Research ethics: Ethics for researchers

Research ethics

Ethics for researchers

 Introduction

Ethics is a very important topic in research. It is dangerous to assume that all researchers know about ethics or that all researchers work ethically.

Consider the below excerpts from studies on ethical violations in research.
"Research misconduct—fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism—is an insidious problem in the scientific community today with the capacity to harm science, scientists, and the public."
Kornfeld, Donald S. "Research misconduct: The search for a remedy." Academic Medicine 87.7 (2012): 877-882. Web link

"Levels of misconduct appear to be higher than in the past. This may reflect either a real increase in the incidence of fraud or a greater effort on the part of journals to police the literature."
Steen, R. Grant. "Retractions in the scientific literature: is the incidence of research fraud increasing?" Journal of Medical Ethics (2010). Web link

"The percentage of scientific articles retracted because of fraud has increased ∼10-fold since 1975."
Fang, Ferric C., R. Grant Steen, and Arturo Casadevall. "Misconduct accounts for the majority of retracted scientific publications." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109.42 (2012): 17028-17033. Web link

Right and wrong

Ethics is about right and wrong. Before we look at ethics in research, let's consider some ethical violations that might happen elsewhere. Read the statements below and try to match them with the corresponding headings.

• A shopkeeper cleverly changes the "sell by" or expiry date on food items so they can be kept longer on the shelf. Data falsification
• A student copies paragraphs from a textbook to answer questions in an assignment, because she thinks it is fine to do so. Unintentional plagiarism
• A student has not studied for his examination and copies the writing of his neighbor in the exam hall when no-one is looking. Intentional plagiarism
• A professor is on the selection committee for a scholarship for which her nephew is applying.  Conflict of interest

Ethical violations in research

Ethical violations similar to the ones presented on the previous page happen in the world of research as well. And there are some ethical violations that are specific to research.

Try matching each statement below to the relevant ethical violation

• A researcher presents ideas or findings from other published papers as his own, instead of citing those papers.  Intentional plagiarism
• A researcher investigating the health effects of a pharmaceutical drug owns stock in the company that manufactures the drug.  Conflict of interest
• A researcher is extensively referencing past works and accidentally uses too much of the original text from those works in her own paper.  Unintentional plagiarism
• A researcher changes the data obtained from his experiments so that the research question is answered favourably.  Data falsification
• A researcher invents data for an experiment without actually conducting that experiment. Data fabrication
• A researcher makes minor modifications to a paper he has already published and tries to get the modified paper published.  Duplicate publication  

  Outcome of violations

   Try to complete the sentences below by writing the missing word
   When a research paper that is under peer review is found to be the outcome of research that was not ethically done, the paper is likely to be- "rejected"
  
  When a published research paper is found to be the outcome of research that was not ethically done or ethically written, the paper is likely to be-"retracted" 
   When a paper is rejected, the authors have a chance to fix the problems.
  It's a more serious matter when a paper is retracted because of ethical concerns.
  
  A retraction in the context of journal publishing refers to a published paper that is withdrawn from a journal. When this happens, a retraction notice is usually put up on the journal's website. When a retraction happens because of ethical violations in the research study or in the writing of the paper, the authors may be penalised in some way. A retraction due to ethical issues is likely to seriously damage the author’s reputation and career.
  
  

  All researchers want to succeed in their projects, and they want results that can be published. However, it's important to not do anything that might violate the ethics of research and research communication.
  
  Some researchers think they can get away by violating ethics, but research fraud is increasingly being detected. As a researcher, you should be alert to what is right and what is wrong. The following pages may help you improve your understanding of right and wrong in research.
  
  

  Research approval

  If your research study is going to involve human or animal subjects in any way, you may need to obtain approval from an ethical review board (ERB) or institutional review board (IRB) before you start doing research.
  
  Not obtaining approval before beginning research involving human or animal subjects can lead to damaging consequences. Good journals may not even consider papers reporting studies involving humans or animals if the authors do not submit evidence of approvals. It could also be a violation of local laws to not obtain approvals for such studies.
  
