This Ethical Issues Assignment Explores How To Perform Self-Evolutions And Determine How To Improve Self-Ethics

Question

Task: How young professionals use ethical issues assignment research strategies to identify ethical issues based on which improvement plans can be proposed?

Answer

1. Aim
The aim of this ethical issues assignment is to present the ethical considerations of the research proposal which I had been submitted for coursework 1 of the module. My previous paper was based on the impact which online training on the staff and their productivity. The study was focused on Walmart.

2. Objectives
My objectives of this ethical issues assignment is to analyse how far the ethics were maintained while carrying out the previous research based on online training of staff. I had streamlined the research to focus on Walmart, its staff training, their happiness and productivity. My study had involved primary research, which implies that it included various participants. Therefore, the ethical considerations need to be evaluated.

• To understand the ethical behaviour of the researcher which is a prerequisite for any research
• To assess the level of secrecy and ethics maintained while carrying out the primary research
• To evaluate the impact of breach of ethics in research

3. Ethical issues assignment Methodology
Research Philosophy
As a researcher I had to choose a post-positivist research philosophy, which emphasises on the use of objectivity to establish or refute a given hypothesis.To make the subject matter easier to grasp, this philosophy is adopted. The outcomes of my previous ethical issues assignment investigations were used to guide this research. Consequently, post-positivism is the most appropriate approach to research (Dedeurwaerdere, 2018). Through the application of the said research philosophy, it would be investigated how the study based on Walmart's decision to convert to online training affected employee happiness, was carried out by the researcher following the research ethics.

Research Design
I haveemployed Descriptive research methodologies in this ethical issues assignment. The descriptive design also incorporates a prior formulation for assessing and hypothesising particular difficulties (Mosweu and Mosweu, 2020). The sample size is critical while performing descriptive research. As a result, I decided not to undertake a follow-up study in order not to put the findings at risk. In addition, a flexible method is required to complete the exploratory design to understand how ethically the 100 participants of the previous research were surveyed. The ethical considerations of the shoot survey that was carried out on social media platform to evaluate Walmart's choice to convert to online training influenced employee happiness, would be assessed.

Research Strategy
Qualitative and quantitative research methods are two ways to execute a project. With the support of additional factors, quantitative research helps to quantify behaviour, attitudes, and views. I realised from the previous research that qualitative research also aids in the discovery of the participants' underlying motivations and beliefs, as well as the initial purpose of the investigation (Rutberg and Bouikidis, 2018). This ethical issues assignment research project was completed using both methodologies.

Data Collection Technique
In this ethical issues assignment project, I will use Primary datacollection. The qualitative and quantitative methods are connected to the primary data. A survey questionnaire would be used to collect the quantitative primary data.

Sample Size
For this ethical issues assignment, I chose 100 participants at random. Quantitative methods would be used to examine the reactions of these individuals. The probability method would be used to choose 50 of the 100 responders. Hence, the final sample size is set at fifty.

4. Ethical considerations
I feel that the ethical considerations are the most significant part of this ethical issues assignment. As per Suri (2020), the ethical considerations involved in research involves the set of principles which direct and guide research, its research design and practices. The principles of the research might comprise the informed consent of the participants, the voluntary participation in the research, confidentiality of the information, anonymity of the participants, etc (Arifin, 2018). The other ethical considerations which I have taken into account include communication of the research results to the participants and inform them previously of the potential harm of the research. The ethical considerations are very important for good research as it requires to be well-planned, well-adjusted, ethically approved and appropriately designed. There is a need for ethical consideration in terms of data analysis, conflicts of interest, authorship, etc. The lack of ethical consideration could further lead to redundant publication or plagiarism. In my previous ethical issues assignment, the survey was a shoot survey that was conducted across social media platform. In such surveys, it is very important to keep the participants of the survey informed of the kind of research, its use and consequences. This ethical consideration is crucial to such surveys. There are hundreds of people who had participated in the research. However, not everyone would be willing to reveal their identity. Thus, the ethical consideration should take into account the privacy of the participants very seriously. The dignity of each participant of the research has to be maintained as a part of research ethics. The autonomy of the individuals or the communities is also a part of the ethical considerations. To ensure the consent, anonymity, confidentiality and fair treatment of the participants and their response, I should get the consent form signed by the participants of the research (Tauri, 2018). The consent form should include the privacy norms and anonymity clause so that no breach of ethics takes place.

The scientific integrity is a part of ethical considerations in a research. To ensure that the authentic data is used for the research, I have collected the primary data directly from 100 participants who have basic understanding of retail business of Walmart. The data has been collected through a shoot survey. The research is based on how the shift to online training of staff has affected the happiness and productivity of the staff at Walmart. This involves a reputed organisation like Walmart so in the research the dignity of the company has to be maintained. The public or participants are involved in data collection process. Therefore, the social responsibility of the researcher is to respect the integrity and dignity of the participants (De Voogd et al, 2020). The research outcome would result in ‘common good’ as the usefulness of online training and its impact of employee productivity would be evaluated. The research would be conducted and its outcome would be shared or published safely so that the harm is minimised and the benefit to the audience, researcher and public is maximised. If the privacy or dignity of the participants or the community is harmed during the research or by the research outcomes, it could lead to psychological issues. Thus, maintaining the ethics during and after a research is very crucial for a successful study. The strength of the previous work is that it has used authentic data from primary sources and conducted an extensive literature review to develop better understanding of the topic. The weakness of the research was that it did not explore the research gap. I also feel not getting proper response from participants while conducting primary research of this ethical issues assignment was another weakness of the research.

5. References
Arifin, S.R.M., 2018. Ethical considerations in qualitative study. International Journal of Care Scholars, ethical issues assignment 1(2), pp.30-33.
De Voogd, X., Oosterveld-Vlug, M.G., Torensma, M., Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B.D., Willems, D.L. and Suurmond, J.L., 2020. A dignified last phase of life for patients with a migration background: A qualitative study. Palliative medicine, ethical issues assignment 34(10), pp.1385-1392.
Dedeurwaerdere, T., 2018. From ecological psychology to four varieties of post-positivism in transdisciplinary science. Environment Systems and Decisions, 38(1), pp.79-83.

Mosweu, O. and Mosweu, T., 2020. Research Methodologies Used in Library and Information Studies Masters' Degree Dissertations at the University of Botswana. In Handbook of Research on Connecting Research Methods for Information Science Research (pp. 384-403). IGI Global.

Rutberg, S. and Bouikidis, C.D., 2018. Focusing on the fundamentals: A simplistic differentiation between qualitative and quantitative research. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 45(2), pp.209-213. Suri, H., 2020. Ethical considerations of conducting systematic reviews in educational research. Systematic reviews in educational research, pp.41-54.

Tauri, J.M., 2018. Research ethics, informed consent and the disempowerment of First Nation peoples. Research Ethics, ethical issues assignment 14(3), pp.1-14.