Research Ethics Class - Q & A PDF

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Research Ethics 1 Introduction to Research Ethics: Definition and Content......................................................................................... TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Professional Norms and Personal Responsibility in Research Ethics.......................................................

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Research Ethics TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

Introduction to Research Ethics: Definition and Content.........................................................................................2

2

Professional Norms and Personal Responsibility in Research Ethics........................................................................3

3

Research Misconduct: Definition and Types............................................................................................................5

4

Research Misconduct: Fabrication and Falsification................................................................................................8

5

Research Misconduct: Plagiarism............................................................................................................................9

6

Research Misconduct: Self-Plagiarism...................................................................................................................10

7

Academic Writing Skills: Quoting...........................................................................................................................11

8

Basic Concepts of Copyright..................................................................................................................................12

9

Academic Writing Skills: Citations..........................................................................................................................13

10

Basic Concepts of the Personal Information Protection Act..............................................................................15

11

Basic Concepts of Privacy..................................................................................................................................17

12

Principles and Practice of Human Subject Protection........................................................................................19

13

Definition and Principles of Authorship.............................................................................................................21

14

Understanding Academic Integrity....................................................................................................................23

15

An overview of research data management......................................................................................................24

16

Conflict of Interest in Scientific Research...........................................................................................................26

1 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH ETHICS: DEFINITION AND CONTENT 1.1

What is the most critical core value during the research process?

Honesty: To practice the value of scientific integrity. Explanation: Honesty is the most critical core value of research ethics. It is only when all research activities of the scientific community meet the requirements of professional ethics that the foundation of trust can be maintained.

1.2

Who should be the main practitioners of research ethics and its relevant norms?

College and graduate students, Researchers with public and private research institutions, College professors and post-doctoral researchers. The subjects of research ethics are all personnel involved in research work, including college and graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, college professors, and researchers with public and private research institutions. As a researcher, one should always remind and ask oneself whether one’s research conduct is appropriate and in line with universal ethical norms and objective standards of society. Doing so will help one to maintain appropriate research conduct.

1.3

Which of the following conduct conforms to general research ethics?

Present and report research information honestly and accurately when writing papers. Responsible research conduct means that researchers must abide by the principles of honesty, accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity. These include collecting and processing research data honestly, reporting research findings accurately, using research resources appropriately and avoiding the incurrence of social costs, committing to accurate presentations of scientific facts, and avoiding improper interpretation of deviations. In addition, it is the obligation of every researcher (graduate student) to assist other researchers (graduate students) in implementing responsible research conduct. This can be achieved through research instructors’ provision of guidance to their graduate students, and mutual accountability and supervision among graduate students.

1.4

Before embarking on postgraduate studies in a research institution, where can one obtain information to understand the relevant ethical norms to which one should pay special attention?

Search the “Academic Ethics” section of the MOST’s website. Understand the relevant norms and courses related to the institution’s academic ethics. Browse the websites of professional societies to obtain the latest contents on ethical norms. There are many channels available to learn about ethical norms. These include querying the “Academic Ethics” section of the MOST’s website, understanding the relevant norms and courses on the college’s academic ethics, and browsing websites of professional societies to obtain the latest contents on ethical norms.

1.5

Which of the following is not a consequence if a researcher deliberately ignores research ethics?

Use his/her personal academic prestige to convince the public to ignore the violation of research ethics. When a researcher’s conduct has violated social norms or universal values, his/her personal credibility will be questioned, and his/her research career may even be ruined. It is a waste of social resources from society’s perspective and reduces the public’s confidence in scientific research. Other researchers may also be misled, causing future related research to be based on erroneous findings. From the national perspective, international perceptions of Taiwan will be affected, such that other countries will be less willing to engage in research exchanges. The international research community will also question the validity of the country’s research findings. 2

2 PROFESSIONAL NORMS AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN RESEARCH ETHICS 2.1

Which of the following is/are the main type(s) of common professional norms pertaining to research ethics?

(1) Universal declarations and reports. (2) Codes on research ethics established by professional associations. (3) Norms for submission of research works specified by academic journals or publishers. The origins of professional norms for ethics when conducting research can generally be divided into three types: (i) important declarations or reports issued by landmark research institutions/units, (ii) code of ethics on research conduct set by landmark academic and research communities, and (iii) norms for submission specified by professional academic and research journals.

2.2

In the process of writing a research paper and until its successful submission, which of the following is not the conduct of a responsible researcher?