  Check with your institutional authorities, for example, the directorate of research, if such approvals are relevant for your research. You can also look up the instructions to authors given by leading journals in your field. These instructions may contain advice on whether you need to submit evidence of any approvals along with your paper.
  
  Some institutions may not have IRBs or ERBs, and yet those institution's researchers may be carrying out work that should be cleared by a review board. If you're such a researcher, you can try to request approval from an ERB or IRB at a different institution or one that is approved by a national or international research body.
  
  

  Example of instructions

  The prominent open access journal PLOS ONE provides the following information about approvals in the manuscript guidelines:
  

  ---

  Methods sections of papers on research using human subject or samples must include ethics statements that specify:
  

  • The name of the approving institutional review board or equivalent committee(s). If approval was not obtained, the authors must provide a detailed statement explaining why it was not needed
  • Whether informed consent was written or oral. If informed consent was oral, it must be stated in the manuscript:
    • Why written consent could not be obtained
    • That the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved use of oral consent
    • How oral consent was documented

  ...
  For papers that include identifying, or potentially identifying, information, authors must download the Consent Form for Publication in a PLOS Journal (PDF), which the individual, parent, or guardian must sign once they have read the paper and been informed about the terms of PLOS open-access license. The signed consent form should not be submitted with the manuscript, but authors should securely file it in the individual's case notes and the methods section of the manuscript should explicitly state that consent authorization for publication is on file, using wording like: The individual in this manuscript has given written informed consent (as outlined in PLOS consent form) to publish these case details.
  ...
  Methods sections of manuscripts reporting results of animal research must include required ethics statements that specify:
  

  • The full name of the relevant ethics committee that approved the work, and the associated permit number(s) (where ethical approval is not required, the manuscript should include a clear statement of this and the reason why)
  • Relevant details for efforts taken to ameliorate animal suffering

  ---

  The complete manuscript guidelines for this journal can be accessed here: http://www.plosone.org/static/guidelines
  

  
  

  Presenting data

   

  Question

  Research often involves the collection and analysis of data. A lot of data may be obtained, and it may be classified as important data or not-so-important data. Still, it can be difficult to choose which data to present in your paper. What do you think should be done?
  

  Answers

  Option 1

  Include all important data, even those that do not confirm your hypothesis (or data that contradict your research question)
  

  Option 2

  Include only data that support your research hypothesis
  

  Option 3

  Include all data, whether important or not
  

  
  1 is correct
   
  

  Integrity of images

   Question

  Consider this situation:
  Juliet has collected images from a microscope. She is checking them on her computer, and she feels they need to be adjusted before they can be included in her paper. Which of the following should she not do?
  

  Answers

  Option 1

  Erase some parts that she does not understand
  

  Option 2

  Increase the size of the images
  

  Option 3

  Adjust the contrast so that the images are clearer
  

  Option 4

  Add a length scale in the images
  
  1 is correct
  
  

  Appropriate statistics

   

  Question

  Imagine that you have to use some statistical tests to interpret the results of your research project. But you're not sure how to identify or use the appropriate tests.
  Two of the options given below are appropriate. Try to spot the one that is not a good option.
  

  Answers

  Option 1

  Refer to a book or take a course on statistics
  

  Option 2

  Just use tests you are familiar with
  

  Option 3

  Try to get help from a statistician
  
  2,  Yes, this is not a good course of action.
  
  

  Data sharing

  Let's deviate for a moment to consider the issue of data.
  Enormous quantities of research data are produced everyday, and only a fraction of it actually appears in published research.
  
  There is a lot of non-published data that may still be useful.
  Some journals ask for supplementary data to be submitted along with the paper. What's more, some research funders such as the Wellcome Trust specify that data resulting from the research they fund should be shared in the public domain.
  
  In general, it's good to share data. In this course we will not be going through this topic, but look it up on the Internet. Search for terms such as "open data" and "open science".
  
