Research Ethics

Research Ethics
• Scientific Writing can be a complex and arduous process, for it
simultaneously demands clarity and conciseness; two elements that often
clash with each other (Roig, 2002).
• In the same concept paper, Roig further mentions the general principle
underlying ethical writing the notion that the written work of an author, be
it a manuscript for a magazine or scientific journal, a research paper
submitted for a course, or a grant proposal submitted to a funding
agency, represents an implicit contract between the author of that work
and its readers.
 Investigation (Kolin, 2002)
• It is a common belief that any written work, be it a book,
magazine article, research paper fro a degree program, or even a
research paper for an agency, is the intellectual property of the
author.
• The reader assumes that the author is the sole originator of the
written work, that any text or idea borrowed from other writers are
clearly identified as such through established scholarly
conventions.
 Investigation (Kolin, 2002)

• Moreover, it is assumed that the ideas borrowed or used

are accurately interpreted and paraphrased to the best of
the author’s abilities. Hence, for writing to be ethically
sound, it should be clear, accurate, fair, and truthful.
Basic Principles of Ethical Practice
• The University of Leicester (2010) enumerated
basic principles of ethical research practice.
Knowing what constitutes ethical research is
important for all people who conduct research
projects or use and apply the results from
research findings.
Basic Principles of Ethical Practice
1. Obtained informed consent from participants.

Informed consent must be given to the research

participants before they will be subjected for the research.
In the case of minors, parents or guardian must be fully
aware of the said activity. For native speakers, informed
consent may be translated into their dialect.
Basic Principles of Ethical Practice
2. There should be no pressure on individuals to
participate.

Incentives to take part should generally not be provided. If

an incentive is used it needs to be only a token, and not
enough to encourage someone to participate who would
really prefer not to take part.
Basic Principles of Ethical Practice
3. Respect individual autonomy

Autonomy means the freedom to decide what to do. Even

when someone has signed a Consent form, he/she must
be made aware that they are free to withdraw from the
study at any time, without giving a reason. They must
also be able to request that the data they have given be
removed from the study.
Basic Principles of Ethical Practice
4. Avoid causing harm

The duty of the researcher is not to cause harm. The

researcher must make sure that the principle of voluntary
participation is observed in situations where there is
interaction with subjects.
Basic Principles of Ethical Practice
5. Maintain anonymity and confidentiality

Making data ‘anonymous’ means removing the

contributor’s name. However, you will often need to take
more than this basic step to protect a participant’s
identity. Other information can help to identify people, for
example: job title, age, gender, length of service,
affiliations, and strongly expressed opinions.
 Basic Principles of Ethical Practice
6. Take particular care in research with vulnerable groups

Care is clearly needed in research with young children,

and with people with disability, or minors. However,
others may be vulnerable in certain contexts, for example:
students, employees, dependents, or people with
particular traits that could be subject to prejudice.
Plagiarism

It is the most widely recognized and one of the most serious

violations of the contract between the reader and the writer
(Roig, 2002).
 Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the using of someone else’s words or ideas, and passing
them off as your own. It can happen accidentally, for example, if you are
careless in your note-taking (University of Leicester, 2010).
Plagiarism (con’t)

This can mean that you get mixed up over what is an exact quote,
and what you have written in your own words; or over what was an
idea of your own that you jotted down, or an idea from some text.
 Plagiarism (con’t)

Research is a public trust that must be ethically conducted and

so trustworthy, and socially responsible if the results are to be
valid and reliable.
 Plagiarism (con’t)

This refers to using ideas and information created by other people

but without attribution to them. There are different levels of plagiarism
which may vary from one institution to another.
 Plagiarism (con’t)

According to Carver et al. (2011), “plagiarism is the appropriation of another

person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate
credit, including those obtained through confidential review of others’
research proposals and manuscripts”
According to Roig (2002) Plagiarism is…
 Acts of Plagiarism

1. When an individual is claiming that he/she is the

author or originator of another person’s work.
 Acts of Plagiarism

2. When copying the whole written work or even

words, ideas, or sentences from someone without
acknowledging him/her.
Levels of Plagiarism (The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineer)in New Jersey

Level 1 is the gravest level of plagiarism. It involves

copying a full paper word for word, without
acknowledging the source.
 Levels of Plagiarism (The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineer)in New Jersey

Level 2 involves lifting a large portion of a research work

(up to 50%) without citing its source.
Levels of Plagiarism (The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineer)in New Jersey

Level 3 involves copying specific portions of another

work without citing it. These portions may include
sentences or paragraphs.
 Levels of Plagiarism (The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineer)in New Jersey

Level 4 involves not only the failure to cite another work

used in a certain study but also the failure to correctly
paraphrase the portions of this used work.
 Levels of Plagiarism (The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineer)in New Jersey

Level 5 is the lowest level of plagiarism according to

IEEE. It involves incorrectly citing a certain source and
copying heavily from it.
 Plagiarism (con’t)

Plagiarism can take many forms:

a.Plagiarism of ideas
b.Plagiarism of text