Social and ethical issues
The widespread use of information technology has raised a number of ethical issues for people. The following are some of the issues that relate specifically to
the collection of data.
the collection of data.
- Data needs to be free from bias. Bias means that the data is unfairly skewed or gives too much weight to a particular result. For example, if a survey about television habits was only completed by teenagers and the results were generalised to the entire population, it would have a bias. Several checks should be made to limit the impact of bias.
- The accuracy of the collected data is a vital ingredient of an information system. It depends on the source of the data and whether the data is entered correctly. The accuracy of data is often difficult to check in a reasonable time. It is often necessary to compare data from a number of different sources and determine which data is accurate. Data validation techniques used to check the entry of data include range checks, list checks, type checks and check digits.
- Copyright is the right to use, copy or control the work of authors and artists. It is against the law to infringe copyright. You are not allowed to use or copy the work of another person without their permission. If data is collected from the Internet, it is protected by copyright. Text and images obtained from a Web site should not be used without acknowledgement or permission from the owner.
- Privacy is the ability of an individual to control personal data. Data collected on individuals is not always accurate. Inaccuracies can be caused by mistakes in gathering or entering the data, by a mismatch of the data and the person, or by information being out-of-date. For example, a car is recorded as stolen, but is later recovered and returned to the owner. If the data has not been quickly updated, the legal owner runs the risk of being arrested as a car thief. What opportunities exist to check and change data if it is wrong? Physical privacy is the ability of an individual to avoid invasion of their personal time, space and property. Information technology increases the opportunities to invade physical privacy by such means as computer-generated phone calls, junk mail and electronic junk mail (spamming).
- Ergonomics refers to the relationship between people and their work environment. It is the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products and systems so that they fit the people who use them. The way a computer is used and the work environment can affect the body. Participants who enter large volumes of data into information systems need to be aware of ergonomic issues.