  Open data can accelerate the progress of research by letting more researchers analyse the available data. Another advantage of open data is that it may lead to a reduction in ethical violations related to data, such as data fabrication or falsification. Researchers may be less inclined to falsify or fabricate data if they have to make all of their data available.
  
  

  Duplicate publication

  When a paper is published, it is available to interested readers (in the case of subscription journals) or even the whole world (in the case of open access journals). So there is rarely a case for publishing it again.
  
  Further, scholarly metrics track the citations to each published paper, and aggregated information is used for ranking journals, researchers, or institutions. So if the same paper is published more than once, this is problematic for the scholarly record.
  A published paper is a unique contribution. It is ethically wrong to try to publish it again, either in its entirety or a substantial part of it. Otherwise, it can lead to a form of ethical violation called "duplicate publication".
  
  However, researchers are sometimes tempted to publish the same paper more than once. In some institutions, researchers can increase their chances of getting promoted simply by publishing more papers.
  
  

  Republishing conference papers

   

  Question

  Consider this scenario:
  Obinna has made a presentation at a conference. He has also authored a paper related to the presentation, and this paper has been published in the conference proceedings. He now wants to re-publish the same paper in a journal, because he has heard that journal papers are more important for one's publication record.
  What do you think is the right thing to do?
  

  Answers

  Option 1

  He may re-publish the paper in a journal. He is after all the author of the paper, and he is not stealing any one else's work.
  

  Option 2

  He can use the conference paper as the foundation for a new paper meant for a journal.
  

  Option 3

  Under no account should he reuse anything from the conference paper ever again.
  

  Feedback

  2 Yes, this is a good option

   There should ideally be some new data or inferences in the new paper. If there is a large overlap between his new paper and published conference paper, he should make this clear in his cover letter to the journal and also explain why he wants to republish some findings.

   For example, his conference paper may have been published in proceedings that were not widely circulated or not available online. So he may want to publish a journal paper that reaches a broader audience.
  
  Whatever the case, Obinna should disclose the existence of his conference paper at the time of submitting his new paper to a journal. He should also seek copyright clearance from the publisher of the conference proceedings if he wants to re-use material from his paper in the proceedings

   

  Submitting to two journals at once

   

  Question

  Consider this scenario:
  Jim has just written up a research paper, and he wants to submit it to the top journal in his field. But he is not sure if they will accept his paper. To be on the safe side, he has selected another journal that is not so prestigious but which will probably accept his paper. What should he do?
  

  Answers

  Option 1

  Submit the paper to one of the two journals first. If the first journal rejects his paper, he could submit it to the other journal.
  

  Option 2

  Submit the paper to both the journals at the same time. Once it’s accepted by any of them, he should ask the other journal to cancel their review of his paper.
  

  Option 3

  Submit the paper to the top journal first. If he is asked to act upon comments from the peer reviewers, he should do that and resubmit his paper. Then, to be on the safe side, he should submit his paper to the other journal as well.
  

  Feedback

  1 That’s correct. It is a violation of publication ethics to submit a paper to two journals at the same time. It is also inappropriate to submit a paper to a journal while the same paper is still in consideration at another journal. If the paper is published by both journals, it’s a serious problem and the author could be charged with the ethical violation of duplicate publication.
  

  
  

  Authorship

   Question

  Who qualifies to be an author of a research paper? In one way the answer is simple: Every author of a research paper should have made important intellectual contributions to the research work.
  Imagine that you are the lead researcher in a project. You have worked with a number of people to complete the project. Which of the following people might qualify to be an author of the paper that is the outcome of the project?
  
  

  1. Your research advisor who guided you throughout the project
  

  Option 2

  2. A colleague who trained you to use an instrument for the project
  

  Option 3

  3. A colleague who designed and conducted some experiments
  

  Option 4

  4. The head of your department, even if he or she was not involved in your research
  
  

  Options 1 and 3 are correct. These people have contributed substantially to your research project and therefore might qualify to be authors.
  
