Ethics in research

The material is extracted from

following and couple of other
resources for your reference.
http://www.onlineethics.org/Topics/
RespResearch/ResEssays/cw2.aspx
Adopted from the website of :
Ethics in Research

• Ethic: A principle of right and good conduct.

• Ethics: The rules or standards governing the
conduct of the members of a profession.
 The basic ethical values, pursuit of “good”,
justice, equality, honesty, respect of other
people, etc., have been thought to us at home
and in school, and should be familiar.
Many of these things should be self-evident.
However, every now and then it is good to stop
and check that we are following them in our
Giving references

 
• In theory, you should know all earlier papers
related to your research topic, and include the
relevant ones in the reference list /
bibliographical list.
• All essential statements that are known from
the literature should be equipped with a
reference to a source.
• Statements/derivations that do not belong to
the common knowledge of the field and are
Importance of Finding Essential
Prior Knowledge
• Succeeding to publish some results is not a
proof of novelty(reviewers also make errors, in
both ways).
• The author(s) are still responsible for the
contents of their paper, and failing to recognize
essential earlier work may be bad for the
reputation of the researcher and the group.
• It is your task to find the possible earlier work
in the field, not the reviewers’!! (i.e. you need
to refer to original contribution and not the
Citing and Plagiarism

• Direct citing other authors text is not

customary in Science field; instead we should
use own words also when describing earlier
work.
• Nobody has copyright to simple ‘plain’
sentences.
• Citing occasionally some particularly good
expressions or sentences, with clear indication
of the source, is OK. But copying directly
elaborate sentences or longer pieces of text is
Referencing in Practice

• In practice, depending on the type of

publication, the number of references may be
limited, and you have to pick up the most
essential ones.
• The main aspects are anyway:
–Making a clear distinction between your
(claimed) own contribution and prior
knowledge.
–Giving links to the most important prior
developments with the topic.
 Referencing in Practice
• Original references to the essential pieces of
prior knowledge.
• Comprehensive references to earlier work with
the same specific topic.
• Balanced recognition of different
researchers/research groups working actively
with the topic.
• In PhD thesis, comprehensive list of references
related to the topic should be included.
• No practical limitations in the number of
Publishing Important Results

• Claims/suspects of reviewers stealing ideas

from the papers under review can be heard
every now and then. One should take this as a
potential risk when publishing results that
couldbe scientifically significant.
• Especially, the journal publication process is
long and during it the possibly dishonest
reviewers have time to act. There is also a
possibility that somebody comes up
independently with the same result during the
About Publishing the Same Results
Many Times
• In general, one should not publish the same
results many times.
• Exceptions: Paper & thesis, Speedy publication
to a limited audience (national conference,
laboratory report) & publication in
international conference/journal.
• Anyway, the same results should not be
represented as new ones, and the earlier
versions should be included in references.
• Different (international) conference papers
About Stealing Research Results
• Various anonymous peer review processes provide confidential unpublished research results to
one’s knowledge and thus constitute a real test for good scientific practices.
• The “adoption” of confidential knowledge isn’t always conscious. You may just wake up one
morning with a new idea, and it may be difficult to recognize that it is based on the paper you
have reviewed some time ago, or other confidential information. One has to be very careful in
this respect!
• You should be able to avoid reviewing competing papers; however, this depends also on the
practices of the journal/conference
• Being a Member of International Scientific Research Community; Doing research is not just
writing papers; building an international network of contacts is another important part of it.
• Conferences are not only for presenting papers, but more importantly, for meeting colleagues
with similar research interests, and creating contacts that continue also after the meeting,
possibly leading to co-operation projects, etc.
• Research visits abroad, to the leading research groups worldwide, are ideally a part of the
researcher training.
• Through such contacts one is able to get insight information about where the research is going.
• International contacts are highly appreciated by sources of academic research funding.
Giving and Getting

• To develop the contact network, one has to be

active, open-minded, well-behaved, polite, etc.
and one should have something to give
scientifically, insights, experiences, your latest
published results & papers ...But don’t give too
much.
• You are not expected to reveal unpublished
results, unless you are really doing joint
research work.There are always people around
who would happily adopt your results!
Being a Member of Research
Group
• Give recognition to colleagues who have
helped (initial problem definition, technical
problem solving along the way, constructive
criticism, etc.).
• Help others (e.g, providing links to publications
you have seen that are in the interest of a
colleague).
• Clear division of tasks, Common publication
plans, keeping the theses also in mind.
• First author? Group spirit! The reputation of a
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) &
Patents
• IPR includes created software, simulation
models, circuit designs, etc.
• Patents are new solutions, essentially different
from prior ones, to technical problems.
• In academic projects in Finnish university
environment, as a basic rule, the researcher(s)
who have created the results have all the IPR
and patent rights.
• In industry-funded projects generally the
industrial parties get the right to use all results
Confidential Information

• In case of industrial projects, the industrial

parties may provide confidential information
for the researchers to be able to carryout the
tasks.
• Usually, some kind of nondisclosure agreement
(NDA) has to be signed by the researcher
before receiving such information.
• In case of intentional misconduct or negligence
of confidentiality, an employee may be
personally liable for compensating the damage
 Honesty, Objectivity & Integrity
• Honesty
Strive for honesty in all scientific
communications. Honestly report data, results,
methods and procedures, and publication
status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent
data. Do not deceive colleagues, granting
agencies, or the public.
• Objectivity
Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data
analysis, data interpretation, peer review,
 Carefulness, openness &
Confidentiality
• Carefulness
• Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully
and critically examine your own work and the
work of your peers. Keep good records of
research activities, such as data collection,
research design, and correspondence with
agencies or journals.
• Openness
• Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be
open to criticism and new ideas.
Respect

• for Intellectual Property

Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of
intellectual property. Do not use unpublished
data, methods, or results without permission.
Give credit where credit is due. Give proper
acknowledgement or credit for all contributions
to research. Never plagiarize.
• for colleagues
Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.
 Responsible for
• Publication
Publish in order to advance research and
scholarship, not to advance just your own
career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative
publication.
• Mentoring
Help to educate, mentor, and advise students.
Promote their welfare and allow them to make
their own decisions.
• Society
• Non-Discrimination
Avoid discrimination against colleagues or
students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or
other factors that are not related to their
scientific competence and integrity.
• Competence
Maintain and improve your own professional
competence and expertise through lifelong
education and learning; take steps to promote
competence in science as a whole.
 Unethical activities
• Publishing the same paper in two different
journals without telling the editors
• Submitting the same paper to different journals
without telling the editors
• Not informing a collaborator of your intent to
file a patent in order to make sure that you are
the sole inventor
• Including a colleague as an author on a paper
in return for a favor even though the colleague
did not make a serious contribution to the
• Bypassing the peer review process and
announcing your results through a press
conference without giving peers adequate
information to review your work
• Conducting a review of the literature that fails
to acknowledge the contributions of other
people in the field or relevant prior work
• Stretching the truth on a grant application in
order to convince reviewers that your project
will make a significant contribution to the field
• Overworking, neglecting, or exploiting
graduate or post-doctoral students
• Failing to keep good research records
• Failing to maintain research data for a
reasonable period of time
• Making derogatory comments and personal
attacks in your review of author's submission
• Promising a student a better grade for sexual
favors
• Using a racist epithet in the laboratory
• Sabotaging someone's work
• Stealing supplies, books, or data
• Rigging an experiment so you know how it will
turn out
• Making unauthorized copies of data, papers, or
computer programs
• Owning interest in a company that sponsors
your research and not disclosing this financial
interest
• Deliberately overestimating the clinical