Faculty of Business Research Ethics Application Form - Social Media

This document is a research ethics application form submitted by a student at the University of Northampton's Faculty of Business and Law. The project aims to evaluate the role of social media on organizational performance. The form details the research procedures, including participant recruitment (55 employees via questionnaire), informed consent, data collection methods, and the research's location (Australia). The form addresses ethical considerations, such as participant voluntariness, consent, withdrawal rights, data confidentiality, and potential risks. The student outlines the study's objectives: to comprehend social media and organizational performance concepts, assess social media's role, and suggest improvements. The application also includes a consent form for participants, ensuring they understand the research and their rights. The assignment adheres to the university's guidelines and includes a marking rubric outlining the assessment criteria, emphasizing report writing style, structure, content, and academic conventions. The document provides a comprehensive overview of the research project's ethical considerations and methodological approach.

Faculty of Business and Law
Postgraduate Taught Research Ethics Application Form
Title of Project
Role of social media on the
organizational performance
Name of Researcher
SECTION A
YES NO N/A
1
Will you describe the main research procedure
to
participants in advance, so that they are
informed what to ✓
expect?
2
Will you tell participants that their participation
is ✓
Voluntary?
3 Will you obtain consent from participants? ✓
4
If the research is observational, will you ask
participants
for their consent to being observed. ✓
5
Will you tell participants that they may withdraw
from the
research at any time and for any reason? ✓
6
With questionnaires/interviews, will you give
participants
the option of omitting questions they do not
want to ✓
answer?
7
Will you describe the main research procedure
to
participants in advance, so that they are
informed what to ✓
expect?
If you have ticked No to any of questions 1-7, then your
project is NOT low risk
8 Will your project involve deliberately misleading
participants in any way? ✓
9
Is there any realistic risk of any participants
experiencing
either physical or psychological distress or
discomfort? ✓
10
Will it be possible to link identities or trace
information ✓
back to individual participants in any way?
11 Will the study involve discussion of sensitive ✓

topics (e.g.
sexual activity, drug use, ethnicity, political
behaviour,
potentially illegal activities)?
12
Will financial inducements (other than
reasonable ✓
expenses, compensation for time or a lottery /
draw
ticket) be offered to participants?

If you have ticked Yes to questions 8-12, then your project is NOT low
risk
YES NO N/A
13 Does your project involve work with animals?
14 Do participants fall into any of the following special groups?
If they do, please outline on page 2 how you will take account of their
needs.
Note that you may also need to obtain satisfactory
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance
YES NO N/A
a) School Children?
b) People with learning or communication difficulties
c) Patients
d) People in custody
e) People engaged in illegal activities (e.g.
drug-taking)
SECTION B
Please provide full details of your project below
(if insufficient detail is provided and the precise nature of the study
is not clear your supervisor will NOT approve the project and your
form will be returned)
State the aims and objectives of this research:
The main aim of this study is to evaluate the role of social media on the organizational
performance. There are certain research objectives that are accomplished by the researcher to
meet their aim:
 To comprehend the meaning and concept of social media and organizational performance
 To evaluate the role of social media on the organizational performance
 To recommend the methods to improve the practices of social media in organization
performance
How will participants be recruited? Who will they be (i.e. number, age,
and gender?):
For conducting a survey through a questionnaire, the researcher has selected 55 employees from
the different area. Both male and female were considered by the investigator.
Details of the informed consent process (If required, use the Informed
Consent and
Participant Information Sheet templates provided and submit with this
form):
Description of the method (please submit your research instrument
(survey questionnaire, interview questions that you will be using to
collect data with this form if relevant): N/A
Where will this research be conducted?
This research will be conducted in Australia.

What steps have been taken or will be taken to ensure appropriate
permissions are obtained? (N.B. provide a copy of correspondence i.e.
letter, emails granting you permission must be submitted with your
ethics submission):
Name (Caps) Signature of Student Date:
This project has been
approved in its current form
declined and will need to be revised and
resubmitted The following required revisions are
stipulated.
Print Name Signature Date:
Supervisor:
or
Module Leader: