Today in class, we discussed ethics in PR, particularly in terms of research.
The class started off by going over the PRSA Code of Ethics. Then Ellen went over some basic principles of ethical research.
Some main points Ellen discussed:
-participants must be willing
-they can withdraw at any time
-they must understand what they're volunteering for
-info must remain confidential and anonymous (with extreme exceptions)
She also discussed what to do after said research was done. Sensitive information should be destroyed as soon as you're done with it and should remain confidential.
She also brought up an interesting scenario. What if the boss wants that information? Since the info is often the property of the company, you could end up in a sticky situation.
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I thought it was interesting that PR research isn't in the PRSSA Code of Ethics. I thought the basic principles of ethical research was really important to learn and should be in the Code of Ethics.
ReplyDeleteI, also, would swear that the PRSA code of ethics would contain something about ethical research. Not having it there, however, does not let a PR practitioner off the hook for any unprofessional conduct.
ReplyDelete"Do Onto Others..." is not a bad rule here.