Is Quantitative Research Ethical? Tools for Ethically Practicing, Evaluating, and Using Quantitative Research

Abstract

This editorial offers new ways to ethically practice, evaluate, and use quantitative research (QR). Our central claim is that ready-made formulas for QR, including 'best practices' and common notions of 'validity' or 'objectivity', are often divorced from the ethical and practical implications of doing, evaluating, and using QR for specific purposes. To focus on these implications, we critique common theoretical foundations for QR and then recommend approaches to QR that are 'built for purpose', by which we mean designed to ethically address specific problems or situations on terms that are contextually relevant. For this, we propose a new tool for evaluating the quality of QR, which we call 'relational validity'. Studies, including their methods and results, are relationally valid when they ethically connect researchers' purposes with the way that QR is oriented and the ways that it is doneincluding the concepts and units of analysis invoked, as well as what its 'methods' imply more generally. This new way of doing QR can provide the liberty required to address serious worldly problems on terms that are both practical and ethically informed in relation to the problems themselves rather than the confines of existing QR logics and practices.

The Role of Competency on The Effect of Training and Development System toward Job Productivity in The Human Resource Management Universal Corporation

“…Furthermore, the respondents submitted statements in the questionnaire which are elaborations of indicators of training and development system variables, job productivit y variables, and competency variables [36]. Data collection techniques used include field studies, literature studies, and observation studies [37]. This study uses quantitative analysis through the path analysis method which is intended to determine the magnitude of the effect of training and development system (X) toward job productivity (Y) through competence (Z) on employees in Human Resource Management Universal Corporation described in the research hypothesis analysis model the following: Based on table 4 above shows that the residuals of the two models produce a significance value of 0,824 and 0,793 respectively, both of which are significantly greater than the minimum significance value of 0,05.…”

Social enterprises in the Indian context: conceptualizing through qualitative lens

“…These are two shallow as they can harbour too few variables, do not put studied phenomena in their proper context, and sweep persona under the carpet." While the authors do not advocate such strong usage of language, they do appreciate these opinions that Zyphur and Pierides (2017) postulated in the Journal of Business Ethics and Gummesson (2006) did in Management Decision, which appreciate that the use of narratives (such as interview data) is now a rising trend in business research to advance theories in different areas, such as strategic management, management communication, organizational studies, entrepreneurship, institutional environment, and even marketing and sales (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2015). Moreover, social entrepreneurship cannot be detached from human emotions, experiences, and passion.…”

“…These are data which give us a strong understanding of the 'context' , with the personal experiences and opinions (which can be often mistaken as bias), emotions, passion, explanations, that brings us closer to an understanding of 'life and social relations' (Riessman 1993;Gummesson 2006;Eriksson and Kovalainen 2015). In fact, typical quantitative research approaches (which are number driven research rather than narrative driven) have been found to be divorced from an attention to purposes and their relations, and more inclined towards application of ready-made formulas (Zyphur and Pierides 2017). Gummesson (2006) opined: "Research in management disciplines, neither basic research nor applied research, can rely on mainstream quantitative techniques.…”

Can Quantitative Research Solve Social Problems? Pragmatism and the Ethics of Social Research

“…I was invited by the editors of this journal to comment on an article called "Is Quantitative Research Ethical? Tools for Ethically Practicing, Evaluating, and Using Quantitative Research" (Zyphur and Pierides 2017). The topic of the article is important and of great intrinsic interest to me, so I am pleased to offer this commentary.…”

“…In the next section, I briefly summarize the argument in Zyphur and Pierides (2017) and provide overall comments.…”