Empircal_Methods_in_Management_Study_Case.pptx

Assigment of a rewview analysis using LLM's

1. Assignment 1 363-0305-00L | Empirical Methods in Management 1 ETH Zurich | Department of Management, Technology, and Economics

2. University of Zurich | Reddit Experiment Core Problem(s) Deception without consent : Users believed they were talking to real people. Impersonation of sensitive identities (trauma survivors, counselors). Manipulative intent : Exploited personal data to influence opinions. Psychological risk due to sensitive topics (trauma, politics) Stakeholders / Parties Harmed Reddit user: Manipulated, loss of trust in platform Reddit platform: Legal/ethical liability, reputation harm. Research community: Public trust in academic research weakened . Alternative Approaches Personal Assessment ETH Zurich | Department of Management, Technology, and Economics Transparency & consent : Inform users or recruit volunteers Use simulations : Run experiments with consenting participants or synthetic forums Platform partnership : Collaborate with Reddit for ethical oversight No false identities : Avoid impersonating vulnerable groups Criticism was justified Researchers deceived users without consent which is a basic ethical violation. Pretending to be trauma survivors and counselors was especially harmful and disrespectful. They aimed to manipulate opinions on sensitive topics, not just observe 2

3. University of Harvard | Professor Case Core Problem(s) Research misconduct / data fabrication Altered databases to falsify results in multiple studies on honesty/ethics Core principles of academic integrity were violated System Failure Peer review missed red flags in her published work Institutional oversight (Harvard & collaborators) failed to detect issues earlier Trust-based research culture relied too heavily on reputation without robust verification Consequences Prevention ETH Zurich | Department of Management, Technology, and Economics Termination justified despite tenure because: Tenure protects academic freedom, not misconduct Evidence showed intentional, repeated falsification Misconduct damaged Harvard’s credibility and public trust Integrity of the academic record demanded strong action Stronger data audits before and after publication Mandatory data sharing & transparency to enable replication Independent integrity checks at institutional level Cultural shift : reward openness and reproducibility, not just flashy results 3