The document discusses research ethics, emphasizing the moral and legal responsibilities of researchers in their conduct, relationships with participants, and obligations towards their work and colleagues. It highlights various ethical issues such as consent, integrity, authorship, citation practices, plagiarism, and the student-supervisor relationship, calling for the development of ethical frameworks in research. Lastly, it advocates for a research culture that supports constructive discourse and fairness among researchers.

1. CC – 8 :Research Methodology – 1
Research Ethics
Presenter: Sudeshna Lahiri
Department of Education
University of Calcutta

2. What is Research Ethics?
• Doing what is morally and legally right in research
• Norms for conduct that distinguish between right and wrong, and
acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
• Are central to the research process.
• Are the common denominator for researchers’ relations with respondents
and colleagues.

3. Aspects of research ethics
Moral values govern the conduct of research.
• The ethical considerations are gaining immense importance in social research
and research community.
• Technology and availability of literature and data has made research ethics and
important issue
• Different branches of social sciences have different research approaches and
thus, different ethical issues.
• The depth and strength of quantitative data poses serious ethical issues
• Universities around the world have framed their own research ethics to be
abided.
• Indian Universities need to frame their research ethics in consideration of multi-
ethnic, multi-lingual and religion group.

4. Levels of ethical issues
Ones' rights are the others' obligations.
A. Researchers' Obligations
• Research is conducted with honesty, objectivity and integrity
• Must seek consent from the participants (respondents) for their participation.
• Researcher and research should have respect towards respondents,
population under study, their cultures, values, religions, economic status
• Researcher and research should have unbiased attitude towards the case
(individual, incident, place) under study.
• Researcher should not conduct any experiment that may leave a long term
physical, social and psychological adverse effect on the respondent or the case
under study.
• Researcher should acknowledge the colleagues or co-workers, community and
funding agency.

5. Levels of ethical issues…………….
B. Participant’s Rights
• Participants may give consent to participate, withdraw from, or refuse to
take part in research projects.
• Participants have right to privacy of data and identification.
• Participants may claim for no reevaluation of any data that can mark them
in society.

6. Research ethics for research community
1. Co-authorship
• The research should be published so that body of knowledge thus created
should be available for all.
• Respect the contributions of other researchers, and observe recognized
standards of authorship and cooperation.
Co-authorship should be given to:
─ made a substantial contribution to the conception and design or the data
acquisition or the data analysis and interpretation
─ contributed to drafting the manuscript or critical revision of the intellectual
content of the publication
─ must have approved the final version before publication
─ able to accept responsibility for and be accountable for the work as a
whole

7. Research ethics for research community…………..
2. Good citation practice
• Researchers are obliged to follow good citation practice.
• an obligation to provide accurate references to the literature they use,
whether this is primary or secondary literature
• must conduct their research with integrity, and handle their sources
honestly
3. Plagiarism
• It is taking or using any text, information, data from someone and
somewhere else and presenting it in its publication and presentation as
one’s own without correctly citing their sources.
• Violates the duty of truthfulness, originality, humility and collegiality of
the research.
• It is the taking without reference and citation of original source and
researchers in terms of use of ideas, hypotheses, concepts, theories,
interpretations, designs, illustrations, results.

8. Research ethics for research community…………..
4. Scientific integrity
have an obligation to not to indulge in scientific misconduct and
misleading others through lying, concealment or distortion: fabrication
and falsification of data and plagiarism
5. Impartiality
Researchers are obliged to report and consider possible conflicts of
interest and of roles.

9. Research ethics for research community…………..
6. Relations with colleagues
• Researcher and research institutions should have a research culture that is
conducive to good research.
• A culture based on constructive discourse and management of collegial
disagreement
• Criticism must not be silenced
• Must maintain high methodological standards and encourage fair debate

10. Research ethics for research community…………..
7. The student-supervisor relationship
• Supervisors are obliged to act in the students’ best interests and not to
take advantage of any kind.
• Student-researcher should not surpass and deny the co-authorship of the
publication and research done under supervisor.
• Supervisor should not take advantage of its academic superiority.
• Student should not publish a research article without giving the
supervisor its due of co-authorship for the research done under its
supervision.

11. Suggested Reading
The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees. (2016). Guidelines
for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences, Humanities, Law and Theology.
Retrieved from
https://www.etikkom.no/globalassets/documents/english-
publications/60127_fek_guidelines_nesh_digital_corr.pdf (Accessed on
April 3, 2020)

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