RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. Ethics In Research
Ali Haider

2. Ethics In Research
 Research as a purely
objective activity
removed from all
aspects of politics and
power is a myth no
longer accepted in the
research world

3. Ethics In Research
It is now recognized that research, and
therefore researchers, are responsible for
shaping the character of knowledge (soon
after the turn of the 20th century).
 So responsibilities associated with this
knowledge production have led to a growing
recognition and acceptance of the need for
ethical and political awareness.

4. Ethics In Research
Power, politics, and ethics must be actively
managed by the researcher.
Researchers need to recognize that power
can influence the research process, and that
with power comes responsibility.
So, what power involves….

5.  Recognize and appreciate your
own reality as a researcher.
 Be cognizant of how your
worldview, assumptions, and
position can influence the
research process.
 Act ethically : balances the
biases and subjectivities

6. Ethics In Research
There is no such thing like “Super- Researcher”.
Entities that stand outside all aspects of humanity,
e.g. , gender, class, or race.
 Would be unaffected by history, politics, and
any/all aspects of socialization.
We are all products of the social forces that
surround us.
We carry with us the biases and prejudices.

7. Ethics In Research
Recognizing the importance of ‘self’ :
Gender Age Ethnicity
Social
Status
Education

8. Ethics In Research
“ SELF”….
Gender: the power of our sexuality is often
underplayed and unseen.
Age: The answer to a question can often depend
on who is doing the asking…e.g. ‘How was your
weekend?’
The answer you give your grandmother is
probably quite different from the one you give
your friends.

9. Ethics In Research
Ethnicity: ethnic and cultural background of the
researcher can influence the research process.
Social status: Our position in society can have
great bearing on the research process.
Education: It is important for researchers to
consider how respondents will relate to them.

10. Ethics In Research
Yet you are likely to be better educated than
many you will be researching – the power
position.
Field-based researchers often learn that
building trust and friendly relation grows from
their ability to show respect for the researched
regardless of any educational differential.

11. Ethics In Research
NAVIGATING WORLDVIEW:
Working towards credible research demands
reflexive awareness of our worldviews.
Our sense of patriotism, our understandings of
family, our belief in justice and equity – our
morals and most core beliefs –are all parts of our
worldviews.
They are a part of how we understand and make
sense of the world …we should take them in
account while doing research.

12. Ethics In Research
Western worldview:
Our understandings of the world and the actions of
those within it are generally seen through a ‘Modern
Western’ worldview.
 But truth, morality, beauty, even what is seen as
‘correct', varies widely across cultures.
Realities vary, and researchers need to accept the
potential for realities they may not
understand…researcher should recognize the impact
of one’s own ideological positioning.

13. Ethics In Research
To be self-centred:
Suspending judgements based on your own
worldview becomes essential.
Only hearing the dominant voice(s):
For example, surveying only residential
university students, and then talking about
university students in general.
Dichotomization and double standards:

14. Ethics In Research
Dichotomization and double standards:
Dichotomization refers to the tendency to put
groups at two separate ends of the spectrum
without recognition of overlapping
characteristics… Like binary of ‘men 'and
‘women 'or ‘blacks 'and ‘whites’.
 Dichotomize risks embedding stereotypes and
societal assumptions into the research process.

15. Ethics In Research
Disregard for the power of language:
The words we use to speak to respondents can
be easily misunderstood and misrepresented.
Similarly, the words of respondents can be easily
misconstrued by the researcher.
For example, language that might be ‘shocking’
for one group, might be quite ‘everyday’ for
another.

16. Ethics In Research
Responsibility for the production of knowledge

17.  Most universities will
require you to obtain
ethics approval from
relevant committee(s) for
any study you plan to
undertake.

18. Accurate reporting:
It is the responsibility of
the researcher to minimize
the possibility that the
results they generate are
false or misleading.
 In order to safeguard
against ‘fraud’, researchers
are expected to be open
and accountable.

19. Accurate reporting:
In fact, some codes of ethics require that
researchers keep their raw data for a period of
five to seven years.
Researchers (including students) have been
known to following misrepresentation.

20. Misrepresentation.
 Blatantly fabricate data or
falsify results
 Omit cases or fiddle with
numbers in order to show
‘significance.
 Plagiarize passages from
articles or books.
 Misrepresent of authorship
by: using ghost writer;
taking full credit of
authorship; naming a co-
author who had no
involvement.

