106th Orientation Programme

UGC-HRDC, The University of Burdwan, West Bengal,

1st June – 28th June, 2017

Issues in Research Ethics

Arup Kumar Baksi

Associate Professor,
Dept. of Management & Business Administration
Aliah University, West Bengal
Email: baksi. arup@gmail.com
www.aliah.ac.in
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 Some key terminologies:

 Research Ethics: moral principles guiding research

 Ethical Principles: concerned with rights, dignity &

safety of researched

 Research Governance: development of shared

standards and mechanisms for
monitoring/management of research (& sanctions if
required).

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 Why ethical issues crop up ?
 Plurality of methods, even within the same discipline
 Inductive and deductive work approach and
generalization
 Manipulation of data and information
 Convergence of disciplines
 Involvement of vulnerable, under-represented and
disadvantaged groups under study
 Authenticity of data
 Equality of participation in research
 Experimental hazards and precautions
 Copyright violation and plagiarism

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 6 key principles in research ethics:
 Research should be designed, reviewed and undertaken to
ensure integrity and quality

 Informed consent of both research staff and subjects

 Confidentially of information and anonymity of

respondents must be respected

 Participation must be voluntary and free from coercion

 Harm avoidance

 Independence of research - any conflicts of interest or

partiality must be explicit.

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 Ethical theories in perspective:

 Deontology - Focuses on individuals’ rights

 Teleology - Focuses on trade-offs between individual

costs and group benefits

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 Disciplinary-mix in Humanities & Social Science
research:
Traditional disciplines are philosophy, history, study of
languages (linguistics) and literature (national literature,
comparative literature), religion (theology) and arts
(performing and visual arts, art history, and musicology). The
division between humanities and social sciences is not always
clear, as in some traditions, archaeology, anthropology,
geography and even law can be included in the humanities.
The demarcation between the fields of humanities and social
sciences is even less clear with more recently established
disciplines, such as cultural, gender, ethnic or area studies.
Furthermore, the contemporary emphasis on inter-
disciplinarity involves humanities in research projects
that transcend its original boundaries.
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 Expected outcomes in Humanities & Social Science
research:
For Humanities and Social Science research focusing on innovation is a
rarity since the results of research are rarely applicable as tools or
products. However, we can speak of innovation in humanities in terms of:
• creating new theories and methods that find their use in several
disciplines across humanities and social sciences;
• compiling databases of cultural heritage and preparing exhibitions;
• the impact of humanities in other fields, where innovations are made,
e.g. in design and creative industries, which are often under the
influence of contemporary aesthetical or philosophical thought;
• the societal impact of research in humanities, e.g. through publically
influential critical theory, which can advocate democratic ideas and
criticise discriminatory ideologies;
• new currents in performing and visual arts that have a wider cultural
impact on society;
• developing pedagogical models;
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applied linguistics, e.g. in translation
 Issues in research ethics in Humanities & Social
Science:
 Since research in humanities is often very interpretive,
reviewers are often faced with the conflict between the
ideal of remaining objective in reviewing and critiquing
papers and performances and the inherently subjective
nature of these products.

 As humanities often address topics that can be politically

controversial or sensitive for various groups within
society, researchers are often faced with pressure from
political parties or religious organisations

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 Issues in research ethics in Humanities & Social
Science:
 Plagiarism is an issue humanities share with other fields.
Humanities literature often involves extensive
commenting on other authors’ texts so special care must
be applied to clearly distinguish summaries of other texts
and the author’s own theses. As the interview respondent
pointed out, the notion of authenticity can vary in
different cultural contexts

 Data fabrication and data presentation bias:

researchers in humanities work with qualitative data
which they select and interpret

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 Issues in research ethics in Humanities & Social
Science:
 Accepting funding and sponsorship from corporations
that do not stand for the same values as those being
promoted by the research essence can be ethically
questionable. In performance arts, when performances
generate profit, the profits must be managed with
integrity

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 Ethical guidelines and codes for research in social
sciences and humanities often divide values and
principles connected to research into three major
categories:
 standards of scientific practice

 responsibilities towards individuals and communities

directly participating in research

 considerations of societal impact of research

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 Major focus of researchers on handling ethical issues :
 Value proposition:
(i) Quality of research
(ii) Freedom, autonomy or independence
(ii) Scientific integrity:
 Research involving human participation (social science,
performing arts):
(i) human dignity
(ii) voluntary & informed consent
(iii) confidentiality & anonymity
 Participation
 Data & information dissemination & preservation

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 Examples of unethical motives in research:

 Sugging - selling under the guise of a survey (Illegal)

 Frugging - fund raising under the guise of a survey

(Unethical)

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 Issues in research ethics in Science & Technology:

 Uncertainty

 Risk

 Precaution

 Conflict of interest

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 Conclusion:

 Institutionalization
 Ethics code
 Physiological and psychological harm
 Delicate balance between societal norms, power
distribution and state of research

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 Thank You

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