Inquiring Minds want to know - Case Study Example

The information being sought touches on the private lives of the individuals participating in the study and this is a great challenge to the study as this is likely to raise many ethical issues. In the modern information age, protecting the personal and private information of an individual is extremely important. Yet, as is seen in this case, there are a number of issues which must be looked at in order to ensure that the privacy of the individual is well protected. Confidentiality Confidentiality refers to the fact that the information of the individuals will not be revealed to other people.

It also loosely refers to the fact that the information collected for one purpose will not be used for other purposes. This is extremely important in order to help in protecting the privacy as well as other interests of the individual. In this particular study, there is the risk of the confidentiality of the individuals in at least two ways. First, the data used in the background research is data that was collected many years ago and for different purposes. For instance, according to Schindler (2011), data from the early 90s which was collected using reader service cards was used to determine how the technology had affected the way the people were using information.

This may be a violation to confidentiality of the people to whom this information belongs. Secondly, the information being collected through the questionnaires may also bring about the issue of confidentiality if it is used in the wrong way and this must be looked at in a critical way. Confidentiality is very important and any research carrying out a research where individuals are involved will have to only assure the participants that their confidentiality will be protected but also do also everything that they can in order to guarantee that the confidentiality of the study will be guaranteed.

In this case, there are a number of issues which must be looked at in order to protect the participants. Informed consent Informed consent refers to the fact that the participants of the study are clearly informed about the study, its purposes and how the information they will provide will be used. It also refers to the fact that the participants have wilfully agreed to participate in the study even after knowing exactly what the study will be used for. In this particular study, it is necessary for the participants to know exactly how the data they are providing will be used and how this will affect them.

After this, they will need to give their informed consent and agree to participate in the study. This is especially important with regard to the privacy of the participants especially due to the fact that the individuals will be providing information which is quite personal with regard to their private life or their professional life. In this regard, it will be necessary for the person carrying this study to make sure that apart from guaranteeing confidentiality of the study, they will also help the participants to understand clearly what the study is about and that the participants will willingly agree to participate in the study.

Protecting the interests of the participants This has to do with the first three issues discussed above, that is, privacy, informed consent, and confidentiality which are all geared towards protecting the inte