Module -V

Ethics in Research –Research Ethics, Importance of Ethics in Research, Ethics values

and Principles, Some Ethical issues, Plagiarism, Misuse of Privileged Information,
Misuse of Data, Authorship and other publication issues, meaning of Copy Right,
Copy Right and Information Technology.

Research Ethics

Research ethics is like a set of rules that researchers follow to make sure their studies
are fair and safe. These rules include things like asking people for permission before
including them in a study, keeping their personal information private, and making sure
the research doesn't harm anyone. It's all about being honest, respectful, and
responsible when doing research.

Research ethics in research methodology refers to the ethical principles and guidelines
that govern the conduct of research involving human participants, animals, or the
environment. It involves ensuring that research is conducted responsibly, with
integrity, and with respect for the rights, welfare, and dignity of all involved. Key
aspects of research ethics include obtaining informed consent from participants,
protecting their privacy and confidentiality, minimizing potential risks of harm,
ensuring honesty and integrity in reporting findings, and adhering to relevant laws and
regulations. Researchers have a duty to conduct their work ethically and transparently,
with a commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and
professionalism. Ethical considerations are essential for safeguarding the well-being of
participants, maintaining public trust in research, and upholding the integrity of the
scientific community.

Importance of Ethics in Research

Scientific research is based on the following principles:

 Scientific honesty: Do not commit scientific fraud, that is, do not fabricate,
fudge, trim, destroy or misrepresent data.
  Carefulness: Researcher should strive to avoid careless errors or sloppiness in
all aspects of scientific work.
 Intellectual freedom: Researcher should be allowed to pursue new ideas and
criticise old ones.
 Openness: Scientific research should be open to share data, results, methods,
theories, equipment, and so on. A research work should always be open for
criticism.
 The principle of credit: Avoid plagiarism. Whenever the works of other
scientists are used, given them due credit.

All researchers are liable to observe these principles without failure. Among these the
scientific honesty and the principle of credit are matters of ethics. A failure in
practising these principles can be considered the so-called scientific misconduct.

Ethical principles are to be followed for good practice of research. It is essential for
fostering the scientific integrity and for the preservation of privileged information.

The researcher and the research institution are responsible for exercising honest
research practices.

 The researcher must respect the contributions of other researchers and follow
standards for authorship and cooperation.
 The researcher is individually responsible for the activities, subject matter and
method of his or her research, as well as for the quality of the results.
 When conducting research, the researcher must follow national and international
regulations on ethics and safety.
 The researcher must clarify the degree of certainty and precision that
characterizes the research results.
 The researcher must respect the demands for informed consent.
 Research must secure the privacy of the research subjects.

Ethics values and Principles

Ethics and morality are philosophical concepts and have an important place in
scientific research. There are many fundamental values and principles regarding the
scientific ethics. These principles are intended to address various ethical issues, the
following values and principles in observing ethical practices in scientific research.