21. Acting within the law :
 All research must abide by common law.
Researchers also need to consider whether
there is an obligation to report any illegal
activities they may become aware of in the
course of their research.
If your research is likely to contend with illegal
activities, getting the advice and approval of an
appropriate ethics committee is imperative.

22. Responsibility for the researched:
Responsibility for the dignity,respect,and welfare of
respondents, both mentally and physically, is central
to research ethics.
 Respecting the rights of cultural groups:
Certain aspects of research may be deemed
culturally inappropriate. In Aboriginal cultures in
Australia, for example, it is offensive to look at images
of the deceased. A research project that asked this of
Aboriginal respondents would not be acceptable.

23. Responsibility for the
researched:
 Ensuring respondents have
given informed consent:
Informed consent emphasizes
the importance of researchers
accurately informing
respondents/participants of the
nature of their research.

24. Informed consent:
 Informed consent implies that participants are:
 Competent – they have the intellectual capacity and
psychological maturity necessary to understand the nature
of the research and their involvement in the study.
Autonomous – they are making self-directed and self-
determined choices.
Involved voluntarily – they must be made aware of the
research being conducted.
Aware of the right to discontinue – participants are under
no obligation to continue their involvement, and pressure
to continue should not be applied.

25. Informed consent:
Not deceived – researchers need to be honest about
the nature of their research, about the affiliation or
professional standing, and the intended use of their
study.
Not coerced – positions of power should not be used
to get individuals to participate in a study.
Not induced – an offer of money or some other
reward that entices individuals to participate in
research that they would otherwise avoid is considered
inducemen.

26. ABUSE IN RESEARCH:
The concept of harm in social science research
generally refers to emotional or psychological
harm, rather than physical harm.
Asking participants to engage in research that
sparks resentment, causes fear or anxiety, is
demeaning or embarrassing.
 Some research texts refer ‘potential benefits
outweighing potential harm’.

27. ABUSE IN RESEARCH:
Regardless of any potential
benefits to society, or even
informed consent, risks of
any type of harm, including
damage to self-esteem or
self-respect, should be
ethically and/or morally
unacceptable.

28. Ensuring confidentiality:
Confidentiality involves protecting
the identity of those providing
research data.
Protection of confidentiality may
involve secure storage of data;
restricting access to raw data;
obtaining permission for
subsequent use of data;
publication of research findings in
a manner that does not allow for
ready identification of subjects;
and eventual destruction of raw
data.

29. Anonymity:
Anonymity goes a step beyond confidentiality
and refers to protection against identification
from even the researcher.
 Information, data, and responses that are
collected anonymously cannot be identified
with a particular respondent.

30. Some Frustrating factors about ethics :
1. Writers often differ quite widely from each other over
ethical issues and questions. In other words, they differ over
what is and is not ethically acceptable.
2 . The main elements in the debates do not seem to move
forward a great deal. The same kinds of points that were
made in the 1960s were being rehashed in the late 1990s
and at the start of the present century.
 One thing that has changed is that ethical issues are
nowadays more central to discussions about research than
ever before.

31. 4. Debates about ethics have often accompanied
wellknown, not to say notorious, cases of alleged ethical
transgression.
• Rosenthal and Jacobson’s (1968) field experiment to
study teacher expectations in the classroom.
• The problem with this emphasis on notoriety is that it
can be taken to imply that ethical concerns reside only
in such extreme cases.
5. Related to this last point is the fact that these extreme
and notorious cases of ethical violation tend to be
associated with particular research methods—notably
disguised observation and the use of deception in
experiments.

32. Some important ethics codes on
internet.
Some of the most useful codes of ethics can be found at the
following Internet addresses. • British Sociological Association (BSA),
Statement of Ethical Practice: www.britsoc.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/
801B9A62-5CD3-4BC2-93E1-FF470FF10256/0/
StatementofEthicalPractice.pdf
Social Research Association (SRA), Ethical Guidelines: www.the-
sra.org.uk/documents/pdfs/ethics03.pdf
British Psychological Society (BPS), Code of Conduct, Ethical
Principles, and Guidelines: www.bps.org.uk/ document-download-
area/document-download$. cfm?fi le_uuid=E6917759-9799-434A-
F3139C35698E1864&ext=pdf.