Importance of the Research Ethics - Coursework Example

Introduction Ethics is a behavioral system that is significant in assisting people to make honest ruling or opinion regarding complex situations which are largely dependent on their opinion. They are usually the standards of conduct that differentiate between behaviors that are acceptable and those that are unacceptable by the society. It is common for humans to learn the difference between right and wrong as they grow up. Ethical norms are usually present in all stages of life. This creates a common understanding that these norms are common sense. However, it is not right to take the norms this way because there are usually high chances of making errors especially when people do not adhere to procedures. In research, lack of adherence to ethical norms may lead to the wrong results. In order to avoid such problems, every researcher should adhere to these norms so that the research goals can be achieved. Ethical norms are largely significant for intellectuals and researchers who pursue inventive endeavors (Pilbeam, S. and Corbridge, M. 2006 pp.67-71) Importance of Ethics in Research The aims and objectives of the research can not be achieved without adherence to ethical norms. They help in promotion of understanding, avoidance of inaccuracy as well as obtaining genuine results in any research undertaking. Observance of ethical norms prevents researchers from plagiarizing, information fabrication and other prohibited activities in research such as misrepresentation of data obtained from research. They help in ensuring that researchers engage in genuine research and that the information presented to the people is true in regard to the research objectives. Maintenance of ethical standards ensures that the desired collaboration between stake holders in the research is upheld. This is because most of the research usually seeks to satisfy objectives that are usually meant to serve many people. It is therefore important to exercise fairness in order for each stakeholder to be satisfied with the research. Genuine collaboration can only be achieved when ethical norms are observed. For example, researchers need to observe certain regulations that serve as the guiding principles for such undertakings. These include observance of patent rights and copyrights, intellectual property rights and many others. Without observance of these, there can be no collaboration in research because the potential partners may feel denied of their rights (Pilbeam, S. and Corbridge, M. 2006 pp. 99-107). Research involves a lot of sacrifice in terms of personal commitment and resources. Some of the research work may take more a long period to complete and therefore a lot of time is sacrificed to collect and analyze data. Researchers who have undergone this process would never like the information that they have put together for a long period of time to be stolen from them. Stealing may lead to failure of getting the credits that they desire. On the other hand, the unethical practice of stealing other people’s information and assuming its ownership is an offence that is punishable by law in many countries. More over, it can lead to discontinuation from academic institutions in case of academic research. It is therefore important to ensure that ethics is practiced in all research in order to avoid getting in to such difficult situations (Alan M. Saks J. M. and McCarthy 2006 p 91). In most cases, the public is usually dependent on researchers in order to have their problems solved. They may have been assigned a research study to investigate a particular problem that the community is facing. In such a case people will have high expectations from the study. It would therefore be a waste of time and resources if researchers do not adhere to research ethics leading to distorted results which can not solve the problem at hand. In case the problem is associated with disease or a certain critical issue, the results can be detrimental to the lives of the community. It is therefore necessary to adhere to ethical norms in research in order to ensure that the researcher is fully accountable to the community. In case of research in medicine, unethical practices can lead to undesirable consequences including the loss of life due to wrong instructions that may arise from adulterated information. Unethical practices in research can also jeopardize the lives of animals (Williamson, J.B., Karp, D.A., Dalphin, Gray, P.S 1982 p. 36) Research that has been funded through public resources needs to be done ethically in order to acquire public confidence. Without it, people will be dissatisfied with the results regardless of whether they are legitimate. The integrity of the research should be unquestionable in the eyes of the public. Through this confidence, they will be ready to offer more funding to any further research projects. Many ethical and social values are promoted by exercise of ethical norms. Social responsibility is one of the most important moral values that a researcher acquires through adherence to the ethical norms (Shamoo A and Resnik D. 2003 p.66). There are many ethical principles which have important values attached to them. Honesty for example ensures that the researcher communicates effectively concerning the research findings. It also helps the researcher to get assistance in case of any difficulty or failure in a certain process. This is usually because no one person knows everything, which is the reason for doing research. There are usually some other people who did similar research earlier in most cases. It also helps the researcher to avoid giving deceptive information to colleagues in the research team. In this case, unethical behavior may arise after sharing tasks that are aimed at achieving a particular objective. A researcher may be faced with difficulties in data collection and fail to be honest to the rest. He may end up giving data that has been fixed just to meet the deadline for data presentation. In some instances, the data that was not actually collected from the field may have a large deviation from the rest, which may raise doubts and eventually necessitate a repeat of data collection. This may make the researchers to lose confidence in one of them, thereby causing unnecessary alarm in regard to the final result. If the researchers fail to have confidence in their own work, it is usually difficult to convince the public or the funding bodies that the results are the true outcome of the research (Alan M. Saks J. M. and McCarthy 2006 pp. 78-86). It is also of utmost importance to adhere to objectivity. This is an ethical principle that should be practiced in all research undertakings, the fact being that research is usually meant to answer questions, or to establish the effectiveness or impact of a particular action in a certain field. Biasness may lead to failure of accomplishment of the aims and objectives of the research. Researchers should avoid being biased in the experimental design, analysis of data, interpreting the data as well as in all