 Truth: The fundamental aim of research is generation of knowledge. Every

scientist has the responsibility to contribute towards the knowledge expansion.
Moreover, every creation of a scientist should be beneficial to the humanity as a
whole.
 Freedom: The research should be based on the principle of scientific research
freedom, which is one of the most prominent expressions of the democratic
system. However, some practical restrictions are imposed upon freedom of
scientific research by the principles of the democratic system, for the adequate
safeguarding of human life, welfare, dignity, and liberty.
 Responsibility: Every scientist has a complete responsibility for every scientific
research or experiment he conducts. This statement aims, particularly, with
regard to its direct effect on human lives and on human physical and mental
health, welfare, dignity, and liberty. Scientists are responsible for any direct
effect of the research upon those participating as patients or subjects (animals,
plants, etc.), in scientific research or experimentation.
 Integrity: the scientific method with an aim to produce highly accurate results.
Scientists collect and analyse data with high precision and accuracy. The
conclusions are based on through analysis of data collected through experiments
and their generalization.
 Collaboration: scientific collaboration, based on the shared scientific goals. The
scientist fosters scientific collaboration by maintain an atmosphere of openness,
mutual assistance and trust among scientists, their and juniors students.it is also
to be considered that a scientist may possess pursuant rights to intellectual
property for scientific achievements to which he has made a unique or
significant contribution.
 Professionalism: the scientist engages in his scientific activities in a
professional manner, making judicious and continual use of the scientific
knowledge. The investigations made by a scientist lead to some development in
his area of expertise. Moreover, the activities of a scientist are based on the
ethics of scientific research. A scientist imparts the values and principles of
scientific research to all those conducting research or experimentation under his
supervision, particularly to student in every course of study serving to prepare
them for professional activity within the scientific research community.
 Honesty: Honesty is expected in every action of a researcher. This includes
reporting data, results, methods and procedures, publication status, research
contributions and potential conflicts of interest. A researcher should never
fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data.
 Objectivity: it is the duty of a researcher to preserve objectivity in all stages of
the research programme. The experimental design, data analysis, data
interpretation, peer view and other aspects of research are expected to be
objective.
 Openness: openness is one of the basic principles of scientific research.
Researchers should posses’ open-mindedness to share data, results, ideas, tools,
materials, and resources. They should always be open to criticism and new ideas.
 Confidentiality: Researcher should have an open mind to share ideas and
materials related to research, he should protect confidential communications,
such as paper submitted for publication, personnel records, business or military
secrets, and records that identify individual research subjects or patients.
 Carefulness: The ultimate aim of any research is to find the truth. Therefore, a
researcher should be very careful in all actions related to the research.
Researcher should not commit errors. Careless errors in experimentation,
methodology, etc., should be avoided. The researcher should keep good records
of all research activities, such as data collection, research design, consent forms,
and correspondence with agencies or journals.
  Respect for colleagues: research is not an individual task. Nobody can complete
research in isolation. A researcher is always surrounded by colleagues, students
and subordinates. Give due respect to all of them. Do not hurt or discriminate
them against on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, religions, or other
characteristics. It is the duty of every researcher to help to educate, train and
advise the next generation of scientists.
 Respect for intellectual property: intellectual property includes patents,
copyrights, etc. they are the results of serious researches made by many
scientists for years. Therefore, a researcher should always respect such
intellectual properties. Never use unpublished data, methods, or results without
permission. Proper credit should be given wherever credits is due.
 Respect for laws: researcher is part of certain institutions. They should
understand and follow relevant laws and institutional policies.
 Respect for research subjects: this is important in a study where animals or a
human being is a subject for study. Proper respect and care should be given for
animals when using them in research. The experiments should design properly to
minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits.
 Stewardship: A researcher should have a good managing skill. All resources
such as human, financial, and technologies resources must be used effectively.
Proper care should be given to materials, tools, samples, and research sites.
 Social responsibility: Apart from the responsibility of the effort of research on
the subject, every researcher has some social responsibilities. He should promote
good social consequences and prevent bad ones through research, consulting,
public education, and advocacy.

Some Ethical issues

 Stem cell case: Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk, a researcher and professor at Seoul
National University, rose to fame after claiming a series of remarkable
breakthroughs in the field of stem cell research. In 2004 and 2005, Dr. Hwang
published two papers in the journal science that claimed his team had succeeded
 in creating human embryonic stem cell through cloning. Allegations later
followed from a co-worker that this paper was based on fabricated data. The
papers were editorially retracted, Dr. Hwang lost his position at Seoul National
University, and the South Korean government stopped its financial and legal
support of his research.
 The Baltimore Case: in the summer of 1995, Margaret O’Toole, a post
doctorate fellow at MIT, was asked by her supervisor Dr. Imanishi-Kari to do
experiments that would extend the work describe in a paper that has been
published in the journal cell. Unable to repeat aspects of the research
documented in this paper, O’Toole came across a laboratory notebook that
suggested to her that the cell study was wrong. Before too long, O’Toole came to
believe that the errors in the paper were deliberate. She then challenged the
authors of the paper, including the Nobel prize winner David Baltimore. A long
investigation followed, during which the National Institutes of health, and
members of congress become involved. During the investigation, Baltimore was
forced to resign as president of Rockefeller University, in part because of his
spirited defence of Dr. Imanish-Kari. Dr. Imanish-Kari was first found guilty of
19 counts of research misconduct, but was later cleared of all misconduct
charges in 1996 by a Human Health and Services appeals panel.
An understanding of the unethical practices will help the researcher to act
according to the values and principles of scientific research by placing their
positions into a logical framework. Unethical practices in research can be
identified in various forms. “Code of Practice for Dealing with Allegations of
scientific or Ethical Misconduct in Research”, Manchester Metropolitan
University listed the following activities as scientific misconduct.
 Failure to obtain appropriate permission to conduct research.
 Failure to access the research proposal using the Universal Ethics framework.
 Plagiarism, or dishonest use of unacknowledged sources.
 Inappropriate attribution of authorship.
 Unauthorized use of information which was acquired confidentially.
  Fabrication, falsification, or corruption of research data.
 Publication of data known or believed to be false or misleading.
 Fraud or other misuse of research funds or research equipment.
 Deception in relation to research proposals.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's words, ideas, or creations without proper
acknowledgment or attribution. It can occur in various forms, including copying text
verbatim from a source without quotation marks or citation, paraphrasing another
person's ideas without giving credit, or presenting someone else's work as your own.
Plagiarism is considered a serious ethical violation in research and academia because it
undermines the principles of intellectual honesty, integrity, and originality. It can have
significant consequences, including damage to one's reputation, academic penalties,
and legal repercussions. Researchers must always ensure they properly cite and
attribute sources to avoid plagiarism and uphold the standards of academic integrity.

