Research ethics and referencing

IITA is a member of the CGIAR System Organization.
www.iita.org | www.cgiar.org
Research
Ethics and
Referencing
23rd IARSAF Symposium, IITA
16 September 2020
By Titilayo Falade

Outline
• Expectations of research community members
• Academic fraud and repercussions
• (Potential) stress points and avoiding risks
associated with unethical behaviour
• Plagiarism: what it is and how to avoid it
• IITA’s policy on research ethics

Ethical Expectations1

High standards are upheld in the community
Expected behaviours
Ethical Expectations
• Researchers are part of a global community that expects
certain behaviours.
• Students are part of the community of researchers
Respect
Fairness
Honesty
Responsibility
Integrity
Other ethical
practices
Trust

Respect
Fairness
Honesty
Responsibility
Integrity
Other ethical
practicesTrust
Credibility and good reputation are
associated with upholding these values
Not doing so constitutes academic fraud

Academic Fraud2

Academic Fraud
Using data of others without attribution:
photos, text, experimental outputs
Contract cheating: paid or non-paid
ghost writers for written work
Collusion/Unauthorized collaboration:
Group work for individual answers
Non-participation in group work, yet
indicated as co-author
Passing off the work of others as your
own or your previous work as new
(plagiarism/ self-plagiarism)
Falsifying data or results: omissions or
changes
Impersonation e.g. sitting for an exam as
someone else
Fabrication: Making up data and
presenting them as results
Unfair marking criteria or scale for
assessments
Not acknowledging contributions of
others in your development
Infringement on research ethics is academic fraud
Unethical practices with minors, human,
animal subjects and with the environment
Reference: UQ Academic Integrity Modules
IITA Research Ethics Policy
Presenting false medical certificates
to defer exams or submissions

Repercussions of Academic Fraud
Loss of
REPUTATION
Lack of
CREDIBILITY
Individual
Research Group
Organization/ University
• Lack of trust
• Bad name, blacklisting
• Retraction of submitted article
• Institutional disciplinary measures
• Revocation of degree
• Loss of marks
• Lost time
• Suspension or expulsion
• Delayed personal development

Avoiding academic fraud
• Awareness of what constitutes academic fraud
• Learning how to maintain academic integrity
• Planning to strengthen areas of weakness or (potential)
stress points
Plagiarism, self-plagiarism
Contract cheating, ghost writers
Collusion/Unauthorized collaboration
Non-participation in group work
Falsifying data or results
Impersonation
Fabrication
Unfair marking criteria or scale for
assessments
Not acknowledging contributions of
others in development
Unethical practices with minors, human,
animal subjects and with the environmentPresenting false medical certificates
to defer exams or submissions

Stress points and case studies3

Competing personal
obligations
Identify your (potential) stress points
Tight
Deadlines
Funding
constraints
Language
difficulties
Limited access to
literature, other
resources Reference: UQ Academic
Integrity Modules

Case study 1: Teni and Alemu
Teni is a young mother that needs to finish her degree in two years because she is
self-funded and only has enough funds for that period. Also, Teni needs to submit her
dissertation in French and she is not fluent in written French. In the same institution,
Alemu has a scholarship for exactly three years and a study leave from work for the
period. However, he has a health challenge that set him back some months.
• Stress points: tight deadlines, financial limitations, personal obligations (childcare,
healthcare), language difficulty, risk to career advancement with delay.
• FRAUD temptations: falsifying data, hiring ghost writers, improper referencing in
hurried writing, out-sourcing work and presenting them as independent work.
How do they set themselves up for success?
• Proper time management, communication with academic supervisors and
technicians, keeping proper experimental records, writing as they progress, writing
and seeking editing assistance (not ghost writing) for thesis to be written in French
by Teni.
• Explain their challenges to their advisors and seek advice
ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR STARTS WITH BEING ORGANISED

Case study 2: Sylvere
Sylvère’s student has submitted a manuscript for publication of work they conducted.
As he reads it, he suspects that the entire work was not original. As a post doc he is
eager to advance his career through publications, so instead of checking for
plagiarism, he makes minor corrections and submits the manuscript for publication.
Furthermore, his supervisor has not contributed to the work but demanded to be
included as a co-author: Sylvère obliged.
How has he demonstrated unethical behaviour?
• Lack of responsibility
• Plagiarism
• Dishonesty
What actions could Sylvère have taken? He should have
• taken responsibility and checked manuscript for plagiarism using similarity checkers
• pointed out plagiarism to the student
• not have submitted a plagiarised manuscript
• explained to his supervisor why including a non-participant as a co-author is
unethical and refrained from doing so.