the activities that are undertaken to accomplish the goal of research. This is usually critical for research that is meant to identify solutions to particular problems. For example a research funded by the government to investigate the rise in violence against women seeks to establish the causes, hence establish a solution to the problem. Any bias towards whichever sex may lead to the wrong interpretation, which in turn leads to the wrong solutions. The futile application of these solutions raises questions about the research. Since the researcher has to defend his/her findings, it turns out to be a costly and worthless undertaking that does not help in solving the problem at hand (Kirton, G. and Greene, A. 2004 pp. 27-36). The researcher should exercise ethics while making promises. He should be able to honor all the promises made before beginning the research. This is because other people may be waiting for the results of the research in order to move to another step. This is significant especially in medical research, be it human or animal medicine. The government may be waiting for an analysis of the results in order to take the necessary measures to control an epidemic. The unethical behavior of delaying the results may lead to the deaths of people or animals. Some researchers may tend to delay the results due to the fact that they are the only ones who posses vital information that the government can chose to forego many other important issues in order to acquire it. It is important to stick to the agreement in order to save time and life (Shamoo A and Resnik D. 2003 pp. 99-101). Carelessness in research is unacceptable and unethical. It is important for researchers to be careful when conducting research in order to avoid unwarranted problems in the process. It is necessary to critically review the work from time to time and from stage to stage. The records should be straight in order to facilitate their proper analysis. Failure to take proper care of the process may be disastrous especially in some of the scientific research which requires the use of flammable or toxic substances. Carelessness may endanger the life of the researcher as well as that of those in the surrounding. It may also lead to mistakes in the research design, which might add unnecessary costs. It is usually important to acknowledge and at times seek permission to use earlier results from other researchers. This is important since they may have noted some mistakes in course of their research, and they could offer vital information regarding the results (Pilbeam, S. and Corbridge, M. 2006 pp. 89-95). Confidentiality is important in any research work. The unethical behavior of exposing crucial information to the public before it has been proved can lead to unnecessary agitation in the community. This mainly applies to government or medical research whereby people are usually anxious about the results. In such cases, leakage of a little information to the public may hamper the research activities, and the objectives may never be achieved. If the results require publication, it is necessary to ensure that the results are published accurately and precisely. It is unethical to publish the incorrect results, which may not assist in solving the problem (Hammersley M 1993 pp. 89-91). Ethics in research is important since it helps in mentoring and advising students in their future academic research. Unethical practices in research are discouraging to the students, and they tend to believe that all research takes the same form. Being the future researchers, it is important to demonstrate the importance of using ethical practices in research. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge the contribution of colleagues in the research. This allows future cooperation and assistance in case of similar research. The unethical practice of assuming that all responsibilities were undertaken by one person whereas they were shared may lead to discouragement of those who assisted and they may never be available to assist any other time (Williamson, J.B., Karp, D.A., Dalphin, Gray, P.S 1982 pp. 66-71). Every body matters in research and therefore it is necessary to ensure that none is discriminated against in any form of research. It is unethical to discriminate people in regard to race, sex, age or any other social aspect. This is because good results are usually obtained from a variety of samples. It is also important to ensure that the research follows legal guidelines. This is necessary because if the research is done illegitimately, there are the common possibilities of being declared null, regardless of the objectives. On the other hand, social research requires that people be adequately informed on the objectives and the significance of the research to their lives. Failure to do this may lead to them giving information carelessly or even providing the wrong information. For example some medical researchers fail in their investigations in to the preference of HIV in particular populations due to the inadequacy of the information they offer to the respondents. People have to be sufficiently informed why blood samples have to be taken from their body, and the accessibility as well as confidentiality of the results. If they realize that they may never get the results of the test or if they feel that the information that they offer to the researcher is going to be revealed, they may refuse to respond or allow samples to be taken from them, thereby hampering the possibility of achieving the results (British Sociological Association 2002) . In the case of animals, it is necessary to ensure that the research does not cause undue pain such as mutilating some body parts when the animal is still alive. Such an experiment is unethical and unwelcome in the intellectual field. People may lack interest in the results after knowing the primitiveness of the research design. The research may end up being criticized rather than assisting people to solve problems. On the other hand, while conducting experiments with humans, it is important to ensure that their lives are not endangered by the research design. The research should be designed to assist human beings rather than destroy their life (Shamoo A and Resnik D. 2003). It is of utmost importance to make ethical decisions since the research codes and policies as well as research principles usually fail to address all the situations that arise in research. They require critical interpretation due to the fact that they tend to conflict. The ability for researchers to make the correct assessment and interpretation in regard to the rules of the research and the possible measures to take in case of unexpected situations that may arise in the process of research. These decisions are important in ensuring the continuity of research without interfering with the integrity of the research design. Taking unethical measures in order to overcome a problem in the research process often leads to failure in the end (Williamson, J.B., Karp, D.A., Dalphin, Gray, P.S 1982 pp. 78-84). For example, in