In today’s research environment, ethical conduct is critical. Are you aware of the ethical issues that might arise when conducting academic research?
As an educator, I frequently conduct academic research for academic purposes. Academic research is an essential aspect of my career and plays a vital role in my professional development. This research helps me improve my teaching and learning practices, as well as improve my professional growth. However, it’s important to note that my research may also influence and impact my students, colleagues, or the public. As a result, I always ensure that my research is conducted ethically, responsibly, and transparently.
If you are conducting academic research, you must be aware of several issues related to ethics and the law. There are 9 things that you should be aware of.
Table of Contents
1. Ethical Issues of Research: Conflict of Interest
The first rule in academic research ethics involves a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest occurs when there are personal or professional interests involved in the research process.
For example, if the researcher is personally invested in the findings of the study, there may be a bias in the data collected. Another form of conflict of interest can occur when there is a financial interest in the findings, such as receiving a grant. Researchers should always disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
2. Authorship
Authorship ethics is a broad term that applies to academic writing in general. It’s usually used in the context of authorship and contribution, meaning you need to articulate who receives credit for what part of a piece of academic writing. The more precise terms you use, the easier it is for your reader to understand what you’re trying to communicate.
The most common unethical practice in academic research is failing to obtain permission from or to share credit with the original authors of ideas and information. These issues are usually resolved, but the ethical violations can become permanent if the researcher fails to disclose and/or correct the errors. This is especially true in cases where the researcher knowingly misrepresents the source of the idea or data being used.
3. Co-authorship
Many people who choose to go into academia are aware of the risks associated with co-authorship, but there are still some ethical issues to consider. Co-authorship is a relatively common practice among academics, especially those in the social sciences. It means that you should not simply take credit for a paper that was written by someone else.
To avoid creating negative perception of research co-authorship, the researchers say that authors should share the credit. That includes sharing any significant contributions made by others that would otherwise go unacknowledged. Co-authors should also acknowledge their role in creating and building the research project. You need to be sensitive to the possible effects on their work, reputation, and career and take steps to mitigate those risks if they occur.
4. Plagiarism
A lot of researchers are unfamiliar with these issues, and often it may be tempting to copy and paste material from other sources into the body of a paper. Plagiarism is cheating, and academic plagiarism refers to the misuse of another’s work without crediting the source.
Most commonly this happens when someone borrows ideas from another article, book, or research paper without properly citing the source. In academia, plagiarism has many forms, including borrowing and paraphrasing (borrowing words without proper attribution). Another form of plagiarism is copying entire sentences from one source and putting them into an essay of your own without proper attribution.
The ethical issues regarding plagiarism are many. From the most serious cases of academic fraud to simple plagiarism, all of these instances can have serious consequences. However, some steps must be taken to ensure that you do not commit any of these offenses. Plagiarism is a term used to describe the practice of stealing ideas or words from other sources and incorporating them into an original piece of writing.
To avoid plagiarism, don’t copy your source text word-for-word. Instead, paraphrase or restructure to avoid giving the impression that you’re using someone else’s ideas.
5. Ethical Issues of Research: Scientific Misconduct
There is one common misconception about academic research, particularly when it comes to medical studies. Many researchers feel that if a study is funded by a company, then the study should automatically be biased. This couldn’t be further from the truth. When a researcher finds that something in a study doesn’t hold up, they don’t change the results of the entire study.
It is not uncommon to see studies that have been proven wrong or disproven. When a study is proven incorrect, it’s quite rare for the company that funded the study to retract it or correct it. In some cases, the results of the study are published as if nothing had happened. This shows that some companies might not retract or correct a study if it backs up their work or they’re in a tight spot.
Most academics agree that scientific misconduct is unethical and should be avoided at all costs. The reasons are obvious. Science is based on objectivity, so any interference on the part of the researcher can cause significant biases to creep into the results. This may cause problems with replication and reproduction of the experiment. The result of this is that the findings will be questioned and the validity of the research may be called into question.
6. Confidentiality and Privacy
An ethical researcher will take steps to protect the confidentiality of individuals involved in a research study. An unethical researcher may violate someone’s confidentiality to exploit them for their gain or gain access to confidential information.
In the U.S. and many other countries, the law requires that researchers keep confidential all information about human subjects they obtain during research, which includes information about race, ethnicity, age, sex, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, political views, medical history, genetic information, or financial status.
Researchers must also keep confidential any information they receive about an individual who cannot consent, including information about someone who is a minor, incapacitated, or deceased.
For ethical research to take place, there should be proper consent from participants, confidentiality between researchers and participants, and proper disclosure of all research findings. There should be no coercion or manipulation in the research process. Also, to keep all research within the bounds of ethics, researchers must comply with the laws of the country or state they are conducting research in. All of these things need to be made known to participants before research begins.
7. Ethical Issues of Research: Informed Consent
Informed consent, in general, is a legal obligation that researchers have to their participants and other parties in research studies. Informed consent refers to the process through which the study participants are made aware of the study and its risks, benefits, and methods used to protect the rights of the subjects.
This is a legal duty under the ethical principles of informed consent. The ethical principles include respect for the persons involved, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.
Most people would agree that informed consent is the preferred method for recruiting human subjects. However, research misconduct and ethical misconduct are still common in academia, and this happens when a study is either fraudulent or poorly conducted. This includes cases where researchers falsify data, fail to disclose important information, fabricate quotes, misquote participants, or engage in a variety of other unethical actions.
8. Ethical Issues of Research: Animal Experiments
There’s a lot of concern over animal experimentation. Whether the reason is concern about the treatment of animals in laboratory experiments or a concern about the ethics of such research, there are some serious issues to consider. The problem is that there are often very few laws that govern animal experimentation. So, scientists can do whatever they please without the need for regulation.
If a scientist believes that animal experiments are necessary to provide the knowledge that will improve human life, they should also believe that they can perform their research without violating any moral laws.
When they come to realize that the laws don’t allow them to conduct their research in the way they believe to be necessary, they must face an uncomfortable reality: They’re going to have to find a way to conduct their research in a manner that satisfies both the ethical standards that require them to conduct their work honestly and the moral law that requires them to conduct their research as ethically as possible. The scientific community is starting to agree that this is a necessary step in conducting valid animal studies.
9. Human Subjects
As academic researchers, we need to recognize the dangers of unethical practices in our fields. This may seem like a rather abstract concept, but any research misconduct that threatens the integrity of scientific research is unethical.
Researchers who participate in human subjects research must take all steps necessary to ensure the participants’ well-being and safety, and their rights as research subjects are protected under Federal regulations. We must be aware of the potential risks of conducting unethical research and understand the consequences of our actions.
In life sciences, human subjects research is subject to the same guidelines as any other form of clinical trial research. It must be reviewed and approved by a research ethics board and conducted following Good Clinical Practice. Before recruiting participants, researchers should clearly outline the purpose and procedures of the research study. Any potential risks to the participant must be carefully considered, and the research must be well planned and documented.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, we have to remember that academic research is a privilege, not a right, and we should always act ethically at all times. Even though researchers are responsible for ensuring that their work is as honest, accurate, and unbiased as possible, we must remember that every researcher is human.
Researchers have their own biases, which are often subconscious. It’s important to acknowledge and understand these personal biases. We must try to be as transparent and open as possible with other researchers and with our research participants.