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Research Ethics

2023

This module contains lessons on Research Ethics for the course Research in Mathematics.

Research Ethics Definition of ethics • A moral principle or code of conduct that regulate the action of a person or group of people (Hammond & Wellington, 2020). • “A matter of principled sensitivity to the rights of others” (Cavan, 1997, retrieved from Cohen, Manion, Morrison, 2018) • A discipline focused on studying which actions are good or bad, or right or wrong based on a set of morals. (Singer, 2022) Ethics in Educational Research A large majority of educational research use people as respondents in finding best practices in the field. This involvement of people calls for an adherence of research procedures to the existing laws that protects the rights of said respondents and the responsibilities of research practitioners. Principles of ethical conduct The American Educational Research Association (AERA, 2011) laid out five principles for educational researchers to follow to “exemplify the highest ideals of professional conduct”. These principles are: • • • • • Professional Competence Integrity Professional, Scientific, and Scholarly Responsibility Respect for People’s Rights, Dignity, and Diversity Social Responsibility Professional competence This principle governs researchers’ action through acknowledging the limits of their expertise, doing their work with competence, and only accepting tasks when their skills, talent, education, training, and experience allow them to. Further, researchers must continually strive for professional development and utilization of administrative, scientific, scholarly, technical, and professional tools to ensure competence in their craft. This includes collaborating with other researchers for the benefit of stakeholders. Integrity Researchers must embody honesty and fairness in their practice whether it be in research, teaching, or related activities. They must also act with no ill-intent towards the well-being of their peers, respondents, or other personnel. Professional, Scientific, and Scholarly Responsibility Researches must observe the highest standards in their studies and be accounted for with their work. They must also be aware of the conduct of others in their field, especially questionable actions and practices, to selfregulate the space through peer-review and evaluation. Additionally, researchers must uphold objectivity in their community even if differences in “theoretical, methodological, or personal approaches to professional activities” are present (AERA, 2011). Lastly, their personal endeavors should not jeopardize their part of maintaining community ethical standards. Respect for People’s Rights, Dignity, and Diversity Researches must do no harm to their participants’ sense of worth, rights, and dignity; and acknowledge their roles and responsibilities in protecting these. Researchers must also be sensitive to the differences among culture, identity, and role differences in interacting with groups of people with diverse characteristics. Any personal bias towards gender, socioeconomic status, sex, creed, race, and other characteristics must also be purged as researchers must treat everyone, even those they disagree with, with dignity and respect. Social Responsibility Researchers must fulfill their societal and scientific role in the community they belong, and apply their findings for the benefit not only of their community but to the public. Concerning Practices in educational research Hammond & Wellington (2020) argued that ethical questions could arise if: • The research design would treat an individual or group in an unfair, unrewarding, or mistreated manner such as when conducting an experimental research. • The methods proposed involve withholding information to respondents or other relevant stakeholders; or if consent is forced. Concerning Practices in educational research • The analysis of data deliberately ignores selected parts of a result or observation that do not fit the research’s hypothesis. • The presentation or report of the research shows disrespect, breaches confidentiality, or portrays individuals or groups in a negative light or derogatory language. • The conclusions of the study does not reflect the or goes beyond the data gathered; but rather push the researcher’s own narrative. Ethical Considerations Prior to the Study Creswell & Creswell (2018) listed several considerations to ensure studies are done ethically. 1. Consider codes of ethics. Researchers should first consult if their nation or any legislative body enacts a code of ethics in the field of study. For teachers, one could read on the Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers. DepEd (Department of Education, Philippines) has also released a memorandum on the guidelines for ethical research concerning their stakeholders. Ethical Considerations Prior to the Study 2. Apply to the institutional review board. Universities, especially recognized ones, have an ethics committee or institutional review boards that evaluate research proposals on their ethical merits or demerits. According to Sieber (1998, retrieved from Creswell & Creswell, 2018), these bodies require researchers to “assess the potential for risk to participants in a study, such as physical, psychological, social, economic, or legal harm”. Ethical Considerations Prior to the Study It is also noted that respondents with special needs and circumstances such as minors, with disabilities, pregnant, victims of crimes, or the like should be given special considerations especially since the risks of the study could severely affect their lives. Further, the researcher would need to explain, in writing or reporting or both, to the body about the procedures and information involved in the proposed research, Ethical Considerations Prior to the Study An informed consent form containing provisions on the data needed from the respondents and procedures relating