CHAPTER FIVE

Research ETHICS
CONTENTS:
 Ethical Issues in Research
 Plagiarism, Falsification, Fabrication
 Academic Honesty Related Issues
 Other Ethical Issues in Computing
RESEARCH ETHICS
 Ethics are a personal code of conduct based on
respect for one's self, others and surroundings and is
governed by the principles or assumptions

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underpinning the way individuals or organizations
ought to conduct themselves.
 Research ethics involves the application of
fundamental ethical principles to research
activities which include the design and
implementation of research, respect towards society
and others, the use of resources and research
outputs, scientific misconduct and the regulation of
research.
 Research ethics are the set of ethics that govern how
scientific and other research is performed at research
institutions such as universities, and how it is
disseminated. 3
CONT…
 Research ethics provides guidelines for the
responsible conduct of research.

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 In addition, it educates and monitors scientists
conducting research to ensure a high ethical
standard.
 Ethics in research looks at how to conduct research
in a way that is responsible and upholds the
integrity of the scientific process.
 It is a discipline of philosophy that addresses
the moral implications of scientific research.
 Researchers have a responsibility to adhere to high
ethical standards in their work.

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ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH
 Research ethics are the standards of conduct that
guide researchers in their work.

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 These standards are set by professional bodies,
funding agencies, and institutions.
 When conducting research, it is vital to adhere to
ethical principles in order to protect the well-being of
the participants and to ensure the integrity of the
research itself.
 There are a variety of different ethical considerations
that need to be taken into account when conducting
research, yet they all essentially address the same
fundamental concepts.
 These can include informed consent, respect for
persons, confidentiality, data safety, and participant 5
wellbeing.
CONT…
 It is the responsibility of the researcher to make sure
that all ethical guidelines are followed throughout

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the research process.
 Some common ethical issues to be consider are:

Honesty:
 Honestly report data, results, methods and
procedures, and publication status.
 Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data.

Objectivity:
 Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data
analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel
decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other
aspects of research.
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CONT…
Integrity:
 Keep your promises and agreements; act with

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sincerity; strive for consistency of thought and
action.
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.

Openness:
 Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources.

 Be open to criticism and new ideas.

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CONT…
Respect for Intellectual Property:
 Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of

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intellectual property.
 Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results
without permission. Give credit where credit is due.
Never plagiarize.
Confidentiality:
 Protect confidential communications, such as papers
or grants submitted for publication, personnel
records, trade or military secrets, and patient
records.
Responsible Publication:
 Publish in order to advance research and
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scholarship, not to advance just your own career.
 Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
CONT…
Responsible Mentoring:
 Help to educate, mentor, and advise students.

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Promote their welfare and allow them to make their
own decisions.
Respect for Colleagues:
 Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.

Social Responsibility:
 Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate
social harms through research, public education, and
advocacy.
Non-Discrimination:
 Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students
on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors
9
that are not related to their scientific competence
and integrity.
CONT…
Competence:
 Maintain and improve your own professional competence

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and expertise through lifelong education and learning;
take steps to promote competence in science as a whole.
Legality:
 Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and
governmental policies.
Animal Care:
 Show proper respect and care for animals when using
them in research. Do not conduct unnecessary or poorly
designed animal experiments.
Human Subjects Protection:
 When conducting research on human subjects, minimize
harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human
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dignity, privacy, and autonomy.
CONT…
 Research ethics are important for a number of
reasons.

