Indus Institute of Technology and Engineering,

Indus Institute of Information and Communication Technology,

Indus Institute of Sciences Humanities and Liberal Studies,
&
Indus Institute of Management Studies

Scheme & Syllabus

Ph.D. Course Work

Research and Publication Ethics

W.E.F: 01-07-2021

INDUS UNIVERSITY
Rancharda, Via: Shilaj, Ahmedabad – 382115
Gujarat, India
www.indusuni.ac.in
 Subject: Research and Publication Ethics

Program: Ph.D. Subject Code: RPE0101 Semester: 1

Teaching Scheme (Hours per week) Examination Evaluation Scheme (Marks)

Continuous University
Internal Theory
Lecture Tutorial Practical Credits Total
Evaluation Examination
(CIE) (ESE)
2 0 0 2 33/60 22/40 55/100

Course Overview:

This course has total 6 units focusing on basis of philosophy of science and ethics, research
integrity, publication ethics. Hands on sessions are designed to identify research misconduct and
predatory publications. Indexing and citation database, open access publications, research
metrics like citations, h-index, Impact factor etc. and plagiarism tools will be introduced in this
course.

Pedagogy:

Online teaching, Discussions on a common platform, Live online lectures with practical
demonstrations, e-Content prepared/published by experts, suggested study materials and
recordings of the lectures are shared, Clearing doubts on a common discussion forum

Examination/ Evaluation:

 Continuous assessment through tutorials, assignments, quizzes, and group discussions.

 Weightage for active participation
 Internal: 40 marks; Theory examination: 60 marks (at the end of the Course)
 Examination as per the format/mode adopted by the University
 Two credits are awarded to students upon successful completion of the Course

Course Objectives:

1. Provide students with the fundamental knowledge of basics of philosophy of science and
2. ethics, research integrity, publication ethics.
3. Hands-on sessions are designed to identify research misconduct and predatory
publications.
4. Indexing and citation databases, open access publications, research metrics (citations, h-
index, Impact Factor etc).
5. Guide and mentor students in presenting plagiarism tools for a valid and ethical research
6. report.
 Course Content

PART-1 (THEORY)

UNIT-I

Philosophy and Ethics (3 Hours)

1. Introduction to philosophy: definition, nature and scope, concepts, branches
2. Ethics: definition, moral philosophy, nature of moral judgements and reactions

UNIT-II
Scientific Conduct (5 Hours)
1. Ethics with respect to science and research
2. Intellectual honesty and research integrity
3. Scientific misconduct: Falsification, Fabrication and Plagiarism (FFP)
4. Redundant publications: duplicate and overlapping and publications, salami slicing
5. Selective reporting and misrepresentation of data

UNIT-III
Publication Ethics (7 Hours)
1. Publication ethics: definition, introduction and importance
2. Best practices/standards setting initiative and guidelines: COPE, WAME, etc.
3. Conflicts of interest
4. Publication of misconduct: definition, concept, problems that lead to unethical behaviour
and vice versa, types
5. Violation of publication ethics, authorship and contributor ship
6. Identification of publication of misconduct, complaints and appeals
7. Predatory publishers and journals

PART-2 (PRACTICE)

UNIT-IV
Open Access Publishing (4 Hours)
1. Open access publications and initiatives
2. SHERPA/RoMEO online resource to check publisher copyright & self-archiving policies
3. Software tool to identify predatory publication developed by SPPU
4. Journal finder/Journal suggestion viz. JANE, Elsevier Journal Finder, Springer Journal
Suggester etc.
 UNIT-V
Publication Misconduct (4 Hours)
A. Group Discussion (2 Hours)
1. Subject specific ethical issues, FFP, authorship
2. Conflicts of interest
3. Complaints and appeals: examples and fraud from India and Abroad

B. Software Tools (2 Hours)

Use of plagiarism software like Turnitin, Urkund and other open-source access tools

UNIT-VI
Database and Research Metrics (7 Hours)
A. Database (4 Hours)
1. Indexing database
2. Citation databases: web of science, Scopus etc.

B. Research Metrics (3 Hours)

1. Impact factor of journal as per journal Citation Report, SNIP, SJR, IPP, Cite Score
2. Metrics: h-index, g-index, i10-index, altmetrics

References:

1. Bird, A. (2006). Philosophy of Science. Routledge.

2. MacIntyre, Alasdair (1967) A Short History of Ethics. London.
3. P. Chaddah, (2018) Ethics in Competitive Research: Do not get scooped; do not plagiarized,
ISBN: 978-9387480865
4. National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine.
(2009). On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research: Third Edition.
National Academies Press.
5. Resnik, D. B. (2011). What is ethics in research and why is it important. National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, 1-10. Retrieved from
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm
6. Beall, J. (2012). Predatory publishers are corrupting open access. Nature, 489(7415), 179-
179. https://doi.org/10.1038/489179a
7. Indian National Science Academy (INSA), Ethics in Science Education, Research and
Governance 92019), ISBN: 978-81-939482-1-7.
 http://www.insaindia.res.in/pdf/Ethics_Book.pdf

Course Outcomes (COs):

By the end of the Course, students will be able to understand
1. The importance of being ethical in carrying out research and publication activities.
2. They will be able to differentiate the quality publication practices and how to be cognisant
about dubious publishing practices/publishers.
3. More importantly, there will be an increased awareness about ‘open accesses and
contribution of research output to open access publishing platforms.
4. The learners will also get acquainted with the software/databases which are necessary for
carrying out research work.