND
REVIEWING THE
LITERATURE
One of the first steps in planning a
research project is to do a
literature review: that is, to trawl
through all the available
information sources in order to
track down the latest knowledge,
and to assess it for relevance,
quality, controversy and gaps.
Information gathering
Library – local libraries, specialist libraries, library catalogue, journals and newspapers, electronic databases, librarians.

Information services - government departments, pressure groups, voluntar organizations, research establishments, professional
and trade organizations.

Museums and galleries - (national and local) exhibits, printed and electronic information, artefacts, private collections.

People – general field experts, university staff, professionals, local experts etc.

Intranets - lecture materials, presentation notes, research papers, professional lectures etc.

The internet - World Wide Web, providing search engines, sites, databases etc. for good quality material extraction.
 Evaluating WWW sources

IS IT ACCURATE? WHAT AUTHORITY IS IS IT BIASED? HOW DETAILED IS THE IS IT OUT OF DATE?

IT BASED ON? INFORMATION?

HAVE YOU CROSS- HAVE YOU TRIED PRE-

CHECKED? EVALUATED SUBJECT
GATEWAYS?
Doing a literature
review
It is an important introduction to the
research project because it underpins
the argument about why the project is
worth doing.
The literature review tends to reveal a
lot about the attitude of the researcher
and the seriousness of his/her
intentions, as well as the level of
organization and clarity of thought
achieved.
 Four major directions of a literature review
Research theory and philosophy – to establish the intellectual context(s) of research related to
your subject.

History of developments in your subject – to trace the background to present thinking.

Latest research and developments in your subject – to inform about the current issues being
investigated and the latest thinking and practice, to discuss the conflicting arguments, and to
detect a gap in knowledge.
Research methods – to explore practical techniques that have been used, particularly those
that might be relevant to your project.
 Compile an
Introduce the
overview of
important issues
literature

Useful points: Explain the general

theoretical
Make links across
discipline
a checklist background boundaries

Include some
account of the
previous research
Text analysis

A review of the literature should provide an introduction to the latest

concepts and advances in thinking in the chosen subject by citing
relevant papers and publications and authors to underpin the
description.
A good way to do it is by creating a table for your analysis, using clear,
simple headings that can be easily understood and equated to the text.
PART II
The main research methods

THE NATURE OF
DATA
 What is what?
Data is another word for bits of information (singular – datum).

Research uses data as the raw material in order to come to

conclusions about some issue.
Data is not only elusive, but also ephemeral and corruptible.

Knowledge gained is not useless, it is just not absolutely certain.

Levels of abstraction: a hierarchy

Data is a part of a hierarchy of information, going from the general to the particular, from
abstract to concrete. This hierarchy can be expressed like this:
• Theory – abstract statements that make claims about the world and how it works.
Research problems are usually stated at a theoretical level.
• Concepts – building blocks of the theory which are usually abstract and cannot be
directly measured.
• Indicators – phenomena which point to the existence of the concepts.
• Variables – components of the indicators which can be measured.
• Values – actual units of measurement of the variables. These are data in their most
concrete form.
Primary and secondary data

Data that has been observed,

experienced or recorded close to the
event are the nearest one can get to
the truth, and are called primary data.

Written sources that interpret or

record primary data are called
secondary sources/data, which tend
to be less reliable.
 We are being bombarded with primary data all
day. Sounds, sights, tastes, tactile things are
constantly stimulating our senses.
There are four basic types of primary data,
distinguished by the way they are collected:
1. Measurement – collections of numbers
indicating amounts;
Primary data 2. Observation – records of events, situations or
things experienced with your own senses and
perhaps with the help of an instrument;
3. Interrogation – data gained by asking and
probing;
4. Participation – data gained by experiences of
doing things.
 Secondary data are data that have been
interpreted and recorded. News bulletins,
magazines, newspapers, documentaries,
advertising, the Internet etc.
There are multiple sources where they are
reflected:
Secondary data 1. Journals;
2. Magazines;
3. Books;
4. Television;
5. Radio;
6. Internet etc.
Quantitative and qualitative data

Numbers are used to record much

information about science and
society. This type of data is called
quantitative data.

Emotions, ideas, beliefs etc. can only

be described in words. These are
called qualitative data.
 This data can be measured, more or less
accurately because it is usually expressed in
numbers.
Typical examples of quantitative data:
Quantitative 1. Census figures – population, income etc.;
data 2. Economic data – share prices, tax regimes
etc.;
3. Performance data – sport statistics,
engineering calculations etc.;
4. Measurements in scientific endeavor.
 This data cannot be measured, it is descriptive in
character – ideas, beliefs, customs etc.
Typical examples of qualitative data:
1. Observation notes;
Qualitative data 2. Interview transcripts;
3. Literary texts;
4. Minutes of meetings;
5. Historical records;
6. Memos and recollections etc.
Measurement of data
Data can be measured in different ways depending on
its nature. These are commonly referred to as levels of
measurement – nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio.
Nominal level
• It divides the data into separate categories that can then be compared with each other.
• By sorting out the data using names or labels it's possible to make a classification of
types or categories.
• Nominal data can be analyzed using only simple graphic and statistical techniques.
Ordinal level
• It puts the data into order with regard to a particular property that they all share.
• Precise measurement of the property is not required, only the perception of whether
one is more or less than the other.
• The ordinal scale of measurement increases the range of statistical techniques that can
be applied to the data.
Interval level
• It makes it possible to measure data precisely on a regular scale of some sort, without
there being a meaningful zero.
• The interval level of measurement allows yet more sophisticated statistical analysis to be
carried out.
Ratio level
• The most complete level of measurement, having a true zero: the point where the value
is truly equal to naught.
• Most familiar concepts in physical science are both theoretically and operationally
conceptualized at a ratio level of quantification.
• Difference between the ratio scale and all other scales is that the ratio scale can express
values in terms of multiples of fractional parts, and the ratios are true ratios.
Measurement of data
One value is different from another, you have a nominal scale;

One value is bigger, better or more of anything than another, you

have an ordinal scale;

One value is so many units (degrees, inches) more or less than

another, you have an interval scale;

One value is so many times as big or bright or tall or heavy as

another, you have a ratio scale.
Thank you for
your attention!