1. Research Methodology Ethics of Research Mazhar Hussain
Dept of Computer Science
ISP,Multan

2. Road Map Introduction Chosing your research problem
Chosing your research advisor
Literature Review
Plagiarism
Variables in Research
Construction of Hypothesis
Research Design
Writing Research Proposal
Writing your Thesis
Data Collection
Data Representation
Sampling and Distributions
Paper Writing
Ethics of Research

3. Ethics Rules of Conduct What research should be done?
What is permitted
What research should be done?
How should research be conducted?
How should research be reported?

4. Stakeholders in research
Participants or subjects
The researcher
The funding body

5. Participants Particiapants – Depends on the domain
Medicine, Public health
Patients and non-patients
Information, experimentation, drug trials etc.
Social Sciences
Individuals, groups or communities
Business
Consumers, non-consumers of a product
Education
Students, teachers etc.

6. researcher
Collects information for a specific purpose, adhering to the accepted code of conduct

7. Funding agency
Most research – funded by business organizations, research bodies, academic institutions etc.
Funding agency – long term benefits in sponsoring the research

8. Ethical issues concerning participants

9. Collecting information
Why should a respondent give any information to a researcher?
Is it ethical to knock a door and disturb an individual for information?
Request for information may create anxiety or put pressure on respondent.
Research – Improve the conditions
It is acceptable to ask questions.

10. Ethics in data collection
There are three ways to encourage participation ethically:
Anonymity
Confidentiality
Informed Consent

11. Anonymity Promise and keep your promises of anonymity.
After identifying your sampling frame, try to forget about taking names or any other unique identifiers.
Reassure people that you won't go to the media.
Promise to destroy your documents if they are not needed

12. confidentiality
This is what you should promise if you can't keep anonymity.
In other words, use confidentiality if you can't guarantee anonymity.
You guarantee that:
No one will be individually identifiable in any way
All your tables, reports, and publications will only discuss findings in the aggregate
This is one of the basic rules of research

13. Informed consent Be honest and fair with your subjects.
Tell them everything they want to know about your research.
Be aware of any hidden power differentials that might be pressuring them to participate.

14. Consent form Bare Minimum:
“I have been informed and understand the personal and professional risks involved by participating in this study. I agree to assume those risks, and my participation is purely voluntary, without any promise of special rewards as a result of my participation.”

15. Consent form More Detailed (adapted from Neuman & Wiegand 2000):
A brief description of the purpose and procedure of the research, including the expected duration.
A statement of any risks, discomforts, or inconveniences associated with participation.
A guarantee of anonymity or at least confidentiality, and an explanation of both.
The identification, affiliation, and sponsorship of the research as well as contact information
A statement that participation is completely voluntary and can be terminated at any time without penalty
A statement of any benefits to the class of subjects involved
An offer to provide a free copy of a summary of the findings

16. Providing incentives
Is it ethical to provide incentives to respondents?
Debateable
Some researchers consider it ethical to provide incentives as participants give their time
Others believe that it is unethical
Giving a small gift after data collection
Token of appreciation
Should not be considered unethical

17. Ethical Issues in Data Collection
Get permission from individuals and individuals in authority
e.g. Manager
Respect research sites – minimize disruption
Be open
Do not coerce people to join the study
Confidentiality!
What the participants tell you stays with you. No matter what.

18. Seeking sensitive information
Asking for sensitive information
May upset or embarrass the respondent
Examples
Drug use, marital status, income and age
Can be considered an invasion on privacy
Ethical?
May ask questions
Tell paricipants the type of information you are going to ask
Give them sufficient time to decide if they want to participate

19. Ethical issues concerning researcher

20. Scientific misconduct
Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in professional scientific research. 
Reasons?

21. Motivations for scientific misconduct
Career pressure
Scientists depend on a good reputation to receive ongoing support and funding, and a good reputation relies largely on the publication of high-profile scientific papers.
There is a strong imperative to "publish or perish".
May motivate desperate (or fame-hungry) scientists to fabricate results.
Laziness
Even on the rare occasions when scientists do falsify data, they almost never do so with the active intent to introduce false information into the body of scientific knowledge.
Rather, they intend to introduce a fact that they believe is true, without going to the trouble and difficulty of actually performing the experiments required.

22. Motivations for scientific misconduct
Ease of fabrication
In many scientific fields, results are often difficult to reproduce accurately, being obscured by noise and other extraneous data.
That means that even if a scientist does falsify data, he can expect to get away with it – or at least claim innocence if his results conflict with others in the same field.
There are no “scientific police” who are trained to fight scientific crimes; all investigations are made by experts in science but amateurs in dealing with criminals. It is relatively easy to cheat although difficult to know exactly how many scientists fabricate data.

23. Avoiding bias Bias – Unethical Bias is different from subjectivity
Depends upon your educational background, competence in research etc.
Bias
Deliberate attempt either to hide what you have found in your study or to highlight something disproportionately.

24. Inappropriate research methodology
Use appropriate methodologies
Inappropriate methods
Selecting biased sample
Using invalid instrument …

25. Incorrect reporting How should research be reported? Honesty Truth
Credit for work performed

26. Incorrect reporting Omission Do not say something that should be said
Example: Only reporting positive outcomes and not adverse outcomes.
Fabrication
Making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
Falsification
Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
E.g. Discarding data
Be open and discuss in the article what you discard and why
Plagiarism
The appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit

27. Incorrect reporting Responsibilities of authors & co-authors
All authors, including coauthors, are expected to have made reasonable attempts to check findings submitted to academic journals for publication.
Simultaneous submission of scientific findings to more than one journal or duplicate publication of findings is usually regarded as misconduct

28. Incorrect reporting Guest authorship Ghost authorship
There is stated authorship in the absence of involvement
Also known as gift authorship
Ghost authorship
The real author is not listed as an author

29. What Research Misconduct Is Not
Example 1: Honest error
Example 2: Disagreement based on honest differences of opinion
Example 3: Sloppy science
Fuzzy Area: Self Plagiarism

30. Ethical issues concerning sponsoring organization

31. Sponsoring organization
Misuse of funding
Restrictions by sponsor
Prohibition of publication
Prohibition - Sensitive information
Prohibition - Benefits for organization

32. References Chapter 14, Research Methodology, R. Kumar
The material in these slides is based on the following resources.
References
Chapter 14, Research Methodology, R. Kumar