Ethics Application: Social Media Impact on Retail Company Business

This document is a student's ethics application for a dissertation project examining the impact of social media on the business practices of a retail company. The application outlines the project's purpose, which is to determine the positive and negative effects of social media and identify methods for mitigating any negative impacts. The methodology involves both qualitative and quantitative techniques, including questionnaires administered to approximately 40 participants, supported by primary and secondary research methods. Key ethical considerations addressed include participant consent, confidentiality, anonymity, and data protection, with detailed plans for addressing potential risks to participants and the researcher, including health and safety measures. The application also includes details on recruitment methods, potential benefits for participants, and adherence to data protection guidelines, as well as a confirmation that the student will not travel outside the UK for research purposes. The student confirms that they have read and understood the relevant guidelines and will not disseminate the findings publicly.

Introduction
An ethics application should be submitted for review and approval by anyone conducting
research at, or under the auspices of, the that involves human beings, animals or personal
data relating to human beings.
The completion of this form should not be seen as an end in itself but as a vehicle to ensure that
you have gone through a process of considering the ethical implications of your research in detail
and that you are able to communicate this clearly.
Please note that you should NOT begin your project or start any data collection until your
ethics application has been given final approval by your dissertation supervisorand it is
confirmed that all conditions have been met.
If you have any queries whilst completing this form, please get in contact with your dissertation
supervisor.
SECTION 1: PERSONAL DETAILS & DECLARATION
Please complete the header with your name and Department
Name:
Student number:
UR email address:
Programme of Study:
Supervisor:
STUDENT’S SIGNATURE
I confirm that this submission accords with the University Code of Conduct and that
all information supplied on this form is correct
Student’s Signature:
Please use an electronic signature or type your name
Date:
SECTION 1b: SUPERVISOR’S APPROVAL
Dissertation supervisors, please:
 scrutinise the Ethics Application and all participant-facing documentation
 suggest and check any changes which need making before your final approval
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Please tick the box to confirm that you have approved the application as ethically sound
and the participant-facing documentation as appropriate.
SUPERVISOR’S SIGNATURE
Signature:
Please use an electronic signature or type your name
Print name:
Date:
SECTION 2: PROJECT DETAILS
Title of project:
Impact of social media on the business practices of Retail Company.
(Please include name of project on participant documentation if
different)
Proposed start date (start
date of actual data
collection):
Please note that
supervisor’s approval can
take some time. Please
submit applications in a
timely manner. Reasons
should be given for late or
retrospective
submissions.
Duration:
2.1. Purpose of the proposed investigation (300 words maximum)
This section should include the material which concisely outlines the rationale for the project, i.e.
why this study needs to be done. This should be done in a way that is both accessible and
scholarly, i.e. have proper cited sources.
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The purpose of this proposed investigation is to determine positive and negative impact of social
media on the business practices of retail company. Moreover, for identifying the ways through which
negative impact of social media may be resolve. This will help researcher to accumulate information
in relation to understand the concept of social media. In addition to this, it is also helpful in
collecting data relating methods that a firm can opt for solving problems or negative effects of social
media upon its business functions and operations as well. Apart from this, respective research is
performed with assistance of primary as well as secondary methods. In addition to this, the primary
purpose of respective project on social media is that, it is considered to be one of the essential tool at
present business environment. This also assists in evaluating how business can utilise social media
that helps into their growth at targeted market area.
2.2. Outline of the project(300 words maximum)
This section should include the details of the methods i.e. what will be done and how. Please start
by giving a brief summary (one paragraph) including how many participants there are likely to be,
where the research will take place and an indication of how long participation will take for each
section (interviews, questionnaires etc.) and in total.
For this project, in about 40 participants, it is suitable as effective information can be accumulated
appropriately and also helpful in saving time. In addition to this, the questionnaires are prepared in
order to know about their responses related to given questions.
Along with this, in order to perform this research both qualitative as well as quantitative techniques
are used as this assist them to accumulate effectively reliable and accurate information in respect of
given topic that is Impact of social media on the business practices of retail company. Also, for this
project both primary and secondary methods are applied by assistance of questionnaires and also
using various sites, books, journals and many more. Along with this, primary research is performed
through collecting information for executive survey where questionnaires is being executed through
investigator to accumulate information. Also, secondary research is performed together data form
articles in published and non published way, several websites, journals and others.
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You should attach all the research instruments you are planning to use in your research, e.g.
interview questionnaire, online questionnaire template, etc. These should be checked by your
supervisor prior to Ethics application approval.
Please tick the boxes to confirm that
1) you have attached all research instruments you intend to use
2) you will notify your supervisor of any major changes
2.3. Ethical issues raised by the project and how these will be addressed(500 words
maximum)
Ethical issues raised by the project and how these will be addressed:
Points that should be considered include:
 Participants and consent
 Confidentiality and anonymity
 Right to withdrawal
 Deception
 Permissions from organisations involved
 Whether any vulnerable populations are involved (including under 18s) (also see Section 6)
This section should have some comment and not left blank.