to said data must also be provided by the researchers and agreed upon by the respondents before the study. Contents of Informed consent form Sarantakos (2005, retrieved from Creswell & Creswell, 2018) enumerated the contents of the consent form which are: • Identification of the researcher, sponsoring institution • Identification of the purpose of the study and its benefit to the respondents • Level and type of participation required from the respondents and the risks they entail • Guarantee of confidentiality to the participants • Assurance that the respondents could withdraw from the study anytime • Contact details of focal persons in case of further questions Ethical Considerations Prior to the Study 3. Obtain necessary permission. Researchers need to ask for permission to access their desired respondents through persons of authority. For example, if the respondents of a study are university students, then the researches would have to ask for permission from the university president or similar persons with authority. In using online tools or surveys, a consent form and permission slip should preface the survey body itself. Ethical Considerations Prior to the Study 4. Select a site without vested interests. Researches that would gain financial, social, physical, or other types of benefits from an specific outcome of a study represents a conflict of interest and harms the objectivity of the results. Hence, it is ethically correct to perform a study that would strengthen the “objectivity required for quantitative research, or the full expression of multiple perspectives needed in qualitative research”. Ethical Considerations Prior to the Study 5. Negotiate authorship of publication. Some studies are written by various authors with diverse levels of contribution to the study. The order of authors in a study shows a descending level of contribution, hence it must be negotiated early on; questions such as “who is in charge?” or “who should be the lead writer” must be answered and agreed upon. This ordering must also not be used as a “gift” to be use as quid-pro-quo. Ethical Considerations at the start of the study • Identify a beneficial research problem. The possible benefits and contributions of the study to the respondents must be a prime consideration in doing the study (Punch, 2014, retrieved from Creswell & Creswell, 2018). It is also advised to establish trust and respect with respondents through pilot studies, needs assessment, and informal interviews to identify possible respondent marginalization problems during the study (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Ethical Considerations at the start of the study • Disclose purpose of study. Participants must be informed by the researchers on the intents of the study and what they want to accomplish. It is unethical to purposefully deceive the respondents on the aims of one’s study. In this regards, sponsorships by known entities are recommended to establish trust and credibility, especially on online surveys. Ethical Considerations at the start of the study • Do not pressure participants into signing consent forms. It is research malpractice to force, coerce, or maliciously manipulate respondents into signing consent forms as their inclusion in the study must be voluntary. Aside from ethical concerns, forcing respondents also opens your study to other problems concerning validity. Ethical Considerations at the start of the study • Respect norms and charters of indigenous cultures. In studying indigenous groups with distinct cultural, gender, or religious characteristics , researchers must acquaint themselves with the norms, practices, views, and existing rules that these groups follow so as to not disrespect and disrupt them. Ethical Considerations in collecting data • Respect the site and disrupt as little as possible. Researches should be insightful in the effects of their data gathering methods. As an example, they might want to consult people with authority or expertise within the respondents’ groups to determine the best course of action. Of course, it is given that researchers must not loiter nor damage their site of study. Ethical Considerations in collecting data • Make sure that all participants receive the benefits. Some studies utilize an experimental treatment that may be beneficial for the respondents. After implementing and establishing the effectivity of such treatments, measure must be in place for its utilization throughout the entire population. Patton (2002, retrieved from Creswell & Creswell, 2018) stated that “Highly collaborative studies, popular in qualitative research, may engage participants as coresearchers throughout the research process, such as the design, data collection and analysis, report writing, and dissemination of the findings”. Ethical Considerations in collecting data • Avoid deceiving participants. Participants should be reminded and involved, as is their right, in the research process. It is also within their rights to access the information they gave or provided. However, sharing analysis and the data before publication of results are discouraged. Ethical Considerations in collecting data • Respect potential power imbalance. The respondents know something that the researcher does not and vice versa. The interaction between them, specifically interviews, could spark certain scenarios adversely affecting the respondents and the study. Hence, researchers must weigh the impact of the tools they would use whether the questions it contain could evoke sensitive experiences, if the participants could weigh in on the interpretations, if the answers given by one respondent could affect the entire group, and how empirical the interviews or tool would be. Ethical Considerations in collecting data • Avoid exploitation of participants. Participants must be given a role for their participation through sharing the research reports or collaborating for the study. Material rewards for respondents are also encouraged since some