FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL

Humanities and Social Sciences

Nicanor Reyes Sr. St., Sampaloc, Manila

PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

MODULE 3
Research Ethics and Research Questions

In this module, you will turn to understand the ethical dimension of writing a [qualitative] research
paper. Ethics in research refer to what is or is not legitimate to do or what ―moral‖ research
procedure involves. Ethics in research involve human issues of values and morality. They revolve
around such issues concerning the treatment to research participants and the kind of activities in
which we should and should not engage in relations to our research study.

Many ethical issues require us to balance two values: the pursuit of scientific knowledge and the
rights of those being studied or of others in society. You must weigh potential benefits—such as
advancing the understanding of social life, improving decision making, or helping research
participants— against potential costs—such as a loss of dignity, self-esteem, privacy, or
democratic freedoms (Neuman, 2014).

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
a) Learn and understand the fundamental ethical considerations that you can apply in
writing your research papers.
b) Understand why ethics is important to research in order to avoid writing ethically
questionable research papers.
c) Be able to apply your knowledge about research ethics by doing a paper critique
on a research that is ethically questionable.

MOTIVATIONAL ACTIVITY: Canvas discussion

After learning the objectives of this module, answer the following questions:
1. If you could solve one of the world’s problems what would it be?
2. Why did you choose to solve this problem?

Send your answers on the canvas discussion’s reply section.

Do not forget to include your STRAND and SECTION (e.g. ABM 5)
Your responses will serve as your attendance for today.

SUBJECT MATTER

LESSON 5 RESEARCH ETHICS

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. Research
ethics requires consideration of:

- Procedural rules and procedures.

 - Specific ethics of the context the researcher is studying.
- Ethics of working with research participants.

I. Code of Ethics

- Principles and guidelines developed by professional organizations to guide research

practices and clarify the line between ethical and unethical behavior.
To engage in ethical research, a researcher must aim at the following ethical goals. She or he
must:
1. ensure that people participate voluntarily in the study,
2. keep people’s comments and behavior confidential,
3. protect people from harm, and
4. ensure mutual trust between the researcher and the research participants (Silverman,
2006).
These goals can be achieved through following the ethical guidelines and a responsible
ethical research practice.
II. Types of Ethics
1. Procedural Ethics

- Encompasses the importance of accuracy and of not misleading the reader through
omission, exaggeration or inappropriate attribution.
- Includes the following:
o Do No Harm
o Avoid Deception
o Informed Consent
o Ensuring Privacy and Confidentiality
2. Situational Ethics

- Refers to ethical issues that arise in specific contexts or sample populations.

- Focuses on reasoned consideration about the specific situation (Fletcher, 1966).
3. Relational Ethics

- Ethics of Care that recognizes and values mutual respect, dignity, and connectedness
between researcher and participants.
- Being aware of one’s own role and impact on relationships and treating participants
as whole people rather than as just subjects from which to wrench a good story.
III. Ethical Violations
Most unethical behavior results from a lack of awareness and pressures to take ethical shortcuts.
An unethical researcher, if caught, faces public humiliation, a ruined career, and possible legal
action.
1. Scientific Misconduct

- Includes research fraud and plagiarism

- Occurs when a researcher falsifies or distorts the data or the methods of data
collection or plagiarizes the work of others.
- Also includes significant departures from generally accepted practices of the scientific
community for doing or reporting on research.
2. Research Fraud
- Occurs when a researcher fakes or invents data that were not really collected or
falsely reports how research was conducted.

3. Plagiarism
- Fraud that involves someone stealing the ideas or writings of another or using the
without citing the source.
- Stealing the work of another researcher, an assistant, or a student, and
misrepresenting it as one’s own.

IV. Origin of Research Participant Protection

Research Participant Protection arose after revelations of gross violations of basic human
rights in the name of science. Most notorious violations were medical experiments that Nazi
researchers conducted on Jews and on others.

V. Types of Harm to Participants

 Physical Harm
 Psychological Abuse, Stress, and Loss of Self-Esteem
 Legal Harm
 Deception
[RULE: DO NOT LIE to research participants unless it is required for legitimate research
reasons.]

VI. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

 Respect for Persons - incorporates at least 2 fundamental ethical considerations, namely,

o respect for autonomy, which requires that those who are capable of deliberation about
their personal choices should be treated with respect for their capacity for self-
determination; and
o protection of persons with impaired or diminished autonomy, which requires that those
who are dependent or vulnerable be afforded security against abuse.
 Beneficence or the avoidance of harm - refers to the ethical obligation to maximize benefit
and to minimize harm. This principle gives rise to norms requiring that the risks of research be
reasonable in the light of the expected benefits, that the research design be sound, and that
the investigators be competent both to conduct the research and to safeguard the welfare or
the research subjects.
 Justice - refers to the ethical obligation to treat each person in accordance with what is
morally right and proper, to give each person what is due to him or her. In the ethics of
research, the principle refers primarily to distribute justice, which requires the equitable
distribution of both the burdens and the benefits of participation in research.
 Vulnerability - refers to a substantial incapacity to protect one's own interests owing to such
impediments as lack of capability to give informed consent, lack of alternative means of
obtaining medical care or other expensive necessities, or being a junior or subordinate
member of a hierarchical group. A special provision must be made for the protection of the
rights and welfare of vulnerable persons.
 Right to Privacy/ Autonomy - individuals have a right to limit access to information about
themselves.
 Anonymity and Confidentiality - closely related to the notion of privacy, the right to control
the use of information about themselves.
 Veracity or the avoidance of deception - researchers ought to tell the truth and keep
promises.
 Informed Consent - the notion of informed consent is often recommended as an operational
principle for the conduct of research. Ethical procedures can be clarified by consulting ethical
guidelines of professional associations putting emphasis on informed consent.