The following are some common forms of plagiarism:

 Authors usually copy phrases or sentences from other authors but fail to cite
sources. This includes inaccurate and incomplete citing. The copying can be
major portion of text from a single sources, sentences or phrases from multiple
sources.
 Sometimes the author cannot identify the course of the cited information with
an introductory or single phrase and therefore it is not possible to present
attribution.
 Misrepresenting the true meaning of the original sources when paraphrasing is
also a kind of plagiarism.
 Authors sometimes fail to use quotation marks around the phrase or sentence
copied from a source.
 Use of words or sentences that are too closely matched with the original
documents is a kind of misuse in the paraphrase technique.
An author cannot avoid using ideas from other sources in scientific writing. Using
others idea is a kind of appreciation and recognition given to those authors. Very often
ideas can only be built based on the existing ideas. However, to avoid plagiarism ‘it is
important that the author should properly identify and give appropriate credit to the
outside sources through the proper use of quotation marks, internal citations, and
references ‘.

There are various reasons for committing plagiarism. It varies from accidental
mistakes to deliberate intention to present a result that actually was not obtained. Many
mistakes are related to referencing. One example is the forgotten footnote. Sometimes
the author mentions the original author’s name for a source but not include specific
information in the reference. Even if proper citation is given, authors may forget to
include the cited text in quotations marks. Theses are unintentional or by mistakes.
Some other reasons are:

 Lack of knowledge about plagiarism.

 The absence of complete understanding of the conventions required in scientific
writing.
 Ineffective methods of recording the data and other observations.
 Insufficient or poor time management skills.
 Different cultural values and different practising conventions.
 Lack of confidence in one’s own ability and on the quality of research findings.
 Feeling of pressure from the higher authorities.
 The ease of copy and paste of text from electronic sources.

Plagiarism should be avoided in scientific writing not only because it is unethical but
also it degrades the integrity of scientific research and dignity of the scientific
profession. The first step to avoid plagiarism is to understand characteristic of
scientific writing, ethical principles and various forms of plagiarism. The methods to
avoid plagiarism in scientific writing include:

