The Peaceful Coexistence of Ethics and Quantitative Research
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COMMENTARY
The Peaceful Coexistence of Ethics and Quantitative Research Jeffrey R. Edwards1 Received: 17 May 2018 / Accepted: 23 May 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract This essay concerns the extent to which quantitative research (QR) in management and organizational studies is divorced from ethics, as alleged in a recent JBE editorial by Zyphur and Pierides (2017). After carefully examining the criticisms set forth by Zyphur and Pierides and the merits of the alternative they propose, I conclude that the problems with QR and the researchers who conduct it are arguably much less extreme that Zyphur and Pierides claim. This conclusion is informed by a sampling of QR studies recently published in management journals, which could be further corroborated by a more thor‑ ough review and evaluation of QR studies using principles drawn from the ethics literature. I believe this assessment would indicate that, despite room for improvement, QR and ethics can and do peacefully coexist, and quantitative researchers are largely aware of the problems and opportunities associated with integrating their work with ethics. Keywords Quantitative research · Ethics · Research methods Destiny guides our fortunes more favorably than we could have expected. Look there, Sancho Panza, my friend, and see those thirty or so wild giants, with whom I intend to do battle and kill each and all of them […]. “What giants?” asked Sancho Panza. The ones you can see over there,” answered his master, “with the huge arms, some of which are very nearly two leagues long.. Now look, your grace,” said Sancho, “what you see over there aren’t giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails that go around in the wind and turn the millstone.. Obviously,” replied Don Quixote, “you don’t know much about adventures.. —Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote.
* Jeffrey R. Edwards [email protected] 1
Kenan‑Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 3490, Chapel Hill, NC 27599‑3490, USA
Introduction In management and organizational research, most empiri‑ cal studies rely on quantitative research (QR). QR can be defined as a mode of inquiry in which observations are translated into numerical quantities which are subjected to various forms of statistical analysis, ranging from descrip‑ tions of raw data to multivariate techniques such as multiple regression, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Results of such analyses are typically used to draw infer‑ ences about important aspects of some population of inter‑ est, such as parameters that represent relationships among theoretical constructs or effect sizes of empirical and practi‑ cal importance. QR regularly comes under scrutiny, as well it should. Sta‑ tistical methods have steadily increased in sophistication, as evidenced by advancements from simple t tests and correla‑ tions to the analysis of variance, multiple regression, path analysis, and structural equation modeling and multilevel analyses. Estimation techniques assoc
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