Ethics in Research

Research ethics provides guidelines for the responsible conduct of research. In addition, it
educates and monitors scientists conducting research to ensure a high ethical standard.

Objectives in research ethics

1.The first and broadest objective is to protect human participants.

2.The second objective is to ensure that research is conducted in a way that serves interests
of individuals, groups and/or society as a whole.

3.Finally, the third objective is to examine specific research activities and projects for their
ethical soundness, looking at issues such as the management of risk, protection of
confidentiality and the process of informed consent.

Introduction: Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to a

variety of topics involving scientific research.

The following is a rough and general summary of some ethical principals that various
codes address

Beneficence is defined as an act of charity, mercy, and kindness with a strong connotation of
doing well to others including moral obligation. All professionals have the foundational moral
imperative of doing right

Respect for human dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own
sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics.

Justice: The ethics of justice deals with moral choices through a measure of rights of the
people involved and chooses the solution that seems to damage the fewest people. Rooted in
a respect for the legal system, it applies in the Western democracy ideas like social contract
theory to everyday moral decisions.

Honesty: Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data, results,
methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent
data. Do not deceive colleagues, granting agencies, or the public.

Carefulness: Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own
work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as data
collection, research design, and correspondence with agencies or journals
Confidentiality: Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for
publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.

Social Responsibility: Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms
through research, public education, and advocacy.

Non-Discrimination: Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex,

race, ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their scientific competence and integrity.

Importance of ethics in research

Protects the vulnerable groups and other study participants

Ensure they can live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. Empower them by encouraging
them to make their own decisions and provide informed consent. Prevent the risk of abuse or
neglect, and stop it from occurring. Promote their well-being and take their views, wishes,
feelings and beliefs into account.

Participants are safeguarded from exploitation

This involves legally respecting morally acceptable laws, fair distribution of limited resources,
fair selection of study participants, fair distribution of risks and benefits, and respect for
personal rights

Establishes risk benefit ratio for study subjects

When conducting research on human subjects minimize harms and risks and maximize
benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special precautions with
vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of research fairly.

Ensures fullest respect, dignity, privacy, disclosure, and fair treatment for subject

The participant should be given right to decide whether or not he/she wishes to participate the
the study. The respondent should also be ensured of privacy in terms on the response.

Builds capability of subjects to accept of reject participation in the study

It is neessary to ensure that the participant has the right to opt out of the study any time during
the course. The decision should not be enforced onto the participant.

Criteria of Good Research

Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing that is important is that
they allmeet on the common ground of scientific method employed by them. One expects
scientific researchto satisfy the following criteria:

1.The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used.

2.The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another

researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of whathas

alreadybeen attained.

3.The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that areas

objective as possible.

4.The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design

andestimate their effects upon the findings.

5.The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and themethods

of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the datashould be checked

carefully.

6.Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited

tothose for which the data provide an adequate basis.

7.Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a

goodreputation in research and is a person of integrity.

Informed Consent

Permission granted in full knowledge of the possible consequences, typically that which is

given by a patient to a doctor for treatment with knowledge of the possible risks and benefits.

Sample Informed Consent

Research Misconducts

Fabrication
In scientific inquiry and academic research, fabrication is the is more about making up research
results and data, and reporting them as true. This can happen when a researcher, for example,
states that a particular lab process was done when, in fact, it wasn’t. Or that the research didn’t
take place at all, in the case of a study results from previous research were copied and
published as original research.
Falsification
Falsification essentially involves manipulating or changing data, research materials,
processes, equipment and, of course, results. This can include altering data or results in a way
where the research is not accurate. For example, a researcher might be looking for a particular
outcome, and the actual research did not support their theory. They might manipulate the data
or analysis to match the research to the desired results.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism means using someone else’s work without giving them proper credit. In academic

writing, plagiarizing involves using words, ideas, or information from a source without citing it

correctly. In practice, this can mean a few different things.

Examples of plagiarism Why is it wrong?

Copying parts of a text word for word, It makes it seem like these are your own words.
without quotation marks

Paraphrasing a text by changing a few It makes it seem like you came up with the idea,
words or altering the sentence structure, when in fact you just rephrased someone else’s
without citing the source idea.

Giving incorrect information about a If readers can’t find the cited source, they can’t
source check the information themselves.
Quoting so much from a source that it Even with proper citations, you’re not making an
makes up the majority of your text original contribution if you rely so much on
someone else’s words.

Reusing work you’ve submitted for a Even though it’s your own work, the reader should
previous assignment, without citing be informed that it’s not completely new but
yourself comes from previous research.

Submitting a text written entirely by Not doing the work yourself is academically
someone else (e.g., a paper you bought dishonest, undermines your learning, and is unfair
from a ghostwriter) to other students.

Self-Plagiarism

Self-plagiarism means reusing work that you have already published or submitted for a class. It

can involve:

• Resubmitting an entire paper

• Copying or paraphrasing passages from your previous work
• Recycling previously collected data
• Separately publishing multiple articles about the same research

Self-plagiarism misleads your readers by presenting previous work as completely new and
original. If you want to include any text, ideas, or data that you already submitted in a previous
assignment, be sure to inform your readers by citing yourself.