a case whereby a researcher is conducting experiments in a medical research to establish the effects of a certain toxin in the human body with the use of mice that are normally used in such cases, there is usually the time factor that is necessary in determining the end results. A lot of time is required in order to complete injecting as many as 100 samples while recording the time lapse for each reaction. Due to exhaustion, a person conducting the research is supposed to make an ethical decision of dealing with some samples and having some time to rest and resume after refreshment. The unethical decision of making assumptions in regard to the experiment may give the wrong results that may eventually cause the wrong analysis of results. The researcher may tend to assume that having done with 50 samples, the rest of the samples will react in the same way. This may end up causing the researcher to make false conclusions that may be detrimental to the lives of humans. In another dimension, it is of utmost importance to ensure that researchers are not forced to undertake research that they do not feel comfortable doing. It is unethical to do such a thing even if it is crucial for the government. This is because the researcher himself can influence the results especially if it was not voluntary. The objectives can not be met through forced research. It should be completely voluntary and self satisfying. In case such forced research is meant to solve a problem affecting the public, the unethical practices that may arise from the dissatisfaction of the researchers may end up the process in results that are more of a problem than a solution. Such kind of forced research may some times be manifested in cases whereby the researcher has to get information from prisoners or overburdened university dons (Bulmer, Martin 1993 pp. 45-51). The research should assure the researchers of their security especially when dealing with intricate matters of the government or prominent persons. They should be guaranteed confidentiality regardless of the intensity of the matter. It is unethical to expose a person to the criticism of individuals or communities after unearthing some critical information concerning them. This may initiate animosity towards the researcher. Information whose origin should be kept anonymous should be protected just as the information from the respondents is kept secret. In order to achieve this, all the participants in the research need to be adequately informed on the extent of the confidentiality. It is also important for researchers to ensure that they engage knowledgeable people in the research. This is because such people understand the principles of the subject matter and therefore they can not make mistakes which could hamper the realization of goals. It is usually unethical for researchers to engage people who are not adequately informed about the research. This usually happens when researchers lack funds to engage skilled personnel in the research. On the other hand, it is important to ensure that the researcher is qualified for the particular research. Lack of proper qualification may affect the results and it may be regarded as unethical. This is important especially when dealing with critical subjects such as in the medical sciences (Shamoo A and Resnik D. 2003 pp. 87-91). Most of the unethical practices that have been witnessed in research usually result from the researchers themselves or partly because of environmental problems. In some instances people have moral weaknesses which lead them to be insensitive in regard research work. The unethical behaviors that arise from such practices usually impact negatively on the final outcome of the research. In some cases, a researcher may be undertaking numerous researches in order to earn from those who need the results. The tasks may be too many for one person who may not be ready to give up some of it for other researchers. In the end, the tasks become overwhelming, leading to exhaustion, mixing up of data and incomplete sampling and analysis. This causes the final results to be faulty. The practice is unethical and may be detrimental to the users of the information from such kind of research. On the other hand, the person overseeing the research may expose the researchers to highly risky environments, or may fail to provide the necessary equipment for the research activities. This usually happens for research that is carried out in forests where there is the risk of wild animals as well as in water bodies where the right gear and equipment should be provided to overcome the dangers associated with drowning (Bulmer, Martin 1993 pp. 67-75). It is unethical for the research team manager to send people in areas where their lives are endangered. It may lead to loss of life as well as information which may hamper realization of the goal. There are other cases whereby something is assumed to be a tradition in research. This practice can be regarded as unethical in cases where it binds the researchers to a certain activity which should otherwise be changed to suit the research. Some research managers do not allow their teams to make independent decisions which suit a particular situation. This leads to inaccurate results especially if the field requires flexibility, especially in fields such as community and market research (Kirton, G. and Greene, A. 2004 pp. 77-86). . Conclusion Research ethics is of paramount importance, and should be practiced in all fields of research in order to accomplish the goal of the research. In order to avoid failures associated with unethical research practices, researchers should be encouraged to take lessons in research ethics in order for them to be properly equipped with information regarding ethical norms and the importance of ethics in research. These lessons can assist the researchers to overcome the dilemmas of ethics in order to have the capability of making ethical decisions. Bibliography 1. Alan M. Saks J. M. and McCarthy 2006. Effects of Discriminatory Interview Questions and Gender on Applicant Reactions. Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 2, University of Toronto. 2. British Sociological Association Statement of Ethical Practice 2002 viewed on 11th Mar. 2009 at 3. Hammersley M 1993. Social Research: Philosophy, Politics and Practice Sage. Sociological Methods & Research journal, vol. 7, 56-60, California University Press. 4. Kirton, G. and Greene, A. 2004. The Dynamics of Managing Diversity: A Critical Approach. 2nd ed., Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. 5. Martin B. 1993. Sociological Research Methods: An Introduction, 2nd edition Macmillan. Pilbeam, S. and Corbridge, M. 2006. People Resourcing: Contemporary HRM in Practice. 3rd ed., Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. 6. Shamoo A and Resnik D. 2003. Responsible Conduct of Research New York: Oxford University Press. 7. Williamson, J.B., Karp, D.A., Dalphin, Gray, P.S. 1982. The Research Craft: An Introduction to Social Research Methods, Little, Brown and Company, Boston. Read More