Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

Post an analysis of ethical considerations for target populations within the doctoral research process. Your analysis should include the following:

· Briefly describe a target population within your Doctoral Study, including any relevant factors that could be scrutinized by an IRB committee.

· Identify specific ethical considerations for the target population within your Doctoral Study, including access, data, or publication restrictions, for example. 

· Explain how this population and its ethical considerations impact both the process and the overall value of your doctoral research study. 

Be sure to support your work with a minimum of two specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and at least one additional scholarly source.

Michael

Researchers must act ethically when finding and studying people, especially when working with vulnerable populations. A scholarly study may include interviews, surveys, and questionnaires that highlight personal or identifying information, so it is imperative that researchers keep in mind the privacy of the participants. In this week’s discussion, I describe a target population for my Doctoral Study and some factors that could be scrutinized by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) committee. I then identify specific ethical considerations for my target population. Finally, I explain how the population and ethical considerations impact my research.

Target Population and the IRB

The target population for my study will primarily be low-skilled workers without college degrees. This group is not a vulnerable population, but some issues could draw scrutiny from an IRB committee. Walden University (2015a) noted that questions that could potentially get someone fired or that are self-incriminating benefit from a preemptive ethics consultation. I plan to create a questionnaire that questions the employee’s motivation and how the employer could increase it by offering certain fringe benefits. I do not believe the questions could hurt the employee, but I will do everything I can to protect the identity of the respondents. 

Ethical Considerations

One consideration that I must be careful with is the fact that I sell employee benefits to other businesses. My questions will specifically ask which benefits the employee desires and it might be challenging for me not to intervene. I do not currently know the exact organizations I will contact to gain access to employees, but I live in a tourist town in Florida with many hotels. I see them as an opportunity as well as the small restaurants in my area. Physical access may take weeks or even months to arrange and in some cases does not guarantee access (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2015). I believe a quick meeting with a gatekeeper should suffice when it comes to connecting with the organization. I will not need any personal data and plan to use an internet-based survey, which should make it easier. My prediction is that I will complete a couple of meetings to gain their trust.

Considering Ethical Impacts

I do not believe the previously stated ethical considerations will influence my Doctoral Study. I foresee the most challenging part of the process as gaining access to employees. I do not see everyone opening his or her establishment to my questions, which could slow down the process, but I do not think it will become a hindrance. I believe that the value of my study is increased by me being knowledgeable about employee benefits. It allows me to ask questions that are more pertinent and not become overburdened by having to learn additional information. I do not see any conflict of interest here because I will not personally contact the employees and plan to not share the survey results with the gatekeeper, if possible. Conflict of interest occurs when someone’s financial, personal, professional, or political interests interfere or potentially interfere with their judgment (Ethical Considerations, 2017).

Conclusion

Research studies use many different populations to build statistics to support a study’s report. Each person participating deserves a certain level of respect and an amount of anonymity throughout the entire process. It is critical that scholars use the data in an ethical way that demonstrates the integrity of the study performed. This discussion examined a target population for my Doctoral Study. It then identified some factors the IRB may consider when looking at my target population. Lastly, it explained how the population and ethical consideration might influence my paper. It is critical that researchers protect the identities of participants and use their information ethically. If done incorrectly, it could negatively impact a report and discourage other people from participating in future studies.      

 

 

References

Ethical Considerations for Successfully Navigating the Research Process. (2017). Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.02.011

Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2015). Research methods for business students (7th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

Walden University Center for Research Quality. (2015a). Research ethics & compliance: Guides and FAQs. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/researchcenter/orec/guides

Guillermo

Target Population

My research includes buyers and sellers of capital goods. For this research, capital goods are products that are not purchased frequently by an organization and require careful consideration due to technical complexity, the importance of the product to the customer's operation, the long-life span of the product, and the investment of financial and other resources to install and operate. Capital goods often are selected by cross-functional teams defined as decision-making units (DMU).  The DMU for buyers and sellers is the target population for the research and is composed of middle and upper management, and the focus is on processes, roles and influence factors that are rarely confidential.  The IRB may need a description of the key roles, responsibilities, and limitations in the DMU to avoid possible conflict between the members of the DMUs and their employer.

Ethical Considerations

Two ethical challenges may be present: Confidentiality and conflict of interest. Confidentiality is critical because the decision-making process is often confidential due to the strategic nature of capital goods, in some cases the company’s sign non-disclosure agreements to keep the transaction’s details private. Detailed information needs to be sufficiently conveyed to support findings without revealing proprietary or confidential information about the specific respondent’s organizations. As an academic practitioner, the risk of conflict of interest increases. The process of academic study often provides insight into a firm’s decision-making process, policy, and guiding principles, and this information can be used to guide, educate or influence the transaction. For example, the researcher can find that a particular organization places more importance to cash flow than price and may influence a potential seller to proactively offer non-standard term to charge a higher price with generous payment terms and gain an unfair advantage over competitors.

Value of Doctoral Study

The understanding of how DMU’s gather, analyze and evaluate potential suppliers of capital goods, and the role of relationships with the incumbent supplier, can have a positive impact by guiding the time and resource investment for building and maintaining customer relationships. Customer relationship management (CRM) has been shown to play an essential role in B2B transactions and that relationships are both valid and necessary if competitive advantage is understood to drive commitment and loyalty between customers and sellers to their mutual benefit (Martensen & Mouritsen, 2017). Additional research can generate positive social change by helping organizations make more efficient use of their resources.

 

 

References

Martensen, A., & Mouritsen, J. (2017). Prioritizing marketing activities in different types of marketing functions. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 28(11-12), 1264-1284. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2015.1135726

Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2015). Research methods for business students (7th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

Walden University Center for Research Quality. (2015a). Research ethics & compliance: Guides and FAQs. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/researchcenter/orec/guides