Oxford University Press | Online Resource Centre

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Question 01

What problem is associated with citing research such as that conducted by Dalton (1959) or Milgram (1963) in discussions of ethical practices?

a) Their research was conducted too long ago to still be relevant.

b) Their research was illegal not unethical.

c) Discussing their research implies that ethical concerns only reside in extreme cases.

d) Discussing their research implies ethical concerns are specific to certain culture.

Question 02

What is the difference between a universalist and a situationist approach to research ethics?

a) A universalist suggests ethical principles should never be broken, whereas a situationist suggests that they should be considered on a case by case basis.

b) A universalist argues there are no common ethical principles, whereas a situationist believes that different cultures share similar approaches to ethics.

c) A universalist believes that researchers will always transgress ethical principles, whereas a situationist believes ethical principles are transgressed all the time in modern society.

d) A universalist believes that ethical transgression is acceptable as long as the end justifies the means, whereas a situationist believes ethical transgression is never acceptable.

Question 03

Following Diener & Crandall (1978) which of the following is not an issue relating to ethical principles in business research?

a) Whether there is a lack of informed consent.

b) Whether there is an invasion of privacy.

c) Whether there is harm to the participants.

d) Whether there is harm to the researcher.

Question 04

Milgram's (1963) experiments harmed participants by:

a) failing to compensate them for their involvement.

b) by giving them electric shocks.

c) by inducing stress and anxiety by asking them to perform reprehensible acts.

d) all of the above.

Question 05

What should the business researcher be aware of when signing a confidentiality agreement?

a) Any clause which limits the length of a questionnaire.

b) Any clause which allows the company to comment on findings that will be published.

c) Any clause which increases the level of access for the researcher.

d) Any clause which guarantees the anonymity of research participants.

Question 06

What difficulties are there for the business researcher in ensuring the informed consent of the participants?

a) It is a time consuming process.

b) It increases the issue of reactivity.

c) It is impossible to present participants with all the information they need.

d) It has no relevance to a study's findings.

Question 07

What particular challenge do ethnographers face in obtaining the informed consent of all research participants?

a) Ethnography involves covert observation so informed consent cannot be obtained.

b) Informed consent will limit the ethnographer's ability to see participants acting naturally.

c) The ethnographer themselves does not know what their research is about.

d) The wide spectrum of people the ethnographer comes into contact with means obtaining informed consent from everyone is difficult.

Question 08

Which of the following questions might invade the privacy of a research participant?

a) How long have you worked for this organisation?

b) What is your home address?

c) What do you think about your direct line manager?

d) What happened during your last performance appraisal?

Question 09

Which of the following is an example of deception in business research?

a) The obtaining of company material without permission.

b) The researcher wearing a disguise during an observation.

c) The researcher representing their research as being about a different topic.

d) The researcher failing to ask permission to interview someone.

Question 10

What problem does a research organization face when drawing up an ethical code?

a) Identifying relevant legislation that should guide behaviour.

b) Reflecting the difficulty of making truly ethical decisions.

c) Incorporating assessments for the ethical behaviour of participants.

d) All of the above.

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 05.

Chapter 05

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