Ethical: Research and Manufacturing Company
Ethical 1
Is it ethical for a manufacturing company that wishes not to be identified as the sponsor of a mail survey to invent the name of a fictitious research company and print the name on the letterhead paper used for the survey?
I do not think it is ethical for a manufacturing company to invent a fictitious research company. I think 3 things that are not good can come from it. The first thing is the manufacturing company might not have the expertise in surveys. Second is there a point to the survey or to test loyalties. Third is the amount of distrust that comes from creating a fictitious company. If distributors ever learn about this then there can be major problems with trust and relationships.
When thinking about creating a company for the survey if you can ask yourself. Would I like it if someone did this to me and my company? How would I feel? If you at all have to justify the answer, than it is probably not best to follow through with the plan.
For example, a firm in Ohio wishing to disguise the fact that it is surveying its own distributors might choose name North Central Research Corporation under which to present the survey.
Explain your reasoning.
Ethical 2
A publisher offers college professors one of a selection of four best selling mass market books as an incentive for filling out a ten-page mail questionnaire about a new textbook.
What advantages and disadvantages does this incentive offer?
The advantages for offering incentives are response rates. When you are able to offer someone something for time responders are more likely to take part of the survey. Usually when there is an incentive the possibility of others telling about the survey can increase and the response rate can go up.
The disadvantages of offering an incentive is the cost of the survey has gone up from the surveyors perspective. People could study of the disadvantage or advantage of incentives in a survey states. The results indicate that prepaid incentives
Is it ethical for a manufacturing company that wishes not to be identified as the sponsor of a mail survey to invent the name of a fictitious research company and print the name on the letterhead paper used for the survey?
I do not think it is ethical for a manufacturing company to invent a fictitious research company. I think 3 things that are not good can come from it. The first thing is the manufacturing company might not have the expertise in surveys. Second is there a point to the survey or to test loyalties. Third is the amount of distrust that comes from creating a fictitious company. If distributors ever learn about this then there can be major problems with trust and relationships.
When thinking about creating a company for the survey if you can ask yourself. Would I like it if someone did this to me and my company? How would I feel? If you at all have to justify the answer, than it is probably not best to follow through with the plan.
For example, a firm in Ohio wishing to disguise the fact that it is surveying its own distributors might choose name North Central Research Corporation under which to present the survey.
Explain your reasoning.
Ethical 2
A publisher offers college professors one of a selection of four best selling mass market books as an incentive for filling out a ten-page mail questionnaire about a new textbook.
What advantages and disadvantages does this incentive offer?
The advantages for offering incentives are response rates. When you are able to offer someone something for time responders are more likely to take part of the survey. Usually when there is an incentive the possibility of others telling about the survey can increase and the response rate can go up.
The disadvantages of offering an incentive is the cost of the survey has gone up from the surveyors perspective. People could study of the disadvantage or advantage of incentives in a survey states. The results indicate that prepaid incentives
References: Bosnjak, M., & Tuten, T. L. (2003). Prepaid and promised incentives in web surveys: An experiment. Social Science Computer Review, 21(2), 207-217. Cobanoglu, C., & Cobanoglu, N Rosenthal, R., & Rosnow, R. L. (1991). Essentials of behavioral research: Methods and data analysis (2nd ed.) Zikmund, W., Babin, B., Carr, J., & Griffin, M. (2010). Business research methods (8 ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.