Research Ethics

Objectives

At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:

1. Discuss the importance of observing the ethical
standards in research writing; and
2. Define plagiarism and identify ways to avoid it.
 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…
Taking of words, images,
ideas, etc. from an author
and presenting them as your
own.

Literary Kidnapping
theft of words

Kidnapping
Fraud
of ideas
 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.
 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.
Short Quiz: Explain the following
scenarios. (10 points each)
a. Fred used materials that are relevant to his research
but he ignored information contrary to his findings
and still use them as his reference claiming to be his
own. Is this a good practice? Prove your answer.
b. Sheila utilized another researcher’s review of related
literature in her output and copied them word for
word. Is this a good practice? Prove your answer.
 Plagiarism (con’t)

Plagiarism can take many forms:

a. Plagiarism of ideas
b. Plagiarism of text
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
. Guideline 1

An ethical writer ALWAYS acknowledges the contributions

of others and the source of his/her ideas.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 2

Any verbatim text from another author must be enclosed

in quotation marks.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 3

We must always acknowledge every source that we use

in our writing; whether we paraphrase it, summarize it, or
enclosed in quotations.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 4

When we summarize, we condense, in our own words, a

substantial amount of material into a short paragraph or
perhaps even into a sentence.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 5

Whether we are paraphrasing or summarizing, we must

always identify the source of our information.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 6

When paraphrasing/summarizing others’ work we must

reproduce the exact meaning of the other author’s ideas
or facts using our own words and sentence structure.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 7

In order to make substantial modifications to the original

text that result in a proper paraphrase, the author must
have a thorough understanding of ideas and terminology
being used.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 8

A responsible writer has an ethical responsibility to

readers, and to the author/s from whom s/he is borrowing,
to respect others’ ideas and words, to credit those from
whom we borrow, and whenever possible, to use one’s
words when paraphrasing
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 9

When in doubt as to whether a concept or fact is common

knowledge, provide a citation.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 10

Authors who submit a manuscript for publication containing

data, reviews, conclusions, etc., that have already been
disseminated in some significant manner (e.g., published as
an article in another journal, presented at a conference,
posted on the internet) must clearly indicate to the editors
and readers the nature of the previous dissemination
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 11

Authors of complex studies should heed the advise

previously put forth by Angell and Relman (1989). If the
results of a single complex study are best presented as a
“cohesive” single whole, they should not be partitioned into
individual papers.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 12

Because some instances of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and

even some writing practices that might otherwise be
acceptable can constitute copyright infringement, authors
are strongly encouraged to become familiar with basic
elements of copyright law.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 13

While there are some situations where text recycling is an

accepted practice, it may not be so in other situations.
Authors are urged to adhere to the spirit of ethical writing
and avoid reusing their own previously published text,
unless it is done in a manner consistent with standard
scholarly conventions.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 14

Authors are strongly urged to double check their citations.

Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 15

The references used in a paper should only be those that

are directly related to its content. The intentional inclusion of
references of questionable relevance for purposes of
manipulating a paper’s impact factor is an unacceptable
practice.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 16

Authors should follow a simple rule: Strive to obtain the

actual published paper. When the published paper cannot
be obtained, cite the specific version of the material being
used, whether it is a conference presentation, abstract, or an
unpublished manuscript.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 17

Generally, when describing other’s work, do not rely on a

secondary summary of that work. It is a deceptive practice,
reflects poor scholarly standards, and can lead to a flawed
description of the work described. Always consult the
primary literature.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 18

If an author must rely on a secondary source (e.g., a

textbook) to describe the contents of a primary source (e.g.,
an empirical journal article) s/he should consult writing
manuals used in his/her discipline to follow the proper
convention to do so. Above all, always indicate the actual
source of the information being reported.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 19

When borrowing heavily from a source, authors should

always craft their writing in a way that makes clear to
readers, which ideas are their own and which are derived
from the source being consulted.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 20
When appropriate, authors have an ethical responsibility to
report evidence that runs contrary to their point of view. In
addition, evidence that we use in support of our position
must be methodologically sound. When citing supporting
studies that suffer from methodological, statistical, or other
types of shortcomings, such flaws must be pointed out to the
reader.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 21

Author’s have an ethical obligation to report all aspects of

the study that may impact the independent replicability of
their research.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 22
Researchers have an ethical responsibility to report the
results of their studies according to their a priori plans. Any
post hoc manipulations that may alter the results initially
obtained, such as elimination of outliers or the use of
alternative statistical techniques, must be clearly described
along with an acceptable rationale for using such
techniques.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 23

Only those individuals who have made substantive

contributions to a project merit authorship in a paper.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 24

Faculty-student collaborations should follow t same criteria

to establish authorship. Mentors must exercise great care to
neither award authorship to students whose contributions do
not merit, nor to deny authorship and due credit to the work
of students.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Guideline 25

Academic or professional ghost authorship in the sciences is

ethically unacceptable.
Twenty-five Ethical Guidelines
(Roig, 2002)
• Remember:

Hexam (1999) reveals that it is possible to steal from oneself

as when one engages in embezzlement or insurance fraud.
In writing, self-plagiarism occurs when authors reuse their
own previously written work or data in a “new” written
product without letting the reader know that this material has
appeared elsewhere.
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