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 They promote the aims of research, such as expanding
knowledge.
 They support the values required for collaborative work,
such as mutual respect and fairness. This is essential
because scientific research depends on collaboration
between researchers and groups.
 They mean that researchers can be held accountable for
their actions. Many researchers are supported by public
money, and regulations on conflicts of interest, misconduct,
and research involving humans or animals are necessary to
ensure that money is spent appropriately.
 They ensure that the public can trust research. For people
to support and fund research, they have to be confident in
it.
 They support important social and moral values, such as 11
the principle of doing no harm to others.
PLAGIARISM, FALSIFICATION, FABRICATION
What is research misconduct?
 Research Misconduct can be characterized as actions
or questionable research practices that fall short of

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the standards of ethics, research and scholarship
required to ensure that the integrity of research is
upheld.
 It can cause harm to people and the
environment, wastes resources, undermines
the research record and damages the
credibility of research.
 It is often defined by ‘falsification, fabrication and
plagiarism’ and can include making up data or
results, incorrectly attributing authorship, gift
authorship, manipulating research materials,
equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting
data, graphs, images or results. 12
CONT…
 Research misconduct means making up or
falsifying data, manipulating data analyses, or

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misrepresenting results in research reports.
 It’s a form of academic fraud.

 These actions are committed intentionally and can

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CONT…
Plagiarism:
 The appropriation of another person's ideas,

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processes, results, or words without giving
appropriate credit.
 Plagiarism is, perhaps, the most common form of
research misconduct.
 Researchers must be aware to cite all sources and
take careful notes.
 Using or representing the work of others as your own
work constitutes plagiarism, even if committed
unintentionally.

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CONT…
Fabrication:
 Means making up data or results and

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recording or reporting them.
 Fabrication is the construction and/or addition of
data, observations, or characterizations that never
occurred in the gathering of data or running of
experiments.

15
CONT…
Falsification:
 Falsification essentially involves manipulating or
changing data, research materials, processes,

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equipment and, of course, results.
 This can include altering data or results in a way
where the research is not accurate.
 Falsification is the changing or omission of research
results (data) to support claims, hypotheses, other
data, etc.
 Falsification can include the manipulation of
research instrumentation, materials, or processes.
 Manipulation of images or representations in a
manner that distorts the data or “reads too much
between the lines” can also be considered
falsification. 16
ACADEMIC HONESTY RELATED ISSUES
 Academic honesty means acting with the values
of integrity, trust, fairness, respect and
responsibility in learning, teaching and

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research.
 It is important for students, teachers, researchers
and all staff to act in an honest way, be responsible
for their actions, and show fairness in every part of
their work.
 When conducting academic research (regardless of
the type of research or the stage you are at in your
studies), it is important to have a grasp of basic
research ethics and to make sure that your research
is conducted appropriately and with integrity and
honesty.

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CONT…
 Honesty is essential, not only to enable
straightforward, above-board communication, but to

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engender a level of trust and credibility in the
outcomes of the research.
 This applies to all researchers, no matter what
subject they are investigating.
 Although honesty must be maintained in all aspects
of the research work, it is worth focusing here on
several of the most important issues.

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CONT…
 As you progress and maybe continue to academic
study, you will need to develop a deeper

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understanding of research ethics, including
requirements to:
 Declare any potential conflicts of interest
 Obtain informed consent from research
participants
 Observe data protection laws and policies and
respect the confidentiality and privacy of
research participants
 Protect human and animal safety, welfare and
rights as much as possible
 Respect cultural and other sensitivities and
differences
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 Share your data when appropriate
OTHER ETHICAL ISSUES IN COMPUTING
 Technology specifies to the components that are
used to store, fetch and manipulate the information

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at the minimum level with the server having an
operating system.
 Technology have a wide area of applications in
education, business, health, industries, banking
sector and scientific research at a large level.

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CONT…
 Technology developers work primarily behind the
scenes in businesses, their decisions in the course of

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a project can have an outsized impact in the world --
for better or worse.
 Everyone in the industry should be aware of social

Habesha College
and ethical issues in technology development.
 Here are few examples of ethical issues in
computing:
 Addictive design;  Copyright
 Algorithmic bias;  Trade Secrets
 Personal Privacy  Liability
 Access Right  Piracy
 Harmful Actions  Overemphasis on features.
 Patents 21
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