researchers leave them for dry after gathering their data which could alienate them as they deal with other researchers. Ethical Considerations in collecting data • Avoid collecting harmful information. Researchers must implement stringent measures for data storage as sensitive (like their past traumatic experiences) or personal information (such as home address) of respondents might be leaked causing unmitigated damage. The use of authentication tools and acquisition of technological knowledge to manage information tools are becoming mainstream in connection to this possibility. Ethical Considerations in analyzing data • Avoid going native. This simply implies that the researcher must report the analysis of the gathered data regardless of their personal biases, motivations, or goals. Endeavors like strengthening the effects of the results or presenting a stakeholder in an esteemed manner should never be pursued if data gathered shows otherwise. Ethical Considerations in analyzing data • Avoid giving one-sided reports. Researches must report on all their findings with the data they gathered regardless of whether they are seen as positive or negative results. Creswell & Creswell (2018) reiterated that “a hallmark of good qualitative research is the report of the diversity of perspectives about the topic while in quantitative research, the data analysis should reflect the statistical tests and not be underreported.” Ethical Considerations in analyzing data • Respect the privacy of the participants. It is imperative to use code or pseudonyms to denote specific participants or groups when reporting sensitive information gathered by the study. This coding allows anonymity and the protection that comes with it to remain intact. Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Falsifying authorship, evidence, data, findings, and conclusion. Interpreting data accurately requires researchers to debrief their respondents for qualitative research or validate their data through follow-up surveys or other strategies for quantitative research. Validation of data is done to prevent the falsification or fabrication of data purely for the said of personal goals; this act of creating fake data and findings are an affront to research communities and the objectivity of the discipline. Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Do not plagiarize. The act of presenting the work of others as your own is called plagiarism; a grave offense in academes globally. Hence, authors of relevant researches should be cited properly by researchers whenever their works are included in the studied field. Typically, one follows APA citation guidelines while some research journals already have dedicated links or lines for citing their articles. Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Avoid disclosing information that would harm participants. Results concerning specific participants or groups should be communicated to them first as they might want to keep their anonymity. However, Giordano, O’Reilly, Taylor, & Dogra (2007, retrieved from Creswell & Creswell, 2018) asserts that these respondents must also be informed about “possible risks of nonconfidentiality, such as the inclusion of data in the final report that they may not have expected, information that infringes on the rights of others that should remain concealed, and so forth” Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Communicate in clear straightforward, appropriate language. The language used to present the research must not be biased against a person’s race, creed, gender, other characteristics. The APA Publication Manual notes that language used in reporting must be at an appropriate level of specificity (instead of saying ‘feminine characteristics’, say ‘fair complexion’), at a way that is sensitive to labels (“600 Pilipinos and Indonesians” instead of “600 Asians), and must acknowledge participants in the study (“participants” instead of “subjects”). Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Share data with others. The study must be shared to the community of practice to allow peer-study, evaluation, and application. Some avenues to share data is through providing copies to stakeholders and participants, publishing findings in accessible journals, and translating the paper into other languages. Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Keep raw data and other materials like data gathering tools. Analyzed data must be kept for a certain amount of time. APA (American Psychological Association) suggests keeping data for 5 years. After which, the collected data must be promptly deleted to avoid data misuse and leak. Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Do not duplicate or piecemeal publications. Published researches must not be republished again using the same data, analysis, or results, and does not offer any new knowledge. This includes deliberately cutting out pieces of a finished paper to publish it in parts. Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Complete proof of compliance with ethical issues and a lack of conflict of interest. Some publications and academe have researchers submit certifications to show no conflict of interest. Issues such as funding sources, interests in the outcome of the research, or personal goals to monetize or monopolize the study might be sources of said conflict (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Ethical Considerations in Reporting, Sharing, and Storing Data • Understand who owns the data. Researchers with multiple authors must settle amongst themselves on who should own the data gathered for the study. Partial or full ownerships may be established through random, hierarchical (based on seniority or closeness to the respondents or site) or stratified (based on overall contribution to study). References • Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (8th ed.). Routledge • Hammond, M., & Wellington, J. (2021). Research methods: the key concepts (2nd ed.). Routledge