NAME: ALVIN RAJ A/L SANTHANADASS

NO.MATRIC : P20191000989

ETHICS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Ethics is a branch of philosophical knowledge with morality concept as its core. According to
Velasques & Rostankowski (1985), ethics can be defined as a systematic research on the
beliefs and considerations of what is morally right or morally wrong. Ethics is a branch of
research that strives to explain the moral and unethical conducts of a researcher during his or
her research. There are eight principles of ethics in research, the first being participant
protection during research where respondents who took part must be protected from any
negative effects, be it physically or mentally. Second, research participant confidentiality,
where participant information must be protected from being disclosed to the public, unless
they have provided written consent for the researcher to do so. As an example, in a research
survey, the name of the respondent does not need to be disclosed. Third, the power to choose
to participate in the research, this mainly concerns the issue of coercion. The power to
participate or withdrew from the research must be made available to candidate participant,
where there will be no coercion.

The fourth principle is on initial briefing regarding the research or informed consent.
Initial briefing of the research must be provided to the participants so they can choose for
themselves to either continue their participation or to withdraw. One of the means to ensure
ethics in research is through informed consent form. The form needs to be read out loud and
signed by the participant or guardians/parents (if it involves child respondent). Fifth, the
issues of confidentiality and secrecy. Any information pertaining to the participant procured
during the research must be kept carefully in a controlled condition. The best method to
preserve secrecy is to limit the number of individuals in data management.
 Sixth, the scientific knowledge gained from the research are public property and its
sharing must be done promptly and practically by the researcher. The party that should have
been provided with the research information is the subject involved. Seventh is about
notification. The researcher must inform the subject if the research carried out involves
elements of deception or manipulation, such as recording and recording the reactions of the
subject. If the subject is not pleased with the situation, the researcher should apologize and
explain the details of the research. Eight is the sharing of benefits. The last principle that is
often overlooked is the sharing of benefits. For example, a researcher employs two groups of
Alzheimer patients for his research on the strength of Alzheimer patient’s memory based on a
specific experiment methodology. Even if not all patient will show a positive development, it
is only right for them to be presented with equal chance to benefit from the method as to
ensure the fairness of the research process.

As shared by Resnik, Gutierrez-Ford & Peddada, (2008), there are several ethics
principle in research. First is honesty, where the researcher needs to report their data and
findings transparently, explains the research procedure, and declare their publication status
honestly. It is prohibited for researchers to falsify their data or attempt to deceive their
colleagues or the concerned agencies and the public regarding their findings. Second is about
integrity, where the researcher must adhere to their promise and responsibility in addition to
being sincere in their actions. They must also be consistent in their ideas and actions
throughout their research. The third is to be detailed, where the researcher must avoid making
mistakes that could lead to repercussions by examining the research carefully, critically, and
cautiously. All relevant records pertaining to research activities must be kept carefully, such
as data collection, research methodology and dealings with relevant agencies, and a list of
journals that serves as reference.

The fourth principle is openness, where it involves sharing of data, research findings,
tools, and resources with fellow researchers in addition to being open to criticism and new
ideas. The fifth is to respect intellectual property, that is to respect the patent, copyright, and
intellectual properties of others. Avoid using data, methodology, or research findings that are
yet to be published without explicit permission. Plagiarism is not an option. The sixth
principle is responsible publication, where redundant unbeneficial publication is avoided.
Publish research materials solely for the purpose of the advancement of research and its field,
not for personal career gains. The seventh principle touches on responsible supervision,
where the researcher give advice, supervise, and taught their students properly, in addition to
encouraging them to make their own decision. The eight principle is to respect colleagues,
where fellow research colleagues are respected and treated fairly and justly. Next is the ninth
principle, the social responsibility. Encourage good and curb global harm through research,
public education, and counselling. The tenth principle is discrimination free, where
discrimination based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, and the likes against colleagues,
students, and even research subject is avoided. The eleventh principle is competence.
Maintain and enhance the skills and expertise of research through lifelong learning. Upgrade
the total efficiency in scientific knowledge or even social science knowledge. Twelfth is to
comply with the law. Learn and comply to relevant laws, institutional policies, and
government policies throughout research duration. Principle thirteen is research subject
protection. It is the researcher’s responsibility to ensure minimum threat and risk during
research execution, either towards human or other life forms. It is also the researcher’s
responsibility to maximize the benefits in addition to respect the pride, good name, privacy,
and to try their best in dividing research benefits and research workload justly and fairly.

Robson (2002); Robson & McCartan, (2016) had listed ten unethical practices in
"Real World Research". The first practice is to involve respondents without their knowledge
or their consent. Second is to coerce the respondent (either explicitly or implicitly) to take
part in the research. Third is to held back information on the research’s procedure and
process.  The fourth involves deceiving the respondent or the subject. Fifth is to involve the
subject in actions that could humiliate them. The sixth concerns actions in research that goes
against human rights. Seventh is to expose respondents to physical, mental, and emotional
pressure. Eighth is to invade the personal rights and privacy of respondents. Ninth is to limit
the benefits for some respondents (for example, in an experiment involving a control group
and an experiment group), and tenth, not treating the respondents fairly and humanely.
References

Robson, C., & McCartan, K. (2016). Real world research. John Wiley & Sons.

Robson, C. (2002). Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-
researchers (Vol. 2). Oxford: Blackwell.

Resnik, D. B., Gutierrez-Ford, C., & Peddada, S. (2008). Perceptions of ethical problems
with scientific journal peer review: an exploratory study. Science and engineering
ethics, 14(3), 305-310.

Velasquez, M. G., & Rostankowski, C. (Eds.). (1985). Ethics, theory and practice. Prentice
Hall.