Please refer to the Ethics Guidelines for more information.
The ethical issues raised through the project are participants and consent because various
respondents are can get hurt through some kind of questions asked through researcher. As most of
the ethical values are implicated through individual’s participants into investigation are beneficence,
mitigating, and faith into participant’s relationship. So, they should assure that not such types of
questions are involved. In respect of consent, this implied that agreement to participate is voluntary,
free from coercion as well as undue influences. For instance, researcher has to provide written
consent to all participants that all information will be provided to them and that should not be shared
to anyone.
Along with this, one of the other ethical issues is confidentiality and anonymity as researcher also
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assures that that through maintaining confidentiality of its data as well as information accumulated
for intent of attaining effective answer. Because of lacking confidentiality and anonymity the
information and personal information of the individuals and project can be shared to others which
outcomes in unethical practices. So, researcher should assure that they comply overall guidelines
upon protection of sensitive information like name of the participants, data and many more.
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SECTION 3: RESEARCH INVOLVING PARTICIPANTS
 You should download the Participant Consent Form template and amend as required (you
can also find it at the end of this document).
 You should also attach any other information to be given to participants.
 You should consider carefully what information you provide to participants, e.g. scope of
study, number of participants, duration of study, risks/benefits of the project. It is
recommended that the participant has two copies of the consent form so they can retain one
for information.
 If images or anything else which might allow the identification of participants is to be publicly
accessible (e.g. on the web), further written consent must be secured. A separate section
regarding this should be included on the participant consent form.
3.1. Give details of 1) the method of recruitment and 2) potential benefits or
incentives to participants if any
Please mention whether there will be any financial benefits and give details of amounts involved.
(NB: Please remember that written permission – or in some cases ethics approval – will have to be
sought from any organisations where recruitment is carried out or posters placed (e.g. if you recruit
in GP’s surgeries you may require NHS approval)
1) Internal method
2) Monetary incentives.
Please tick the box to confirm that you have attached written permission from any organisations
where recruitment is carried out or posters placed
3.2. Under18s and Vulnerable Participants – DBS
Students are NOT advised to carry any research that involves participants who are aged
under 18 or considered to be vulnerable.
Please tick the box to confirm that you understand that you should not carry out any research
involving participants who are aged under 18 or considered to be vulnerable
Please note that you will need to apply for DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance if you
decide to conduct research that involves participants who are aged under 18 or considered to be
vulnerable. Please seek advice from your supervisor.
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SECTION 4: HEALTH AND SAFETY
4.1. Please give a brief overview of the main risks involved in the project and what
will be done to mitigate them
Health & safety issues raised by the project, including any risks to participants and/or researcher
and sole working. Think of hazards, who can be harmed, how can someone be harmed, number of
people affected, what are the consequences, what are the existing or possible control measures.
You should clearly indicate how these H&S issues will be addressed. This section should have
some comment and not left blank.
 Please discuss these with your Supervisor
Risks and mitigation:
1) Participant body stress or impact as they have to handle various things manually which may
cause stress to muscles. Also, in appropriate configured workplace and extra work hours.
2) Risk of participant’s psychological trauma.
3) Risk of physical or psychological harm to others.
4.2. Research outside the UK
Students are NOT advised to carry out any travel to conduct research outside the UK.
If your dissertation will focus on a country outside the UK and employ qualitative research methods
(e.g. interviews), you are advised to use technology to collect your data, e.g. Skype or WhatsApp.
Please tick the box to confirm that you understand that you should not carry out any travel to
conduct research outside the UK
If you decide to travel outside the UK (including your home country or the country in which you
reside), please note that you will need to:
1) refer to the relevant section of the Ethics Guidelines
2) complete the Overseas Background Information form
3) consultwith the Health &Safety office
4) adhere to the University’s Travel Safety Advice
5) submit an ATO (Authority to Travel Overseas) and ensure that travel assistance and medical
cover is in place.
Please seek advice from your supervisor.
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SECTION 5: PUBLICATION AND IMPACT OF RESEARCH
The research you are conducting should only be for undergraduate dissertation purposes. You
should not seek to publicly disseminate your research findings in any other way.
Please tick the box to confirm that you have read and understood the above
SECTION 6: DATA PROTECTION
Before completing this section of the form, you should read the Data Protection and Storage
Guidance for Researchers. It is the responsibility of researchers to ensure that they comply with the
University’s policies and procedures regarding data protection.