Referencing and Attributions4a

Purpose of Referencing
The purpose of referencing is not to
• give you a higher mark
• to make your work look more academic
• show that you have read many information sources
• fill your manuscript, thesis with many more words
Proper referencing demonstrates your
understanding of the subject, supports
your arguments and strengthens your
ideas

Attributions
Sometimes you would like to include the work of others such as
figures or photos, etc.
• You should seek permission from the copyright owner. A simple
professional email will suffice.
• Some journals indicate that images can be used for non-
commercial or research purposes with specific attribution text

Attributions
No reference
Source: Falade et al., 2018
Reference
Falade, T. D. O. et al. (2018) ‘Metabolites identified during varied doses of Aspergillus species in Zea mays grains , and their
correlation with aflatoxin levels’, Toxins, 10, pp. 1–22. doi: 10.3390/toxins10050187

Referencing
Choose your reference RIGHT
Relevant to topic
Irreproachable
Good quality
Helps to support argument
Time relevance
Source: UQ Academic Integrity Modules

Referencing - Relevance
• Addresses topic
• Applicable to idea and situation
• The best suited resource when compared to
other sources
Relevant to topic

Referencing - Irreprachable
Irreproachable
• Without reproach
• Backed by sound evidence
• Written with minimal typos and errors

Referencing – Good quality
• Good source – peer reviewed or referred or
authentic source (e.g. from websites .gov,
.org, .edu)
• Unbiased source without conflict of interest
or with declared conflict of interest
• Is a traceable resource
Good quality

Referencing - Helps
Helps to support argument
• Contains information that is relevant to your
idea
• Strengthens viewpoints presented in your
work

Referencing
Time relevance
• Current or presents information from the
time period indicated
• Contains relevant updates or revisions (e.g.
FAO Stat, census data, etc.)
• Has weblinks that work and not information
that has been removed or deleted

Organising references4b

Organising references
• Keep track of references in an organized format
• Indicated quoted text in quotation marks
• Reference only information that you have read.
• If original reference is not accessible, then cite original
from accessible reference (e.g. John Doe, 1923, as cited
in Remember et al., 2020). However, do not be lazy and
seek out original documents if possible.
• Synthesize information and build on the work of others.
Do not just paraphrase and rewrite the documents of
others

Keep track of your references
• Use a referencing software (e.g. Endnote, Mendeley) or
manually enter your citations and list your references –
referencing software are better recommended
• Write key points that are relevant in your own words and
write the reference using the appropriate referencing
style
• Desist from a habit of copying and pasting
• Use similarity checker to confirm that you have not
plagiarised

Referencing tips – Take good notes
• What questions do you have?
• Where can you find the answers to the questions?
• Are there divergent views on the subject matter and areas of
confluence?
• What is your synthesis from these?
• What are the future directions in this area of thought that your
project seeks to explores?
• What are your findings?
• How do they fit in the context of existing knowledge and
understanding?
• …

Reference tables to organise ideas as you read
Introduction – impact of aflatoxins
Intransigent nature of stunting
There is an association between growth retardation and aflatoxin exposure and
this is linked to environmental enteropathy (atrophy of villi, nutrient
malabsorption, increased permeability of small intestine and inflammatory cell
infiltrate.
Gong and colleagues found a dose-response relationship between serum AF-alb
adducts (and indication of chronic exposure to aflatoxins) and height-for-age
and weight-for-age Z scores. However others suggest that there are
confounding factors of poor diet in the study groups and that there could be
other factors responsible for stunting rather than aflatoxin exposure alone.
Yet in a Gambian study, an inverse relationship between LAZ, WAZ and WLZ
were and chronic exposure to aflatoxins as measured via the AF-alb
concentrations was observed after adjusting for the confounding factors of SES,
season of sampling, age of weaning commencement, supplementation group,
infant diarrhoea and morbidity in the first two years.
(Gong et al.,
2003; Egal
et al., 2005;
Smith,
Stoltzfus
and
Prendergast
, 2012)
(Watson et
al., 2018)

Introduction – impact of aflatoxins
Small intestines had lighter weight, reduced depth of crypt and lowered
capacity to absorb nutrients when exposed to aflatoxins resulting in macro and
micronutrient deficiency (incl. zinc deficiency). Without the optimal absorption
of nutrients, growth is negatively affected.
(Applegate
et al., 2009)
Costs associated with rejected produce is substantial. It is estimated that about
$10,000 per ton is lot in demurrage and this can results in about $670 million
per year in aflatoxin-associated losses.
“The cost of a rejected food shipment is substantial (about $10,000 per lot in
demurrage fees, [8]), even if the lot can be returned to the country attempting
to export.”
(Wu and
Guclu,
2012)
Quoted text

IITA’s Research Ethics Policy5

IITA Research Ethics Policy
Source: IITA Research Ethics Policy

Summary
•Ethical Expectations
•Academic Fraud and Repercussions
•Stress points and case studies
•Referencing and Attributions
•Reference tables for organisation
•IITA’s Research Ethics Policy

Sources
• UQ Academic Integrity Modules (www.uq.edu.au)
• Meriam Library, 2010. Available at
(https://library.csuchico.edu/sites/default/files/craap-test.pdf)
• International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, 2016 Available at
https://www.iita.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IITA-IRB-
Policy-June2016.pdf

35

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