VII. INFORMED CONSENT

 A written agreement to participate given by people after they have learned some basic
details about the research procedure.
 MUST Contain the following:
o Identification of the researcher/s
o Information about the participants’ rights on the study, e.g. voluntary participation,
harmlessness (physical and mental), anonymity, confidentiality, disclosure.
o Purpose and procedure of the study including its duration
o Statement of any risk or discomfort associated with participation
o Guarantee of anonymity and confidentiality of records
o An offer to provide summary of findings.
o sets out the expectations of the researcher and the research participants such as how
long the study will take, whether a compensation is made available to participants,
etc. (Hesse-Biber and Leavy 2011,64.)

RULE: NEVER coerce anyone into participating; ALL research participation must be voluntary.

Obtaining informed consent "is a procedure for ensuring that research subjects understand what is
being done to them, the limits to their participation and awareness of any potential risks they
incur (Social Research Association's, 2003, 28). Nonetheless, it is difficult to determine how much
information must be provided to prospective participants to help them make an informed decision
about their participation in a study. It is because the purpose and nature of an inquiry is bound to
vary from study to study.

VIII. The Importance of Research Ethics (Resnick, 2015)

Research ethics are important for a number of reasons.

 They promote the aims of research, such as expanding knowledge.

 They support the values required for collaborative work, such as mutual respect and
fairness. This is essential because scientific research depends on collaboration between
researchers and groups.
 They mean that researchers can be held accountable for their actions. Many researchers
are supported by public money, and regulations on conflicts of interest, misconduct, and
research involving humans or animals are necessary to ensure that money is spent
appropriately.
 They ensure that the public can trust research. For people to support and fund research,
they have to be confident in it.
 They support important social and moral values, such as the principle of doing no harm to
others.
RESEARCH ETHICS CRITIQUE: Canvas activity

After learning about research ethics, let us now apply it through this activity:
1. Watch the video through these links:
For ABM: https://youtu.be/xPO6BrFTsWM
For HUMSS and GAS: https://youtu.be/BdpdUbW8vbw
2. While watching, analyze the case assigned to your strand.
3. Answer these questions in MS Word:
• What is the main point of the research?
• What are the ethical concerns that were presented in the video?
• How can you remove or at least minimize the ethical violations presented in
the video?

To submit your work, click the ―Submit Assignment‖ button at the top right corner of the canvas
activity page , upload your work, and click send. Do not forget to include your STRAND and
SECTION (e.g. ABM 5) Your responses will serve as your attendance for today.

LESSON 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

A researcher begins the rigorous task of researching because he wants to answer a specific
question or solve an existing problem. In this module you will learn to identify a research problem
and formulate strong research questions for your research.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. Distinguish a good research topic from what is not.
2. Narrow down a general topic into a smaller one.
3. Identify the problem they want to address from their research topic
4. Formulate research questions

Guidelines for Developing a Good Research Topic

1) Check resources that are related to your topic in the library or credible online sites.

 If the topic you chose has been extensively written on or it is so broad or vague
that there is no literature on it, then you need to reduce its scope. You can delimit
the scope, the time frame, human activity or the geographic location of your study
(Gottchalk, 1967).
2) Too specific topic that it becomes difficult for you to do a research on it.

 You may want to expand the topic. Expanding the scope of the subject gives you
specific access to more available resources for your topic.
3) Avoid topics that you do not have any knowledge at all.

 For instance, a highly specialized or a very technical subject can be very difficult
for you to study if you have no background knowledge of it.
 4) Researchers must always consider the availability if resources.

 In Social research, you must consider the participants. Ensure that the participants
are willing to participate in the research.
5) Avoid vague, intangible or debatable or not easily answerable topics.
6) Choose a topic that is not yet overly written on by other researchers in a field.

 Always check the library and the internet to determine if there is plenty of
research already done on your desired topic.
7) Ensure that you have the necessary funds or resources to collect data over a period of
time.
8) Consider the resources or budget needed to analyze data or information gathered.

Research Problem
It is an issue, difficulty, contradiction, or gap in knowledge that you want to address in
your research (McCombes, 2020).
According to Kebritchi (2017) there are two sources to where a research problem can be
found

1. Real Life – experiences, world problems

2. Scholarly Arena – gap in knowledge

Research Questions
A research question points exactly what you want to be answered in your research and
gives your research paper a clear focus (McCombes, 2020).

Characteristics of a Strong Research Question (McCombes, 2020)

 Focused on a single problem or issue

 Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
 Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
 Specific enough to answer thoroughly
 Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
 Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

WRITTEN WORK 2: Topic Proposal

Read the complete guidelines in Canvas

REFERENCES:

Kebritchi, M. (2017) How to Identify an Appropriate Research Problem. Retrieved

from https://research.phoenix.edu/blog/how-identify-appropriate-research-problem
Mendoza, D. J. & Melegrito, M.L. (2017) ―Applied Research: An Introduction to Qualitative
Research Methods and Report Writing.‖ Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House.
McCombes, S. (2020). Developing strong research questions. Retrieved
from https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-questions/
Mendoza, Diana J. and Ma. Lourdes F. Melegrito. ―Applied Research: An Introduction to
Qualitative Research Methods and Report Writing.‖ Quezon City: Phoenix
Publishing House, 2017.
Neuman, L. (2014). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Seventh Edition.
Pearson Education Limited.
Pardede, P. (2018) Identifying and Formulating the Research Problem. Retrieved
from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329179630_Identifying_and_Formulatin
g_the_Research_Problem Resnick, D. B. (2015) What is Ethics in
Research and Why is it Important? Retrieved
from https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/research-ethics.html