Name: ______________________________________________________________________Score: ______________________________

Grade & Section: __________________________________ Research Group No.:__________ Date: _______________________________

ETHICS IN RESEARCH 2. Objectivity. Biases should be avoided in the experimental

After learning the roles and characteristics of a design, data analysis, interpretation, and other aspects of
researcher, there are also things that we need research.
to always keep in mind in conducting research 3. Integrity. Consistency of thought and action is the
studies. Please bear in mind that research is credibility of any research work. Promises and
bound with values and ethical standards. agreements should be kept and all actions should be
Ethics, in philosophy, is a set of moral made with a sincere purpose.
principles or an area of study that deals with 4. Care. Careless errors and negligence should be avoided.
ideas about what is good and bad. Your work should be critically examined.
5. Openness. The researcher should be open to criticisms
For this module, you will be introduced to the ethics observed when and new ideas. Research results should also be open to
conducting research. Specifically, you will be learning more about public.
the following concepts: 6. Respect for intellectual property. Proper
 Importance of Ethics in Research acknowledgment should be given to all authors cited and
 Ethical Codes and Policies for Research sources used in your research. Credit should be given to
where it is due.
 Rights of Research Participants
7. Confidentiality. Confidential communications or
 Ethical Standards in Research Writing
documents should be protected.
8. Non-discrimination. All those eligible to participate in
A. IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH research should be allowed to do so.
Research ethics are guidelines for the responsible conduct of 9. Human subject protection. Harms and risks to human
research which educates and monitors researchers to ensure high lives should be minimized. Human dignity, privacy and
standard. It promotes the aim of research, such as expanding autonomy should be among the primary considerations of
knowledge and supports the values required for collaborative work, research
such as mutual respect and fairness. Provided below are the 10. Responsible Mentoring. Help to educate,
importance of research according to Resnik (2007): mentor, and advise others. Promote theirwelfare
1. Ethics promotes the pursuit of knowledge, truth and and allow them to make their own decisions.
credibility. It also fosters values that are essential to 11. Responsible Publication. Publish in order to
collaborative work. Research involves a great deal of
advance research and scholarship, not to
cooperation and coordination among people in different
fields or disciplines. The important values include trust, advance your own career. Avoid wasteful and
accountability, mutual respect, and fairness. duplicative publication.
2. Many of the ethical norms ensure that researchers are 12. Social responsibility. Strive to promote social
held accountable to the public. acceptance and prevent or mitigatesocial harms
3. Adherence to ethical principles helps build public support through research, public education, and
for research. Research must promote a variety of advocacy.
important moral and social values such as social
responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, and health 13. Legality. Know and obey relevant laws and institutional
and safety. and government policies.
14. Animal Care. Show proper respect and care for
animals when using them in research. Do not
B. ETHICAL CODES AND POLICIES FOR
conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal
RESEARCH | (Cristobal, 2001) experiments.
Given the importance of ethics in the conduct of research, many
professional associations, government agencies, and universities
have come up with the following codes and policies for research:
1. Honesty. Data should never be fabricated, falsified or
misinterpreted.

