Creating Postgraduate Collaborations › Forums › CPC Supervision Development Course 2 › Module 4 › Module 4, Session 1: Ethics in Research
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This forum is for your thoughts on issues of ethics covered in this module.
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Thank you for the detailed presentation on scientific methods and ethics. Ethics is a major component in research and it should be strictly adhered to especially with seeking approval when researching with human subjects, animals and environment. In addition, funding should be acknowledged. I would also like to add that all conflict of interest should be declared when writing research reports/publications. This helps the reader to interpret the outcome of the results having this in mind.
I think in humanities and education faculties issues of representation really come to the fore when considering ethical issues. It is not enough to just design and implement methods that are ethical, but also to consider how you write about the participants in one’s study. As seen in the example provided in the presentation on a study on coloured women, how researchers write and represent their participants is really important, especially if one is working with marginalised groups/populations.
Another aspect to consider in ethics is one’s positionality, which plays a major role in influencing participants during interviews or formulating perspectives in the interpretation phase. This is something our faculty is constantly reminding us to be aware of and actually include or state in our ethical application forms.
I am a social scientist who while carrying out my masters and PhD research data collection I used human beings and it was accompanied with me taking photographs to further clarify my findings. I got clearance from my university and my supervisor then asked me to get a letter from institutions that I visited showing that they allowed me collect data and they did not experience any harm and the information they released was confidential and used for the purpose intended. Since nurturing practices entails to support, encourage, care and protect, once I receive post graduate students to teach I normally start by supporting and instilling in the students the ethics surrounding the humanity, animal and environmental ethics to be observed. This way the students might be encouraged to practice the same, care and support the ethics that surround the three in research. In my institution the issues of ethical considerations starts the day of orientation when we tell them about plagiarism as they will be undertaking any project or research and this is reinforced with proposal writing that has a component on ethical consideration which we encourage them to be honest in all the research processes. Once the proposal has been past at the department, faculty, then school of graduate studies the document undergoes a further thorough scrutiny with the ethics committee a body that has been assigned by my university to look into all the proposals in the university on matters pertaining the human, animal and environmental ethical considerations from our students .
Ethical issues that are particularly pertinent in your field
I am a nurse by profession, autonomy, anonymity, justice, benefiscence, non-malifisence is intergral, profesional secrecy etc.Suggestions on how to nurture ethical responsibility in our students, or
Deliberations about processes for obtaining ethical clearance at your institution.Our students in nursing they are taught to be independent practitioner, they need to respect patients, in health reserch all studies are subjected to apply fort ethical clearance certificates from human and clinical health research ethics comittees. Firstly from the university, then to the province, district and local facilities. They are taught not to falsify partients record etc.
Ethical issues that are particularly pertinent in your field
In the field of health informatics research, it is important to check on plagiarism in proposing and reporting issues, honesty in interpretation and reporting of research findings as well ensuring that human subjects consent to participate in the study.Suggestions on how to nurture ethical responsibility in our students.
This is mainly covered within the research methods course. It can further be emphasized through seminars and workshops with the students.Deliberations about processes for obtaining ethical clearance at your institution
Before ours students proceed to collect data for their research, their proposal is subjected to a very rigorous ethical approval process.Ethical issues that are importsnt in the field of geography. First it is mandatory that integrity maintained in all areas of the research process including research methodology and research design. Additionally students are expected to avoid plaggiarism in all its forms. The researcher is also expected to keep the information that they receive from respondents confidential and treat each individual with respect. Where environmental experiments are concerned then environmental quality and safety prodedures must be adhered to.
Students are taken through an orientation process when they are admitted for post graduate studies. Moreover, courses like research methodology are important as they prepare the students for the tasks that lie ahead.
Students concepts and proposals are discussed at department and school levels before being discussed at the School of graduate studies. Afterwards they are presented to an ethics committee for approval
Deliberations about processes for obtaining ethical clearance at your institution.From my physical science background, ethics and science cannot be separated. From the onset, students are trained to appreciate that the value of scientific research is based on credibility of the work and integrity of the researcher. All form of scientific writing like concept papers, proposals and the theses must reflect these values. Similarity index have to be checked by scanning for plagiarism. Correct referencing has to be done and multiple presentations made for the work at group levels, departmental levels and postgraduate committees. When it comes to interpretation and reporting, again this demands honesty since in most of our writeups, raw data form instrumental analysis is not necessarily included. Sometimes matters of allocation of credit and declaration of funding could prove thorny, particularly if there was bad blood between the supervisors and/or the student. We have seen cases where one member could even patent some findings without the knowledge of others. Or where funds were misappropriated by one party, and now raising queries on accountability. These are pertinent issues which sometimes even end up affecting research completion and graduation of the students. Hence it is encouraged that all disclosures should be done at the onset and vested interests clearly discussed and agreed by involved parties.
