Ethical Issues

Ethical issues associated with research are defined as issues that concern morals or the principles of morality. Ethics are concerned with the definition of right and wrong, together with implying or conveying moral blessing in accordance with principles of conduct that are thought correct, especially those morals or standards of a given profession or group (Gustafson and Woodworth, 2014)

Ethical issues are taken into serious account in order to complete the research to ensure that it conforms with the moral criteria of academic researchers and also to Saudi Arabian ethical considerations. The researcher has also asked for official consent from school principals to be able to access the selected universities. Additionally, issues of ethics relate to the correct nature within a deal, which can imply a moral distinction that functions according to the principles of conduct that are defined as being correct, especially through those of a stated profession or relevant group. A variety of reasons exists as to why it is necessary to follow the defined normal rules of ethics within the process of research. Initially, the research’s overall

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of knowledge, truth, and error emission. For instance, truthfulness and the avoidance of error are promoted by data research that prohibits fabrications, falsifications, or misrepresentations of data within research. Secondly, ethical standards promote the values that are essential to the promotion of collaborative work through ethical standards, which come from accountability, fairness, and mutual respect, as research often incorporates a vast amount of cooperation, together with coordination through varied individuals in a variety of fields and professions. For instance, a great deal of rules in relation to ethics within research are structured in order to maintain the interests of intellectual property, which stem from collaboration support, writing rules, copyrights and contracts of patents, policies of data distribution policies, as well as the rules of privacy in equality reviews. Thirdly, a variety of ethical patterns assist in ensuring that research may be undertaken to be publicly accountable (Resnik & David, 2011, p. 57).

The purpose of defined ethics within research comes from the message to undertake tasks correctly and avoid any form of harm, as the application of suitable ethical attitudes implement the capability to reduce or totally halt the process of damage (Ritchie et al., 2013). Additionally, the researcher of the current study understands that a fundamental part of the research stems from human participant protection, as human rights violations that are made under the guise of scientific research need to be viewed as functioning as an anachronistic in the modern world. Indeed, ethical problems have a natural disposition within qualitative research studies to be subtle and contrasting in comparison to problems in quantitative research (Ritchie et al., 2013).

The researcher devised a consent form for the current study for each participant to sign, which demonstrated that each respondent provides their consent through a knowledgeable, voluntary, and rational nature, whilst they are capable of making informed decisions in order to participate in voluntary research. However, this is only relevant when the participants possess information in relation to all the potential positive and negative possibilities that the research could yield.

Specific research concerns were initially detailed and described following the educational institutes authorisation, in relation to objectives, access and time that also involved the permission for the participants by the principles and educators. One

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particular quality that is shown by the researcher derives from flexibility in their action while discussing relative concerns involved within the study. For example, different initiative involve: contributors being guaranteed the possibility for their withdrawal from the investigation in any moment that is deemed a requirement; the worries and concerns being handled by a qualified system; and all accessibility and time manners being planned according to the wishes of a university, which are intended to create respect and confidence, together with maintaining a positive and productive relationship that will be beneficial for universities. Overall, this is conducted with adequate awareness of the research instrument’s use, as the researcher

guarantees that no potential discrimination or bias would be caused by the detailed information from the methodology.

Data collection and overall maintenance is always carefully and securely stored

throughout the research study’s duration, as anonymity and confidentiality is

imperative, which invariably enhances the authentic nature of the data that functions through the strict accordance of the ‘Data Protection Act’. The data that is initially collected prior to analysis is termed “primary data”, as it originates directly from the source itself. What is more, the questionnaire was collected following completion and viewed only by the researcher, which was structured appropriately to the research, and provided through a foundation of scientific research that was conducted in the field, and duly conducted in an appropriate manner. Hence, this eliminated the chances of responses being altered, or being misused by an additional party. All of the contributors were Saudi Arabian and therefore spoke the Arabic language. To remain appropriate for ''meaning-making'' and to reduce the potential failure to communicate, the questionnaire was translated and distributed in Arabic. Also, the questionnaire was written and prepared using Microsoft Word, which enables the researcher to avoid the need to learn new skills. Questions regarding the determinants of turnover intention were offered via comprehensive possible replies to which contributors can choose yes or no. Finally, many open questions were placed into the overall design.

All research projects have ethical issues that concern recruitment, volunteering, participants, and the right to withdraw; all of which are main ethical considerations that have been kept in mind during this research process (Anderson, 2009).

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The researcher is required to behave appropriately in relation to the rights of anyone who partakes in the research and thus becomes the subject of the work, or are consequently affected by it, in order to make the research valid (Saunders et al., 2009). Therefore, it can be seen that this ethical practice is vital for social researchers.

Furthermore, “moral principles, norms or standards of behavior guide moral choices about our behavior and our relationships with others” (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 184). Moreover, when one considers what constitutes an ethical approach to research, there are two separate principle labels that emphasise such an approach. Firstly, the protection of the interests of all participants is paramount, and secondly that there should be no deterioration in the form of the individuals, from whom data are gathered, between the commencement and the ending of the study (Anderson, 2009). The researcher guaranteed that the details and information from the methodology would not cause any possible discrimination or bias, as data collection and storage were conducted in strict accordance with the ‘Data Protection Act’. With regards to

anonymity and confidentiality, data were carefully and securely stored for the duration of the research, and this increased the authenticity of the data that has been collected, which is noted as collected data to be of a primary nature, which means that it comes directly from a source. Furthermore, the questionnaire had been designed appropriately, based on the scientific research conducted in the field, and was distributed according to acceptable means.