Characteristics, Process,

and Ethics of Research

 Learning Objective

 To describe the characteristics,

process, and ethics of research
Key Understanding
 Understanding the characteristics,
process, and ethics of research is
vital in discovering new knowledge
and information.

Key Question
 What are the characteristics,
process, and ethics of research?
 Characteristics of Research

1. Accuracy
 It must give correct or accurate data, which the
footnotes, notes, and bibliographical entries
should honestly and appropriately documented
or acknowledged.
2. Objectiveness
 It must deal with facts, not with mere opinions
arising from assumptions, generalizations,
predictions, or conclusions
.
 Characteristics of Research

3. Timeliness
 It must work on a topic that is fresh, new, and
interesting to the present society.

4. Relevance
 Its topic must be instrumental in improving
society or in solving problems affecting the lives
of people in a community.
 Characteristics of Research

5. Clarity
 It must succeed in expressing its central point or
discoveries by using simple, direct, concise, and
correct language.

6. Systematic
 It must take place in an organized or orderly
manner.
 Process or Approach
to Research
1. Scientific or Positive approach
 You discover and measure information as well as
observe and control variables in an impersonal manner.
 It allows control of variables. Therefore, the data
gathering techniques appropriate for this approach are
structured interviews, questionnaires, and observational
checklists.
 Data given by these techniques are expressed through
numbers, which means that this method is suitable for
quantitative research.
 Process or Approach
to Research
2. Naturalistic approach
 The naturalistic approach uses words.
 It directs you to deal with qualitative data that speak
of how people behave toward their surroundings.
 These are non-numerical data that express truths
about the way people perceive or understand the
world. Since people look at their world in a
subjective or personal basis in an uncontrolled or
unstructured manner, a naturalistic approach
happens in a natural setting.
 Process or Approach
to Research
3. Triangulation Approach
 In this case, you are free to gather and analyze
data using multiple methods, allowing you to
combine or mix up research approaches,
research types, data gathering, and data
analysis techniques.
 Triangulation approach gives you the
opportunity to view every angle of the research
from different perspectives. (Badke 2012;
Silverman 2013)
 Ethics of Research

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.
 Ethics of Research
Objectivity
 Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data
analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel
decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other
aspects of research where objectivity is expected or
required.
 Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception. Disclose
personal or financial interests that may affect research.
Integrity
 Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity;
strive for consistency of thought and action.
 Ethics of Research
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.
Openness
 Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to
criticism and new ideas.
 Ethics of Research
Respect for Intellectual Property
 Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of
intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data,
methods, or results without permission.
 Give credit where credit is due. Give proper
acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to
research. Never plagiarize.
Confidentiality
 Protect confidential communications, such as papers or
grants submitted for publication, personnel records,
trade or military secrets, and patient records.
 Ethics of Research
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.
Legality
 Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and
governmental policies.
 Ethics of Research

Human Subjects Protection

 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.
- Voluntary participation
- Informed consent
- anonymity
 Ethics of Research

 Even when clear ethical standards and principles

exist, there will be times when the need to do
accurate research runs up against the rights of
potential participants.

 There needs to be a procedure that assures that

researchers will consider all relevant ethical
issues in formulating research plans.