I believe that all ethical issues pertaining to the engagement with human participants are particularly pertinent in Human Sciences. Much of research in my field is centered on and revolves around human participants, of course, with less of direct research engagement with animals and the environment (which is typical; in natural and hard-core sciences). Among the three key ethical concerns, I find humans the fascinating because they can defend their own position – they can articulate their desire to participate or not to participate in one’s research. Humans can raise ethical concerns where such may arise during a research process (assuming that all participants are well informed of their rights on the onset – which is a MUST). Pursuant to the human element, comes the literature that the researcher engages with – that calls for much care and attention to the acknowledgement of the sources utilized – to avoid plagiarism and dishonesty.
It is also concerning that some researchers might be tempted to alter the data to suit their egoistic intentions – and this is unethical in research. Of course falsification of data goes hand in glove with false reporting of the findings. Once the data is false – the results are equally false – that’s a logical ripple effect!
To nurture ethical responsibility in our students, it is imperative to drill them on a full understanding of what is unethical in research. I strongly believe that accountability or responsibility is steeped and deeply embedded in knowledge. How can one be expected to account for something that they do not understand? It is our full responsibility to pass on and bequeath our students with the this essential tool of knowledge – as I believe ETHICS is where one’s research career flourishes or where its demise is birthed.
It is imperative for one to obtain ethical clearance at my institution. There is a Committee that is tasked with this critical role. Being critical as it is, this is one unavoidable bottleneck in the research process – but as the wise say, “better late than never”.
Data storage is an area of great ethical concern in my research environment. Rarely do supervisors or research institutions demand for proper storage of data collected in the research program. Often, the student collects data, interprets the data and no concern is given to where the data is stored, how the date is stored or even how the data will be discarded after the research program. As a supervisor, this presentation has come in good time.
Data integrity is also an important area of ethical consideration. After the investigator is given ethical clearance by the research institution, its also important that the supervisor gets to find put if actually the data presented by the investigator if the actual/true representation of the facts in the field. This is an area that calls for ethical practice by both the supervisor and the investigator. Often times, the investigator and the supervisor are only interested in completing the research project within the given timelines and forget to check this critical ethical requirement.
I want to share my experience during my studies as an MA and PHD student. It was and still is a prerequisite to get ethical approval before the start of data collection. This started from the point of orientation into the institution where ethics was discussed with new students. This followed with ensuring that ethical considerations were embedded in the proposals which then go before the institution’s ethics committee for clearance before proceeding into data collection. As an institution, we also ensure that the research conforms to laws of Kenya and other international guidelines governing research involving human participants.
As a social scientist the ethical issues that are pertinent to us include non-maleficence aiming to do no harm and justice. As a researcher, confidentiality, privacy and respect for intellectual property were crucial aspects I focused on with support from my supervisors. Further to this, data integrity was an aspect that run through my research from the beginning as part of the ethical principles of the research focusing on validity, completeness, consistency and accuracy.One aspect that was not covered in the presentation is the ethical considerations surrounding science communication – this is often particularly pertinent in the medical field where research findings are often blown way out of proportion, taken out of context, or misrepresented. We as scientists/researchers have an ethical responsibility to communicate our science to society (as often we are using funds generated from society), but further a responsibility to communicate well and clearly.
It was interesting to see what are the main ethical issues to consider on life sciences. I think in social sciences there is a broader spectrum of ethical considerations. A very important concept in my field of development studies is ‘informed and ongoing consent’. It makes reference that it is not enough that people give their consent at the beginning of the research but that their consent needs to be given through all the stages of the fieldwork and to make explicit their right to no longer participate in the research. It also contemplates that people should be properly informed of all the implications that their participation in the research might take.
My research is in the area of ICT4D and mostly looks at the social side of technology (adoption, use, etc), and just like other research areas where humans are involved, one of the most pertinent ethical issues is to do with responsible use of research subjects’ data. Not only is the responsible use of research subjects important, but also their consent to participate as well as their rights to understand how their data/contribution is used and their right to withdraw from the study. Another ethical issue that is pertinent is the keeping of records and the practice of honesty in interpreting and reporting research findings. One of the most important issues of ethics is of course the issue of fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism in proposing and reporting research. I can say all the issues highlighted in the presentation are very important and should be addressed accordingly to avoid conflict. My field of research is interesting because it is more of an intersection between social sciences and pure sciences and hence has broader ethical considerations as opposed to pure sciences. I think it’s important to instill and nurture ethical responsibility in the student from the beginning. Workshops to make the student conscious of the importance of ethical considerations are necessary. Normally the process of ethical clearance is long and needs adequate preparation. As a supervisor, I think it is important to encourage your students to start the process earlier.
Ethical considerations is pertinent in studies involving the human subjects and studies are only allow after full information is obtained from the research participants and written consent obtained. During consenting adequate information have to be given and all the principles of autonomy, benefiecence, non-malficence and justice ensured.
Various scientific and ethics review committees have to give approval before the research can proceed -
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