Please confirm that you have read the Data Protection and Storage Guidance for Researchers,
including dissertation students
All research data must also be processed in line with the University’s IT Policy, which states,
“You must not, unless exempted through the University’s ethics procedures, create, download,
store or transmit unlawful material, or material that is indecent, offensive, threatening or
discriminatory or extremist. Following such approval, the University of Roehampton has
procedures to enable staff and students to access and store downloaded research materials
and data into a specially provisioned university secure safe storage area.”
6.1.Personal data processing
1. Will the research project involve collecting, storing or processing personal data relating to
research participants? ‘Personal data’ is defined as, “Any information relating to an identified or
identifiable person (a ‘data subject) or from which a person can be identified either directly or
indirectly.” Examples of personal data include:
 Name
 Age
 Address
 Job title
YES NO N/A (no human participants)
If yes, other than signed consent forms, please give details of the types of personal data to be
collected/ stored/ processed as part of the research project.
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2. Will the research project involve collecting, storing or processing special categories of personal
data or criminal convictions relating to research participants?
Special categories of personal data include the following: Racial or ethnic origin, Political opinions,
Religious or philosophical beliefs, Trade union membership, Health, Sex life, Sexual orientation,
Biometric data, Genetic data, Criminal convictions data (More information can be found in the
Guidance, section 7)
YES NO
If yes please give details
Students are expected to anonymise personal data, or where this would be impractical they are
expected to use pseudonymisation as standard practice (see Section 16 of the Guidance).
3. Will the data you collect be Anonymised Pseudonymised Neither
(Please see the Guidance for definitions)
If anonymised or pseudonymised, please explain how exactly you willanonymise/pseudonymise
personal data?
As through anonymised information is unrecognised, even to the owner of information. This cannot
be re-detrmined through referring to participants identification or through processing this together
with other data that is available or likely to be available.
If neither please give details:
Please note: If your participants do not wish to remain anonymous and thus waive their right to
anonymity you must obtain their written consent – perhaps by adding a tick box to the consent form.
Even in cases where anonymity has been waived, you must still ensure compliance with all relevant
data protection policies and legislation.
6.2. Information provided to research participants
All research participants should be provided with information about how their personal data will be
used. The Participant Consent Form templatehas been designed to include the necessary
information where personal data is collected directly from a research participant.
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1. Will the Participant Consent form and Data Privacy Notice be handed out as a hard copy?
(You will also find the templates at the end of this document)
YES NO
2. If no, please explain why not.
3. If your research is being conducted in any other language than English, will the Participant
Consent form and Data Privacy Notice be translated into the native language?
YES NO
4. If no, please explain why not.
6.3. Personal data transfers BY Roehampton students
Students should NOT transfer personal data to any party or organisation outside of the
University.
Please tick the box to confirm that you will NOT transfer personal data to any party or organisation
outside of the University
6.4. Record retention
1. Will the research data be stored and destroyed in line with the University’s Record Retention
Schedule (this states that data subject consent forms for trials and studies should be stored for 6
years after the completion of the project and that research data produced through the life of the
project (including audio files) should be stored for 10 years after the completion of the project.
Anonymised data can be kept indefinitely)?
YES NO
2. If no, please explain why.
6.5. Data storage and security
1. Will you be storing your research data using University IT facilities (see Section 17 of the
Guidance)?
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YES NO
2. If no, please explain why and give details of the storage medium you intend to use. Please tick
the box to confirm that data will be backed up at Roehampton .
3. Please give details of how and where data will be stored and how they will be kept secure. Please
tick the box to confirm that all electronic data will be password protected, and also encrypted if on
personal devices .
4. If using an online questionnaire/ survey, please give details of the survey platform, the
organisation hosting it and data protection implications associated with using an online survey.
The questionnaire is sent to individual’s mail id.
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PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM
Title of research project:
Brief description of research project:
This should include:
What participation involves
Where it will take place
How long it will take
How many participants there are likely to be (if appropriate)
How long any personal data will be kept for
Whether personal data will be kept indefinitely in an anonymised form
It should state that research findings will NOT be disseminated
It should state that no data will be shared with third parties
Student contact details: Name
Department
University Address
Email
Consent statement:
I agree to take part in this research, and am aware that I am free to withdraw
at any point without giving a reason by contacting Name of Student.
I understand that if I do withdraw, my data may not be erased but will only be
used in an anonymised form as part of an aggregated dataset. I understand
that the personal data collected from me during the course of the project will
be used for undergraduate dissertation purposes.
By signing this form you are confirming that you have been informed about
and understand the University’s Data Privacy Notice for Research
Participants.
The information you have provided will be treated in confidence by the student
and your identity will be protected in the publication of any findings. The
purpose of the research may change over time, and your data may be re-used
for research projects by the University in the future. If this is the case, you will
normally be provided with additional information about the new project.
Name ………………………………….
Signature ………………………………
Date ……………………………………
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