Doyle, Elaine; Frecknall Hughes, Jane and Summers, Barbara
(2009).
Research methods in taxation ethics: developing the Defining Issues Test (DIT) for a tax specific scenario.
Journal of Business Ethics, 88(1)
pp. 35–52.
(
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Abstract
This paper reports on the development of a research instrument designed to explore ethical reasoning in a tax context. This research instrument is a version of the Defining Issues Test (DIT) originally developed by Rest [1979a, Development in Judging Moral Issues (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN); 1979b, Defining Issues Test (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN)], but adapted to focus specifically on the environment encountered by tax practitioners. The paper explores reasons for developing a context- (and profession-) specific test, and details the manner in which this was undertaken. The study on which it is based aims to compare the reasoning of tax practitioners in the tax-specific context and in the general social context covered by the original DIT, and to compare this with the reasoning of non-specialists in these two contexts. The paper therefore also considers the issues that arise when using such tests to compare reasoning in different domains or to compare groups. The focus on instrument development to measure ethical reasoning in a specific domain will contribute to the literature on research methods in the area of the DIT and will facilitate cross-study comparisons.
| Item Type: |
Journal Article
|
| Copyright Holders: |
2009 Springer |
| ISSN: |
1573-0697 |
| Extra Information: |
From the issue entitled "Special Issue on Professional Ethics in Business Social Life - The EBEN 21st Annual Conference in Antalya / Edited by Mahmut Arslan and Alejo José G. Sison" |
| Keywords: |
Defining Issues Test; context-specific scenario; ethical reasoning; research methods; tax practitioners |
| Academic Unit/Department: |
Open University Business School |
| Item ID: |
25039 |
| Depositing User: |
Catherine Playle
|
| Date Deposited: |
01 Dec 2010 22:51 |
| Last Modified: |
23 Oct 2012 14:34 |
| URI: |
http://oro.open.ac.uk/id/eprint/25039 |
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