Over-interpreting the contents of research diagrams in the hopes of securing a higher chance at being published. In the process of writing research papers and until their successful submission, the writing technique for each paper may differ depending on its field, theme, and method of interpretation. A responsible researcher should uphold the principle of integrity and avoid over-interpreting the contents of research diagrams in the hopes of securing a higher chance at being published.

2.3

What are the common norms for research ethics with which a researcher should be familiar before the official launch of an experiment, to simultaneously protect the rights and obligations of research participants and subjects?

(1) Legal norms for research involving human subjects. (2) Requirements for the protection of human subjects stipulated by the professional association to which one belongs. (3) Academic journals’ policies on research involving human subjects. Most research participants are generally humans, while research findings aim to generate well-being for humans. Therefore, codes of ethics established by various academic and research communities mostly assume that humans are the research participants or subjects or are based on interactions between humans. Even though such codes seem different, they are similar in spirit and mostly involve the following: implementing the principle of informed consent, carefully executing risk assessment, establishing reasonable reward policies, safeguarding human dignity and rights, honestly reporting research information, valuing privacy, minimizing the physical and psychological harm caused by research, emphasizing fairness and justice, and enhancing the well-being of humans and society. In other words, the requirements are the minimum ethical standards that a responsible researcher must practice.

2.4

During the research process, which of the following conduct best protects the rights of research participants/subjects while ensuring their safety?

Obtain their informed consent and carefully assess the risks that may arise from the research. Most professional norms on research ethics state the importance of protecting research subjects and the related basic principles, which include implementing informed consent, carefully assessing the research’s potential risks, maintaining human dignity and rights, reporting research information accurately, valuing privacy, minimizing the psychological harm caused, ensuring fairness and justice, enhancing the well-being of humans and society, and implementing responsible research conduct.

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2.5

From an ethical perspective, what are the personal responsibilities that a researcher should bear?

(1) Review one’s research conduct with high ethical standards even under high-pressure research situations. (2) Learn personal skills on ethical criticism, decision making, and problem solving. (3) Consider all potential benefits and impacts carefully before deciding and bear the consequences accordingly. Even under highly stressful research situations, researchers must review their research conduct using the highest ethical standards and avoid any action or behavior that is inappropriate. This includes carefully considering all potential benefits and impacts before deciding and understanding that one must bear all the consequences accordingly. To achieve the objectives, researchers should learn various skills, including making correct ethical criticisms, decision-making, and problem-solving. Only then can one handle situations in the most appropriate manner when necessary (e.g., when facing moral dilemmas).

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3 RESEARCH MISCONDUCT: DEFINITION AND TYPES 3.1

Based on the explanations in the module “Definition of Inappropriate Research Conduct,” which of the following is not an inappropriate research behavior?

(3) Deliberate non-publication of research findings. Both the over-embellishment of research data and improper operation of research equipment may lead to doubts over the data having been falsified or the collection procedures being appropriate. Excessive separation of the findings into several units for publication may result in multiple submissions. On the other hand, there are many reasons for researchers to deliberately avoid publishing their findings, including awaiting the approval of patent applications or preparing of the finished product for mass production and sale. In addition, some researchers may decide against publishing findings for the time being because they were not what they had expected. In short, deliberately not publishing research findings is not an inappropriate research conduct mentioned in this module.

3.2

Both Hsiao Yan and her guidance professor are listed as co-authors of an academic paper that they have completed, and they intend to submit the paper to a foreign academic journal. On the eve of the submission, Hsiao Yan ' s senior female schoolmate, who had assisted her with revising the sentence construction and grammar of the paper, requests to be listed as a co-author as well. Should Hsiao Yan accede to her senior ' s request? Why?

(3) No. Revising sentence construction and grammar alone does not constitute substantial contributions to the research. According to the definition by the APA, an author need not necessarily have written the paper but must have made a substantial contribution to the research. Examples include drafting the research questions or hypotheses, constructing the experimental design, organizing and conducting statistical analysis, interpreting the findings, and writing the contents of the main paper. Hsiao Yan ' s senior only helped with revising the paper ' s sentences, and did not make any substantial contribution to the design or implementation of the research. Therefore, she does not qualify to be listed as an author. If Hsiao Yan wishes to express her gratitude to her senior, she can do so in the “Acknowledgements” section.

3.3

In the academic and research community, which of the following is a reasonable and generally accepted approach for listing a paper ' s authors?

