To consider falsifying survey data?

[whitecremeegg]

I'm doing distance learning masters research. For my particular topic, participants for my research cannot be just anyone, it needs to be a particular very small 'group' of people - trying to be vague so as not to be outing.

I can't change my topic, it's work related and work are sponsoring me.

However, there are two 'gatekeeper' organisations with databases containing the details of these participants. I need access to these databases to get their contact details to survey them.

One of the gatekeepers is my current organisation, who despite sponsoring me, refuse to let me use the database. I have regular access to the database as an employee but not as a student.

The other organisation has also refused.

I'm not sure what the best option is now. I cannot change my topic or participant group. I can't go into more detail as to why without being outing. My org is sponsoring about 20 employees to do this course but I am the only one from my department so unlike the rest of the employees I can't change my topic as they have more variety in their roles than I do.

It is not a subject that is likely to cause harm - it's not the NHS, children, criminal subject or anything like that.

There are only 3 options that I can forsee:

1. Use the database anyway but lie as to how I got the participants (say it was social media or something)

1. Use social media but end up with little or even no participants. I am connected to some of the participants via my social media channels but this is only like 10 out of 300 that I'd like to survey. Participants could also NOT be from my target group

1. Falsify survey responses to make it look like I got lots of responses from social media - but again there's still the issue of social media not giving me the 'right' participants. How likely is it that universities can prove surveymonkey entries are fake?

What would you do in my position? I really would like to do things 'properly' but at this rate the research is going to be pretty crap.

I thought this course would be easy and that my organisation would be more helpful. but they are very much of the "we are paying your fees, you must do this particular topic, get on with it'.

Please don't flame me. I know it's an ethical issue but I'm genuinely stuck. I did speak to my supervisor (not about my falsifying idea) and she's been rather unhelpful. She says just to go down the social media route and keeps saying that she's not supposed to help me too much and similar to my employer, it's very much 'get on with it'.

Any help appreciated

"Don't falsify data. It's completely unethical and could land you in serious trouble with the uni and work."

I can confirm this. I did an undergraduate degree with a research component and we were told a warning story of someone who made vague comments to coursemates that he'd tweaked some of his data. The university found out and came this close to kicking him off the course and removing his eligibility to practice in the future (professional course, so unis had to certify students were fit to practice from an ethical point of view). Fortunately for him, this all ground to a halt when they found out he hadn't actually done anything untoward - he had massively overstated what he had done to the data.

I really don’t understand the problem.

You can’t get access to a database so can’t do large scale quantitative research. Fine. Redesign it. Do focus groups / interviews / smaller surveys / different target groups etc. Thousands of people have done dissertations without large surveys.

Your tutor has given you the right advice. Take it.

To access a private database you will need permission (though ACTUALLY some study designs may include participation rates from different methods as an outcome and if one of the outcomes is "this type of organisation will rarely give permission and this type readily gives permission" that is a helpful research result).
To access public information (social media profiles on e.g. LinkedIn that are readily searchable, a website with email addresses) then you just need to write that you are using publicly available information.

(my point in brackets was, that it is daft to ask for permission as part of your ethics as your whole study aim could be to determine which organisations give permission and which don't, ALSO it is unethical to ask someone to approach people for participation in a study that has not yet been given ethics approval).

No, never ever make up data. Either get help to get data or change your group. There is no other way I’m afraid.

Can you make a list of participants (either from your memory or the publicly available list from the alternative association) and find their contact details via internet/ social media?

Are you trying to survey individuals or organisations?

If the email addresses are available publicly I'm not sure that you need written permission to use the list, unless it says so on the website, or unless it's a rule of your ethics committee? If you've already been told no though that sounds less ethical than if you hadn't asked!

But can you compile a list "from memory" (from their website) and find the contacts details yourself?

You can't target people in a certain group by email either. It's not fair. Say I have a prolapse, and I suddenly get an email from a student asking do I want to participate in a prolapse study. I'm going to be pretty cross that my email was shared with a 'stranger'.
Go on Facebook, also search associations who deal with the issue that your participants need to have.
If you told us what the subject matter is somebody here might actually be able to find you some participants or point in the direction of some.

You can't target people in a certain group by email either.
If your email was in a public database though?
Suppose there is a prolapse support group and you head a local group, your email is available on the support group's web page.
That's hardly sharing with a stranger.

I have good news, one of the organisations has relented and given me permission - the one with the publicly available database. I think me getting back to them and questioning the fact it is public got them thinking. So I am going to submit my ethics application stating this information is publicly available but consent was still sought, and given by the 'gatekeeper'.

I'm also trying to re-negotiate with the other organisation but at least I now have a larger sample and hopefully will get a satisfactory number of responses.

Phew! Glad to hear this.