Businesses that make data collection their goal face many challenges. These challenges represent obstacles that cannot be crossed without appropriate ethical and legal solutions. Not all data is available for public use. Some data is sensitive and cannot be passed on or used. Before that, it was difficult to access. For example, medical device companies rely on patient data and previous medical diagnoses.
In this paper, I will discuss the challenges of data collection and the available solutions.
The Main Challenges of Data Collection and their Solutions:
Data collection has several challenges, and these challenges require ethical solutions. As follows
Customer Approval: Does the customer have to agree to collect and store his/her data, or will this be in the user agreement? Some companies rely on a user agreement with many pages the customer needs to read. This is to put between the lines in an unethical way that the customer tacitly agrees to share his/her data. They must ask the customer directly (Roberts, 2007).
Transparency: Are the data collection, storage, and use processes available for regulators to inspect? Data collection operations must be subject to regulatory, legal, and ethical accountability (Maher et al., 2019).
Methods of Data Collection: is it a direct and apparent means or in vague ways that the user does not know? Data collection methods must be clear to customers and not be fraudulent (Cote, 2021).
Ways to Store Data: Is the data protected against tampering by others, or is it stored on publicly available sources? Some people are surprised by publishing their data online without prior permission, which is illegal and utterly unethical (Njhc, 2022).
Use of Data: Is the data used for the benefit of the customer or for the benefit of another third party? The customer must be fully aware of the methods of using his/her data and who will use it (Cote, 2021).
Data Collection Sources: Are they reliable, valid, or based on speculation and expectations? Some companies refute customer data and add speculation to it without impartiality, which is morally unacceptable (Njhc, 2022).
Data Quality: What data will be collected, and is it authorized to be collected? The data must be consistent, and the reason for its collection must be clear (Njhc, 2022).
Data Control: Is the customer him/herself or the company that collected the data that controls the data? The customer must be the first and last user data controller (Cote, 2021).
Conclusion
According to (Hammer, 2017)., Ethical business practice requires companies to ask customers what data they collect about them and whether they want to share it; customers can even revoke the initial approval and request that their data be deleted. Also, this data should not cause any psychological or physical harm to customers, and if their data is going to cause it they should be informed before moving forward, finally, work on protecting customer data against any breaches or publishing them without their consent.
References
Cote, C. (2021). 5 PRINCIPLES OF DATA ETHICS FOR BUSINESS
https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/data-ethics
Hammer, M. J. (2017, March). Ethical Considerations for Data Collection Using Surveys. In Oncology Nursing Forum (Vol. 44, No. 2).
Roberts, C. (2007). Mixing modes of data collection in surveys: A methodological review.
Maher, N. A., Senders, J. T., Hulsbergen, A. F., Lamba, N., Parker, M., Onnela, J. P., ... & Broekman, M. L. (2019). Passive data collection and use in
Healthcare: A systematic review of ethical issues. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 129, 242-247.
Njhc. (2022). Ethical Considerations in Data Collection
https://www.njhealthmatters.org/content/sites/njhc/Ethical_Considerations_in_Data_Collection.pdf