  Option 2 is incorrect. Someone who trains you to use an instrument has not actually made a direct contribution to the research work. It may not be appropriate to include this person as an author. However, you can acknowledge this person’s contribution in the "acknowledgments" section of the paper.
  
  Option 4 is also incorrect. Someone who did not directly contribute to your study should not be listed as an author. However, in some cultures and research environments, people in senior roles such as department heads expect to be included as an author of every study conducted in their department. They are called "gift authors" or "guest authors" and this practice is unethical.
  
  

  Authorship guidelines

  Authorship does not have to be a tricky issue. Guidelines are available.
  For example, the authorship guidelines provided by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) are widely used by journals in the health sciences.
  

  ---

  "The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:
  

  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  • Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved."

  Source: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html
  

  ---

  So one needs to do a lot of work to be an author! Authorship must not be taken lightly.
  
  

  Order of authors

   

  Question

  Imagine that there are five authors of a research paper. In which order do you think they should ideally be listed?
  

  Answers

  Option 1

  The order is not important
  

  Option 2

  In alphabetical order
  

  Option 3

  From greatest contributions to the least
  

  Option 4

  From the most senior person to the most junior person
  

  Feedback

  3 That’s correct! In general, authors should be listed in the order of their contributions, and the person who has made the greatest contribution should appear first. 
  
  However, in some fields, the authors are listed alphabetically. For example, if there are dozens of researchers involved in a large research project, it may not be possible to list them in the order of their contributions. An alphabetical sorting may be more practical.
  
  

  Supervisor authorship

   

  Question

  Consider this scenario:
  Dr. Ahmed is a professor and the head of a research group. He has supervised a project done by his students. The student who has played the most important role in the project has written up a paper for a journal. Ahmed is not sure where his own name should appear in the list of authors. Can you help him?
  

  Answers

  Option 1

  Dr. Ahmed's name should appear last in the list of authors.
  

  Option 2

  Dr. Ahmed's name should come first. After all, he is the research supervisor.
  

  Option 3

  The student who has done the most work should have his name appear first, followed by Dr. Ahmed's name, and then the names of the other students.
  

  Feedback

  1, That’s correct! It may seem strange but it’s true: the head of a research project is typically listed at the end. This does not mean that the head has done the least work. Often, the last position in the list of authors is for the "senior author", that is, the person who has supervised the work.
  

  Conflict of interest

  According to the ICMJE, "A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patients' welfare or the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain). Perceptions of conflict of interest are as important as actual conflicts of interest."
  
  It may not be possible to prevent conflicts of interest at all times. But you must do the following when you face a potential conflict of interest:
  

  • accept that there may be a conflict of interest
  • don't let the conflict of interest come in the way of ethical conduct
  • disclose the conflict of interest

  
  One source of information on how to deal with conflicts of interest is the ICMJE website: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/author-responsibilities--conflicts-of-interest.html
  
  

  Declaring conficts of interest

  Journals may ask authors to submit a statement about their conflicts of interest or competing interests, and this will be published with the paper.
  
  Here is an example of a declaration of conflict of interest. It is part of a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE. Pay close attention to the phrases bordered in red.
  
  
  Source: journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0008566
  MP and GR refer to the initials of two of the authors. The study was partially funded by a grant from a company for which these authors have done some work. This is a possible conflict of interest (or competing interest) and therefore should be declared, as the authors have done.
  

  
  

  End matter

  This lesson has been developed by INASP, an international development charity in the UK, as an extension of the work carried out by the AuthorAID team. Visit inasp.info and authoraid.info to learn about our work. 
  
  This lesson was authored and developed by Ravi Murugesan, an INASP Associate. The content was reviewed by Dr Barbara Gastel, also an INASP Associate, and Dr Anne Riederer, an environmental health scientist and technical advisor to Blacksmith Institute. Parts of this lesson were based on material in AuthorAID workshops facilitated by Dr Gastel.
  
  We have used a free and open source e-learning authoring tool called eXeLearning (http://exelearning.net/?lang=en) to create this lesson.
  This lesson was last updated on 26 May 2015.
  
  Licensing
  This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.