(1) Depends on who made more contributions to the research. According to the definition by the APA, those who have made substantial contributions to the research can be listed as authors. Examples include drafting the research questions or hypotheses, constructing the experimental design, organizing, and conducting statistical analysis, interpreting the findings, and writing the contents of the main paper. In other words, those responsible for only one-off functions in the research (such as providing suggestions or guidance on statistical analysis, collecting or entering data, modifying or writing computer programs, helping to recruit subjects, etc.) do not qualify as authors . If the paper ' s authors wish to thank the aforementioned people, they can do so in the “Acknowledgements” section.

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3.4

Hsiao Sheng has designed an online questionnaire system. In order to collect sufficient sample materials in the shortest time so that he can graduate, he used a lucky draw as the incentive. He stated in the questionnaire that “each person can only complete the questionnaire once daily. The more times one completes it, the higher the chances of winning the prize." In other words, his research subjects can complete the questionnaire repeatedly/several times. What type of inappropriate research conduct has Hsiao Sheng committed?

(1) Inappropriate procedures for data collection. Hsiao Sheng used the online questionnaire as his method of collecting research data. Generally speaking, some restrictions are applied in this method to filter the research samples (such as repeated answers). In this case, Hsiao Sheng did not pay attention to this restriction, which may result in the collection of duplicate samples, thereby causing bias in the study ' s valid samples, and possibly creating future disputes over the improper data collection process.

3.5

A guidance professor suddenly needed information on the experimental results. Hsiao Jiu, the graduate student responsible for helping the professor to perform the experiment, found that three sets of data were still outstanding. In order to accede to the professor ' s request and deliver the experimental results for the time being, he filled in the fields of the outstanding data with random numbers. What type of inappropriate research conduct has Hsiao Jiu committed?

(2) Fabrication/falsification of research data. Hsiao Jiu randomly filled in numbers for the unfinished experiments. This conduct is a type of data fabrication that may produce incorrect research findings. If published, the incorrect findings may mislead other researchers and cause them to make erroneous research interpretations. In addition, Hsiao Jiu ' s research career will be severely affected if his conduct is discovered, and his Master ' s degree may even be revoked by the MOE.

3.6

Hsiao Kwang has to submit several end-of-semester assignments. In order to meet the deadlines, he borrowed from works completed during his senior year for use as reference/model answers. However, he did not have sufficient time to make the appropriate rewrites. Instead, he directly copied the work into his new report. Eventually, he was able to complete all his assignments on time. What type of inappropriate research conduct has Hsiao Kwang committed?

(3) Plagiarism/pilfering. Hsiao Kwang has committed plagiarism/pilfering by copying his senior works. He has not only violated research ethics, but has also infringed on the right to reproduce under the Copyright Act. Even if he only published his assignment in class, he may still have violated the right for public dissemination under the Copyright Act.

3.7

The research institution in which Hsiao Kwang is studying requires that graduate students publish at least one journal article before graduation. However, he is rushing to complete his Master ' s thesis and really does not have time to write a separate journal article. So , he consulted online forums commonly used by graduate students to seek assistance and hopefully find another graduate student writing a journal article to list him as the second author. What type of inappropriate research conduct has Hsiao Kwang committed?

(3) Inappropriate claims of authorship. Hsiao Kwang did not write a journal article and instead went online to solicit the opportunity to be listed as an author. This is an inappropriate claim of authorship and constitutes undesirable conduct. It not only violates research ethics but is also a poor representation of the high level of responsibility that a graduate student should embody.

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3.8

The research institution in which Hsiao Kwang is studying requires that graduate students publish at least one journal article before graduation. After completing the article, he is unsure whether his article will be published in time for the imminent graduation deadline. He decides to submit his article to three journals at the same time to increase his chances of being published. He also tells himself that if the article is accepted more than once, he will allow only one journal to publish it and will retract his submission from the other journals. Is Hsiao Kwan ' s research conduct inappropriate?

(4) Yes. Even if he eventually selects one journal for his article ' s publication, his conduct still involves repeat publication and he has violated research ethics. During the submission of articles, journals usually require authors to sign a statement that “the article has not been submitted to other journals at the same time.” The purpose of this statement is to ensure the effective use of academic resources while avoiding disputes over copyright. Hsiao Kwang ' s conduct of multiple submissions is contrary to research norms. The proper procedure is that he only submits his article to one journal. Only if this journal rejects his article can he submit it to another journal for consideration.

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4 RESEARCH MISCONDUCT: FALSIFICATION 4.1

FABRICATION

AND

Which of the following are incorrect descriptions of fabrication?

(3) In order to support the hypothesis of research, the researcher adjuste...