 Proper note making

 Paraphrasing
 Summarising
 Quotations
1. Proper note making: keeping proper notes is important in research process.
Researcher usually refer a number of articles related to the topic of study and
usually keep a brief note. These notes are used when the researcher prepares the
report of the findings. During note making researcher may use the same sentence
as in the article, but after some time he may forget which is his own sentence
and which one is the copied one. To avoid this note should not be taken in the
first instance. Instead read the article first, understand what the author has said
and then summarise the work in your own sentences. It will be easy to recognize
the copied sentences if one uses a different ink pen for writing those sentences. It
is also essential to record all the necessary details about the original article so
that it can be used in reference list when the final paper is prepared.
2. Paraphrasing: “paraphrasing is the restatement of information and ideas in
one’s own words. While paraphrasing the writer should use his own words. The
paraphrased text can be shorter or longer than the original text. However, the
essence of the paraphrase should not be different from the original idea. Also it
should be noted that changing only a few words or phrases or restructuring the
sentences is not paraphrasing. It also important to cite the source of the
paraphrase in the text and reference list.
3. Summarising: “A summary is a shortened version of the original source without
changing the meaning”. For writing an effective summary the first step is to
identify the main points in the original text. If the text consists of a number of
paragraphs, then understand the main idea of each paragraph. Then write a brief
outline of each paragraph using which the final summary can be prepared. While
summarising unnecessary details and examples are to be removed. If there is any
direct quote, words or sentence, it should be enclosed in quotation marks. Do not
forget to cite the source of the summary.
 for writing an effective summary, the University of Idaho’s Advanced Technical
Writing site (2006) suggests the following tips:
 State the main idea first
 Focus on details that are really essential
 Use keywords and phrases
 Break down larger ideas
 Write only enough to convey the gist
 Take succinct notes
 Use lower level of technicality than used by the authors. Summary should
be simple and easy to understand even without reading the original text.
 Do not add new idea or do not inject your own ideas.
 Use a simple organisation: The main point, main result and conclusion.
4. Quotations: Quote is an exact reproduction of spoken or written words. An
author can use the same text that appears in the original article if he thinks that it
is more suitable in expressing an idea or if the author feels that the words cannot
be bettered. It should be an exact copy of the text including capitalization and
use of punctuation marks. it should be clear where the quotation starts and
finishes. Also, it is very important to cite the source in the text and to include the
details of the source in the reference list or in the bibliography.

Detection of plagiarism in universities and other research intuitions is an academic

challenge. Plagiarism detection is important because, in modern days enormous
information is available on the internet and it is easy to find them using any search
engine. Author’s copy and use them as their own without citing the source, thus
cheating scientific community. Plagiarism can be detected either manually or using
detection software. Manuel detection is not easy as it consumes more time and is not
effective when the number of documents is large. In computer assisted detection there
are many software and tools used in automatic plagiarism detection. Example are ;
PlagAware, PlagScan, check for plagiarism, iThenticate, Academic plagiarism, The
plagiarism checker, Urkund, Docoloc, etc.
Detection of plagiarism is mainly based on the following methods:

1. Grammer based method: In this method detection of plagiarism is based on the

grammatical structure of the document. Similarly, between the documents is
detected and measured using a string-based matching approaches. This method
is suitable for detection od an exact copy without any modifications.
2. Semantic based method: This method detects the similarity between the
documents using a vector space model. “It also can calculate and count the
redundancy of the word in the documents, and then they use fingerprints for
each document for matching it with fingerprints in other documents and find out
the similarity”. This method is suitable for the detection of complete plagiarism.
If only partial plagiarism, then it cannot produce good result as “it is difficult to
fix the place of copied text in the original document”.
3. Grammer semantic hybrid method: This is the most important method of
plagiarism detection. It is suitable for the detection of copied text including
modified text by rewriting or switching some words that have the same meaning.
It can also determine the location of the plagiarized part of the documents.
4. External plagiarism detection method: “The external plagiarism detection
relies on a reference corpus composed of documents from which passages might
have been plagiarized”. This method checks for duplication or near duplication
of the passages in the documents under consideration within the reference
corpus. This method has the limitation that the reference corpus must be large
enough to detect the plagiarism in all suspicious documents. Also, it requires
large run time to complete the detection process.

Misuse of Privileged Information

This is rather the most serious scientific misconduct. This includes the misuse of
privileged information taken from the manuscript received form the editor of a journal
or from a funding agency for peer review, the information taken from the application
for a grant, etc. This is a serious matter since it is the real theft of intellectual property.
“It not only deprives the original author of appropriate credit by citation but could also
pre-empt priority of first publication or use of the original idea to which the source
author is entitled”. Peer reviewers should follow the ethical principles and should not
breach the confidentiality of the manuscripts. Any unpublished information may be so
precious for an author because when it published in a peer reviewed journal it may get
worldwide attention.

Misuse of Data

Data analysis is a major stage of research work. In some cases, researchers do

manipulate data in order to get the anticipated results. Here the researcher is actually
fabricating the result. This is a serious form of scientific misconduct. Therefor, every
researcher has the responsibility to avoid a false statement and addition or omission of
data that distorts the result of a study. To avoid this, researcher should maintain proper
records of data. The record should be helpful to replicate the research if required.

