KABARAK UNIVERSITY

Private Bag – 20157, kabarak, Nakuru TEL:254-51-3475234/5

Email: tateka@kabarak.ac.ke FAX: 254-51-343529

GROUP 10
NO NAME REG NO:

1. TOO KIBET BRIAN CS/MG/2043/05/18

2. KISSINGER HELLEN YOA CS/MG/2076/05/18

3. MARITA BENSON MOKANO CS/MG/2094/05/18

4. KARANJA JOHN RUKUNGU CS/MG/2137/05/18

5. FAITH CHERONO CS/MG/2110/05/18

6. KIBET BRANDON CS/MG/2150/09/16

7. KENDUIYWA SHARON CHEMTAI CS/MG/2228/05/18

8. OCHIENG MARK OWINO CS/MG/1333/05/18

9. SHAKIRO CAREN NORAH CS/MG/2255/05/18

10. ATEKA TIGER OGOLA CS/MG/2249/09/16

 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Introduction.

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the conduct of people and guides the
norms or standards of behaviour of people and relationships with each other . It refers to
an “ethos” or “way of life”, “social norms for conduct that distinguishes between
acceptable and unacceptable behavior” (Shah, 2011, p.205; Akaranga & Ongong’a,
2013,p.8). Many societies have legal rules which dictate behavior, but ethical norms are
broader than laws. However, societies apply laws to enforce the moral standards.

Ethics when applied to social research is concerned with the creation of a trusting
relationship between those who are researched and the researcher. To ensure that trust is
established it is essential that communication is carefully planned and managed, that risks
are minimised and benefits are maximised.
In terms of protecting the participant’s right not to be injured or mistreated, it is normally
the duty of the research team not to expose the research participant to significantly
burdensome, unreasonable, known or predictable risk. On occasion, however, when
significant burden or predictable material risk is unavoidable, it is the duty of the research
team to provide appropriate information on the likely burden and/or risk involved, so that
the participant can determine if they fully understand and accept that burden or risk.
Thus, for example, in drug trials and trials involving medical devices, the trials are
phased and normally commence with non-human (laboratory and animal) trials. Such
measures help to provide insight into likely effects of the particular drug or device – at
least on non-human subjects. Thus, by the time clinical trials (trials using human
participants) commence, previous phases give insight into the actions of the agent (drug
or device, for example). This provides a certain level of confidence that the agent will
either not cause significant physical risk to the trial participants or that any such risks,
which will be explained to the participant prior to participation, can and will be managed
and/or mitigated by the research team.
 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
Ethical principles are divided into three main divisions related to ethical issues namely-
a) Ethical issues related to research.
b) Ethical issues related to subjects.
c) Ethical issues related to research process.

A. ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RESEARCH.

They include:-
1. Academic freedom
Academecians are supposed to be open minded and share their information
without fear or intimidation yet observing the need to protect intellectual
property.
2. Fabrication and falsification or fraud
Fabrication involves creating, inventing or faking data or results which are
then recorded or reported while, falsification or fraud is the manipulation of
materials, equipment, processes, by changing results or omitting some data or
findings so that the research does not seem to have been well represented or
recorded (Mugenda, 2003; Kour, 2014).Any researcher who is involved in
such a practice violates the primary objective of research ethics which renders
him or her untrustworthy and could mislead other scholars, while at the same
time undermining their own academic authority. This is prevalent if the
researcher or researchers misuse their privilege and abuse the power bestowed
upon them for their benefit at the expense of the vulnerable subjects
(Mugenda, 2003).
3. Financial issues and sponsorship
Research is an important event which calls upon through presentation and
analysis of information. Hence, researchers should be held accountable to the
public and must seek for financial support and sponsorship because a research
study should be thoroughly undertaken. But, in some cases, the research
findings could be compromised by the funding organization which does not
fully support the research financially and instead strives to save money thus
 impacting on the quality of the study. This definitely leads to hurried research
and distorted findings . Such studies could be a waste of money or is of no
value or impact on the consumers. Some research studies are even conducted
under the guidance of a sponsor/s who specifies their needs or demands. In
one way, this could lead to non-compliance or non-conformity.
4. Plagiarism
This is the practice where an author or researcher has to ensure that any work
which is written should be original and be devoid of some texts, results or
even expressions which are borrowed, manipulated or used such as ideas,
processes, results or even words of the author or publication without
acknowledging where the information has been obtained from (Mugenda ,
2003; Kour,2014).This malpractice has been necessitated by the advancement
of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the contemporary society

B. ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO SUBJECTS.

In developing a trusting relationship, researchers adhere to a number of ethical
principles which they apply to their work - namely
1. Beneficence.
2. Autonomy.
3. Non-maleficence.
4. Justice.
5. Veracity.
6. Voluntary and informed consent.
7. Privacy and confidentiality.

1. Beneficence(Doing good)
The ethical principle of beneficence refers to the Hippocratic "be of benefit.
Beauchamp and Childress, suggest that
"the principle of beneficence includes the professional mandate to
do effective and significant research so as to better serve and
promote the welfare of our constituents".
Research should only be carried out if some sort of benefit or good can be derived
from it, (i.e. contribution to knowledge or improved service/treatment). Therefore the
question of whether or not a research project is worth undertaking should always be
uppermost in the mind of the researcher. If no benefit can be derived then the project
is unethical.

