04/11/2023

Reading
Research for Digital Marketing – • Malhotra et al (2017) – ch30
Lecture 10
• Nunan et al (2020) – ch30
Research Ethics

1 2

How are Ethics Governed in Marketing

Market Research Society (MRS)
Research?
• Professional research • MRS Market Research Society • MRS Code of Conduct Code of
associations have developed key (MRS) | Where Data Insight & Conduct | Market Research
codes of conduct Evidence Matters Society (mrs.org.uk)
• MRS
• ESOMAR
• Whilst different
language/terminology used, the
same broad principles apply

3 4

European Society for Opinion and Market

Key Principles
Research (ESOMAR)
• About ESOMAR About ESOMAR • ESOMAR Codes and Guidelines
Codes and Guidelines
(esomar.org)

5 6

1
 04/11/2023

Guidelines Key Ethical Issues

• Informed consent/deception
• Maintaining trust
• Anonymity and privacy
• Causing harm to participants
• Physical or mental
• Data handling
• GDPR

7 8

Ethical Issues Specific to Problem

Ethical Issues Specific to Research Design
Definition Stage
• Personal agenda dictates how a researcher defines problem • Rights of participants must be respected
• E.g. do they ‘fabricate’ a problem to try to justify research that is more • Anonymity must be protected at all times
expensive • An agency must design research to address the problem rather than to suit
their own strengths or agenda
• Reusing material from other projects to save time (paid for by other • E.g. An agency with little experience in conducting longitudinal studies may try to
clients) justify a cross sectional study, despite the former being more appropriate
• E.g. reusing a framework to measure customer satisfaction that may not fit • Client responsibilities
• Client side ethical issues • Clients have a duty to not misrepresent project
• Constraints to do with time and customer contact limitations need to be made clear
• Clients have an ethical responsibility not to solicit proposals to gain expertise at the start of the project
of agencies without paying them. • Clients should not make or justify unreasonable demands to agencies with promises
(genuine or false) for future contracts

9 10

Ethics Specific to Data Collection –

Informed Consent
• Researchers have a duty to inform participants of:
• The purpose of the study
• How the data will be collected
• How the data will be used
• How the data will be stored (and for how long)
• Right to withdrawal

11 12

2
 04/11/2023

Informed Consent and Social Media Mystery Shopping – Implicit Consent?

• MRS code of conduct dictates
staff must be informed that
service quality is checked using
mystery shopping
• Scenario should be relevant,
credible, realistic
• Questions should be objective
and not set a person up to fail

13 14

GDPR – Participant Rights GDPR Implications

• Individuals, organisations or
companies that are controllers or GDPR Key Principles What does this mean?
processors of data are covered by
GDPR • Lawfulness, fairness and • Researchers must demonstrate
transparency consent has been obtained
• Rights of an individual under GDPR • Purpose limitation
• The right to be informed • Data minimisation • Researchers must explain the
• The right of access • Accuracy
specific purpose behind the
• The right to rectification • Storage limitation
collection of data
• The right to erasure • Integrity and confidentiality (security) • Researchers must only collect what
• The right to restrict processing is necessary
• The right to data portability
• Accountability
• The right to object • Researchers must not keep data
• Rights in relation to automated decision longer than necessary
making and profiling • Researchers are responsible for the
handling and storage of data

15 16

Ethics in Qualitative Research –

Challenges to the Researcher
• Challenge 1: Preventing harm
and wrongdoing to participants
and preserving dignity
• Challenge 2: Preserving
confidentiality, anonymity and
privacy of participants
• Challenge 3: Avoiding deception
and remaining honest
• Challenge 4: Avoiding
misrepresentation

17 18

3
 04/11/2023

Ethical Issues in Quantitative Research –

Next Lecture
Questionnaire Design and Use of Scales
• Researchers should not use bias • Lecture 11: Analysing Data
scales that push a response in
one particular direction
• Researcher should not choose a
scale with the intention of
deliberately exacerbating or
pacifying true extent of results
• Researchers should avoid asking
leading questions

19 20