Ethics in Public Relations

Today in my Strategic Communications Research class, we discussed ethics in the field of Public Relations.

To be honest, this all seems like a bit of a no brain-er to me. You are supposed to be working to help not only your company and your client, but, above all, the public.

We also discussed conducting ethical research. The main focus became the point of making sure you protect the participants of studies at any and all cost. It is the duty of those who are conducting that research to make sure participants remain safe during the study and anonymous after the study.

I know that if I were a participant in a study, I would want to remain "in the shadows" so to speak. It becomes especially important when you are dealing with a study regarding a place someone works, or frequents because of the ramifications it could have on that individual if anyone were to find out the results of the study.

Oddly enough, with everything that is listed in the PRSA Code of Ethics as well as the IABC Code of Ethics, research is not one of the topics covered.

Perhaps the code of ethics for both organizations should be redone to include research provisions. It seems like common sense, but then again, doesn't everything in the codes of ethics?