Page | 1
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 | Module 2: Ethics in Research
C. RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS CHECKPOINT 1: Below are statements related to the
The main purpose of research is to produce results that would ethics in research. Encircle the letter which contains the
benefit the stakeholders in the study. Likewise, the participants are most accurate term that corresponds to the statement.
crucial elements of the research and they have the same rights as
the research beneficiaries. Some of the rights of the research 1. All the data to be reported should include all facts with accuracy.
participants are as follows (Trochim, 2006; Smith, 2003; Polit, 2006): a. Honesty b. Objectivity
1. Voluntary participation. Any person should not be c. Competence d. Care
forced to participate in any research undertaking.
2. Informed consent. Research participants must be fully 2. Whatever agreed upon with the participants must be actualized.
informed about the procedures and risks involved in the a. Integrity b. Legality
research. c. Social responsibility d. Responsible publication
3. Risk of harm. Participants should be protected from
physical, financial, or psychological harm. 3. The researchers should accept all comments and give
4. Confidentiality. Participants must be assured that their considerations.
identity and other personal information will not be a. Openness b. Respect for intellectual property
exposed. c. Non-discrimination d. Responsible mentoring
5. Anonymity. The participants must remain anonymous
throughout the study 4. The participants must remain anonymous throughout the study.
6. Copyright Infringement. It is the use or a. Voluntary participation b. Risk of harm
c. Anonymity d. Objectivity
production of copyright-protected material
without permission of the copyright holder. 5. The researcher should be fully-equipped with research skills
Copyright infringement means that the rights when conducting the study.
accorded to the copyright holder, such as the a. Confidentiality b. Competence
exclusive use of a work for a set period, are c. Legality d. Openness
breached by a third party.
Examples: 6. An experienced researcher should impart knowledge to his or her
students.
a. Downloading movies and music without proper payment
a. Responsible publication b. Non-discrimination
for use.
c. Respect for colleagues d. Social responsibility
b. Recording movies in a theatre
c. Using others’ photographs for a blog without permission
7. The researcher should ensure that the participants will not be
d. Copying software code without giving proper credit
adversely affected by the research and its results.
e. Creating videos with unlicensed music clips
a. Care b. Human subject protection
c. Respect for colleagues d. Social responsibility
D. ETHICAL STANDARDS IN
RESEARCH WRITING 8. Any participants to any research activity must not be forced to
For a writing to be considered ethical, research must be clear, take part in the study.
accurate, fair and honest. The following reminders must be taken a. Voluntary participation b. Informed consent
into consideration for ethical research writing (Logan University, c. Risk of harm d. Social responsibility
2006):
1. Findings should be reported with complete honesty. 9. Informed consent for a participant is best exemplified in which of
2. Intentional misinterpretation and misinformation must be the following actions?
avoided. a. Talking to him or her privately.
3. Appropriate credit should be given when using other b. Surprising him or her with a questionnaire.
people’s work. c. Writing him or her a letter.
4. Plagiarism should be avoided by fully acknowledging all d. Using a padrino system
content belonging to others.
 Plagiarism—refers to the act of using another 10. Confidentiality of a participant is best exemplified in which of the
person’s ideas, works, processes, and results following actions?
without giving due credit. It should not be a. Asking the participant to write his or her name in the
tolerated as the unauthorized use of original questionnaire.
works, a violation of intellectual property rights. b. Not mentioning his or her name in the research paper.
c. Introducing himself or herself in an interview.
Three different acts are considered plagiarism:
d. Taking his or her picture and placing it in the appendix
a. Failure to cite quotations and borrowed ideas
b. Failure to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks CHECKPOINT 2: Put an “X” before the statement that describes a
c. Failure to put summaries and paraphrases in your own case of plagiarism. Write N/A if it follows proper ethics in writing.
words
______ 1. Alexandra puts her name on a quotation of
Shakespeare.
______ 2. After reading a selection, Pristine correctly wrote the
contents of the selection and cited the author.
______ 3. The author is Ramoso, Gabriel but the reference of
Aaron is Ramoso, Gabrielle.

Page | 2
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 | Module 2: Ethics in Research
 ______ 4. In Athena’s assignment, she carefully expressed the CHECKPOINT 4: Answer the questions briefly. Write your answers
ideas of the author and wrote the author’s name. on the space provided.
______ 5. Because of lack of time, Pauline omitted some of the 1. A research can be replicated but not the findings. Why?
important details from a source in her thesis.
CHECKPOINT 3: Determine the appropriate ethical action to
address the unethical practices described below. Write your
answers in the spaces provided.
Unethical Practices Ethical Action
1.Jaypee, a senior high school
student, is planning to conduct
his first research on the
misbehavior of fellow students
during examinations. However,
he has no idea on the ethical
guidelines in conducting such
research. 2. What are the various research ethics and rights of a research
participant?

2. Because of non-participation
in extracurricular activities, Trey,
an honor student ranked last in
the honor roll. A qualitative
research about Trey is
conducted without informing
him.

3. What are some tips to avoid plagiarism when one is conducting

3. Gabby, a graduating student, research?
claimed the research work of his
classmate. He erased the name
of the original researcher and
placed his own.

4. A group of senior students

secretly chose their teacher as
the subject of their research
4. What is the importance of following the ethical standards in
conducting a research?

5. To maximize the participants

in her study, Pauline, the class
valedictorian, forced her
classmates to join her study.

That in all things may God be glorified!

Page | 3
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 | Module 2: Ethics in Research