The integrity of research demands reporting of all relevant data. If a researcher fails to
report any data that contradict or fail to support the reported conclusions, it is
considered a breach of research integrity. Researcher should have good understanding
of different methods of data processing including graphical and tabular methods of
presentation, and error analysis. Special care should be taken in using photo-images as
the possibility of misinterpretation of underlying data is more. Misinterpretation of
data is usually known as falsification.

The responsible and efficient access of data is essential because it:

 Reinforces open scientific inquiry;

 Prompts new research;
 Encourages diversity of analysis and opinion;
 Makes possible the testing of new or alternative hypotheses and methods of
analysis;
  Supports studies on data collection methods and measurement;
 Facilitates the education of new researchers;
 Enables the exploration of topic not envisioned by the initial investigators;
 Permits the creation of new data sets when data from multiple sources are
combined.

Authorship and other publication issues

Authorship and publication issues in research methodology are critical aspects that
ensure proper recognition and integrity in the scientific community. Authorship entails
acknowledging the individuals who significantly contributed to the research process,
such as conceiving the study, conducting experiments, or analysing data. Determining
the order of authors is equally important, often reflecting the level of contribution,
with the first author typically being the one who made the most substantial
contributions. However, conflicts may arise over authorship order, requiring clear
communication and consensus among collaborators. Transparency regarding conflicts
of interest is vital to maintain credibility, as authors must disclose any affiliations or
financial interests that could potentially influence the research findings. Additionally,
adherence to publication ethics is essential to uphold the integrity of research
outcomes. This involves ensuring the originality of the work, accurately attributing
contributions, and avoiding data fabrication or manipulation. Overall, adherence to
ethical guidelines in authorship and publication practices is fundamental for
maintaining trust and integrity in scientific research.

meaning of Copy Right

Copyright is a set of rules that gives creators ownership over their work. It means that
if you make something original, like a story or a song, you have the right to decide
who can use it and how. For example, if you write a book, you can decide if others can
copy it, share it, or make changes to it. Copyright helps creators protect their ideas and
make sure they get credit for their work. If someone uses your work without
permission, it's called copyright infringement, and they could get in trouble. Overall,
copyright is about giving creators control over what they create.

To write a copyright notice, you typically include the © symbol, followed by the year
of publication, and the name of the copyright owner. For example:

© 2024 John Doe

This indicates that John Doe holds the copyright for the work published in 2024.

The use of copyright protects your original work from being used, copied, or
distributed without your permission. It gives you the legal right to control how your
work is used and allows you to take legal action against anyone who infringes on your
rights.

Examples of works that can be protected by copyright include:

1. Written works such as books, articles, and blog posts.

2. Artistic works such as paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

3. Musical compositions and lyrics.

4. Films, videos, and photographs.

5. Software code and databases.

6. Architectural designs and blueprints.

By obtaining copyright protection for your work, you have the exclusive right to
reproduce, distribute, display, and perform your work. You can also license or sell
these rights to others for commercial use.

Copy Right and Information Technology

Copyright law and information technology are closely intertwined in today's digital
world. Copyright law protects the rights of creators by giving them ownership over
their original works, like music, movies, books, and software. With the rise of the
internet and digital devices, it's become easier to create and share content worldwide.
However, this also means it's easier for people to copy and distribute works without
permission, leading to concerns about piracy.

To address these issues, technologies like digital rights management (DRM) are used
to control access to digital content and prevent unauthorized copying. Additionally,
licenses such as Creative Commons allow creators to specify how their works can be
used by others, promoting collaboration while respecting copyright.

Fair use is another important aspect of copyright law, allowing limited use of
copyrighted material without permission for purposes like education, research, or
commentary. However, determining what qualifies as fair use can be complex and
depends on various factors.

Enforcing copyright law in the digital age is challenging, especially across different
countries with varying laws and enforcement methods. International cooperation is
crucial to combat online piracy effectively and protect the rights of creators.

In summary, copyright law and information technology shape how content is created,
shared, and consumed online. It's essential to find a balance between protecting
creators' rights and promoting access to knowledge and creativity in the digital age.