Ethics in Research

Abstract

In order to reflect on some ethical improprieties which I had committed during the data collection phase of an information systems research study, I conducted an heuristic and psychologically-oriented self-study. As part of this heuristic reflection, I engaged in a number of self dialogues in the form of a conversation between various characters. Reported in this paper is one of these dialogues, concerning broad issues of ethics and research and discussing the notion of wisdom, maturity, meaning, and virtue. Ethical considerations are always of primary importance, and I would assert that this is even more so when considering research investigating and using new media, such as the world wide web, in which acceptable ethical practices have yet to be established and consolidated.