2. Autonomy(Self Rule)
Researchers have an obligation to disclose information at a level that participants can
understand so that they can either refuse or agree to participate. In essence, autonomy
is concerned with the concept of informed consent whereby people who agree to take
part in a study know what they are agreeing to and authorise the researcher to collect
information without any form of coercion.

3. Non-maleficence (Do no harm)

The principle of non-maleficence places an obligation on researchers not to harm
others or expose people to unnecessary risks. Harm can come in many forms, from
blows to self-esteem to ‘looking bad’ to others, to loss of funding or earnings, to
boredom, frustration, or time wasting. It is good practice to assume that every
research project will involve some form of harm and to consider in advance how best
to deal with it.

4. Justice (Fairness)
This principle implies that everyone should be treated fairly and equally.

5. Veracity(Truth telling)
This principle concerns truth telling whereby the researcher is required to provide
comprehensive and accurate information in a manner that enhances understanding.
For example, if the researcher says that a questionnaire will take 10 minutes to
complete then the questionnaire should take 10 minutes and not 15 minutes.
Researchers should always be honest with participants and keep any promises made.
 6. Voluntary and informed consert.
This is one of the major ethical issues in in conducting research which implies the
fact that “a person knowingly, voluntarily, intelligently, and in a clear and manifest
way, gives his or her consert.
According to (Arminger, 1997, p.330). In all research studies, emphasis is laid on
obtaining information truthfully. But, this can only be achieved if the researcher
explains to the respondents the purpose of the study, the risks that could be involved
and also guarantees the confidentiality of the research subjects by observing
anonymity. Such confidence can only be attained if the researcher is able to identify
him or herself clearly to the subjects by explaining the benefits of the study to the
subjects. For example, when executing a questionnaire or employing focus group
discussions the respondents are at liberty to respond to issues raised on their own
volition. In this regard, a researcher must affirm to the respondent the need for
observing the principle of voluntary consent or willingness to participate in a
research. And, for a respondent to make informed consent, a researcher should
explain clearly the truth about the purpose of the research being conducted, if there
are any risks involved they should be elaborated.
The researcher should then not reveal the identity of the respondent and guarantee
them anonymity and confidentiality.
7. Privacy and confidentiality.
According to Levine : "privacy is the freedom an individual has to determine the time,
extent, and general circumstances under which private information will be shared with or
withheld from others " Kelman believes that an invasion of privacy happens when private
information such as beliefs, attitudes, opinions and records, is shared with others, without
the patients knowledge or consent. Confidentiality is an extension of privacy but relates
specifically to the agreements made between the researcher and participants about what
can and cannot be done with information collected over a course of a project. In most
cases this will be determined and subjected to the legal constraints
Also privacy concerns the respect for limited access to another person, be it physically,
emotionally or cognitively. For example, although participants grant access to their
thoughts and feelings when they agree to participate, they do not agree to unlimited
access. Therefore they have always got the right to decline to talk about certain issues or
answer specific questions.

C. ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RESEARCH PROCESS

Namely;- research proposal and recommendations.

Research proposals.

The University of Kabarak code of conduct addresses the following ethical principles in
research. First, students and lecturers should observe honesty in all communications by
reporting data accurately, presenting their results well using appropriate methods and
procedures, methods and procedures leading to the completion of the final written report.
The beginning of academic writing at the University of Nairobi starts with crafting a
research proposal which is written by a post graduate student under the guidance of a
proposed supervisor or supervisors. At this level, the student presents the study at a
seminar in the Department which is critiqued by academic members and other post
graduate students who make positive suggestions to improve on the quality of the work.
The candidate then makes corrections and improves on the proposal which is further
discussed at the Faculty or School.
At this level, it is the supervisor who presents the document on behalf of the candidate.
Upon satisfactorily meeting the set corrections and amendments, the proposal is approved
for research and the candidate is now fully registered to undertake the study. This is
normally a rigorous exercise which takes a lot of time and some prospective candidates
even drop off from the programme and may not go ahead to undertake research.
 Recommendations.

There are many reasons why ethical norms are maintained while conducting research.
First, they promote the main aims of the research which include among others, the
acquisition of knowledge, promoting the truth in research by avoiding errors that could
arise due to providing false information, fabricating or misrepresenting information.
Second, research involves great efforts which require the cooperation and coordination
among many people and researchers. It is therefore vital for the researchers and
consumers to trust each other, respect the views of other scholars and treat them fairly
and are accountable to their research endeavours. In this regard, there exist guidelines
which are produced so as to maintain the copyright and patenting policies of their
products. But, this can only be achieved if appropriate rules are executed to enhance
confidentiality. Third, any work that researchers are involved in or any work that is
published must be read by the public who also appreciate the efforts of the researcher.
Fourth, if the research is being sponsored by funds from the public coffers, it must be
well accounted for because, such research must be supported so as to enhance its quality
and integrity. Finally, research ethics focuses on values which are societal in nature.
Hence, researchers should enhance social responsibility, maintain the integrity of human
values, and protect the welfare of the research subjects and animals in compliance with
the international law and safety