Wexford needs to take some time to think about what she should do. One possible option is to share data, provided that the investigators sign a data use agreement. The agreement could define allowable uses of the data, publication plans, authorship, etc. Another option would be to offer to collaborate with the researchers. The following are some step that researchers, such as Dr. Wexford, can take to deal with ethical dilemmas in research:.
It is always important to get a clear statement of the problem. In this case, the issue is whether to share information with the other research team. Many bad decisions are made as a result of poor information. To know what to do, Dr. Wexford needs to have more information concerning such matters as university or funding agency or journal policies that may apply to this situation, the team's intellectual property interests, the possibility of negotiating some kind of agreement with the other team, whether the other team also has some information it is willing to share, the impact of the potential publications, etc.
People may fail to see different options due to a limited imagination, bias, ignorance, or fear. In this case, there may be other choices besides 'share' or 'don't share,' such as 'negotiate an agreement' or 'offer to collaborate with the researchers.
The university or funding agency may have policies on data management that apply to this case. Broader ethical rules, such as openness and respect for credit and intellectual property, may also apply to this case. Laws relating to intellectual property may be relevant. It may be useful to seek advice from a colleague, a senior researcher, your department chair, an ethics or compliance officer, or anyone else you can trust. In the case, Dr. Wexford might want to talk to her supervisor and research team before making a decision.
After considering these questions, a person facing an ethical dilemma may decide to ask more questions, gather more information, explore different options, or consider other ethical rules. However, at some point he or she will have to make a decision and then take action. Ideally, a person who makes a decision in an ethical dilemma should be able to justify his or her decision to himself or herself, as well as colleagues, administrators, and other people who might be affected by the decision.
He or she should be able to articulate reasons for his or her conduct and should consider the following questions in order to explain how he or she arrived at his or her decision:. After considering all of these questions, one still might find it difficult to decide what to do. If this is the case, then it may be appropriate to consider others ways of making the decision, such as going with a gut feeling or intuition, seeking guidance through prayer or meditation, or even flipping a coin.
Endorsing these methods in this context need not imply that ethical decisions are irrational, however. The main point is that human reasoning plays a pivotal role in ethical decision-making but there are limits to its ability to solve all ethical dilemmas in a finite amount of time. Read about U. Most academic institutions in the US require undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate students to have some education in the responsible conduct of research RCR.
Many academic institutions outside of the US have also developed educational curricula in research ethics. Those of you who are taking or have taken courses in research ethics may be wondering why you are required to have education in research ethics. You may believe that you are highly ethical and know the difference between right and wrong. You would never fabricate or falsify data or plagiarize.
Indeed, you also may believe that most of your colleagues are highly ethical and that there is no ethics problem in research.. If you feel this way, relax. No one is accusing you of acting unethically.
Indeed, the evidence produced so far shows that misconduct is a very rare occurrence in research, although there is considerable variation among various estimates. The rate of misconduct has been estimated to be as low as 0.
See Shamoo and Resnik , cited above. Clearly, it would be useful to have more data on this topic, but so far there is no evidence that science has become ethically corrupt, despite some highly publicized scandals. Will education in research ethics help reduce the rate of misconduct in science? It is too early to tell.
The answer to this question depends, in part, on how one understands the causes of misconduct. There are two main theories about why researchers commit misconduct. According to the "bad apple" theory, most scientists are highly ethical.
Only researchers who are morally corrupt, economically desperate, or psychologically disturbed commit misconduct. Moreover, only a fool would commit misconduct because science's peer review system and self-correcting mechanisms will eventually catch those who try to cheat the system.
In any case, a course in research ethics will have little impact on "bad apples," one might argue. According to the "stressful" or "imperfect" environment theory, misconduct occurs because various institutional pressures, incentives, and constraints encourage people to commit misconduct, such as pressures to publish or obtain grants or contracts, career ambitions, the pursuit of profit or fame, poor supervision of students and trainees, and poor oversight of researchers see Shamoo and Resnik Moreover, defenders of the stressful environment theory point out that science's peer review system is far from perfect and that it is relatively easy to cheat the system.
Erroneous or fraudulent research often enters the public record without being detected for years. Misconduct probably results from environmental and individual causes, i. In any case, a course in research ethics can be useful in helping to prevent deviations from norms even if it does not prevent misconduct. However, due to the UK government's austerity measures, it has not been produced since Research can also help a company maintain a positive commercial image, retain existing customers, and attract new customers through targeted marketing.
Marketing is a type of communication, and for that communication to be effective, businesses need to understand their customers. This usually happens through market research, which can involve examining psychological studies about consumption, hosting focus groups, beta testing products with a select group of customers, sending satisfaction surveys to existing customers, and researching the business's main competitors, among other strategies.
The most successful businesses, large and small, base their product design, service offerings, and marketing communications on insights gleaned from thorough research processes. Have you ever experienced the feeling that your partner is having an affair behind your back? Some people would overlook this and say that it's better not to know; others though would take discreet action, hiring a private detective to find out for sure.
What does research have to do with this situation? A lot. Doing research to reveal lies or truths involving personal affairs can contribute to either making a relationship work or breaking away from a dysfunctional one. For the monogamous lot, doing research to disprove or prove infidelity is one way to find out the truth.
Scientists also deal with research to test the validity and reliability of their claims or those of other scientists. Their integrity and competence depend on the quality of their research.
Nevertheless, not everything scientists come up with gets accepted. Scientific work is typically peer-reviewed before being published. This means that when an individual publishes research, it is fact-checked and investigated for common biases, statistical errors, and methodological issues by others in the field before being shared with the scientific community at large.
Professional and credible journalists also undertake thorough research to establish the veracity of their stories. If fellow journalists hadn't debunked his stories as fabricated, Stephen Glass could have written even more dubious pieces that would have been taken at face value by readers of the publication.
With the use of internet technology and social media, pseudo-journalism has become a social concern. Fake news took center stage during the presidential campaign period in the United States. For instance, Snopes. According to Pew Research, social media, especially Facebook, serves as a primary source of news for over 60 percent of adult Americans Chang, Lefferman, Pedersen, and Martz, In addition to fueling social media company profits, fake news has become profitable for pseudo-journalists whose main goal is to attract reader clicks that lead to Google Adsense revenue.
Fact-checking to determine the truth is integral to the process of research. Murray, Social News, and UGC Hub suggest that before news readers share information on social media, they need to assess the integrity of the news source and check for similar news on legitimate media outlets. Genuine journalists do not rely on imagination for their news reports, nor do they avoid doing research.
They eschew propaganda and have no intention of misleading the public. They are messengers of useful information—not lies. Opportunities for success come more easily when we're well informed. Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash; Canva. Research helps people nurture their potential and achieve goals by taking advantage of various opportunities. This can mean securing employment, being awarded scholarships or grants, securing project funding, initiating a business collaboration, finding budget travel opportunities, or securing other little wins.
For those looking for a job or seeking greener pastures, research is necessary. With thorough research, an individual can increase their chances of finding employment by scouring job-posting sites, contacting employment agencies. Research can also help inform them if work opportunities are legitimate. Without research, the gullible-yet-hopeful jobseeker or traveling worker may fall prey to unscrupulous headhunters, bogus employment opportunities, or even full-on scams.
Sites like Glassdoor and organizations like the Better Business Bureau allow job candidates to find out what experiences others have had with an employer they are considering or a placement agency they are thinking of using. After finding a free or low-cost academic course or skills-development training, students and professionals can assess their eligibility for certain roles and find out about application requirements and deadlines by conducting additional research.
Research also benefits civil society and its members. Securing funding for projects and research initiatives is a top concern for those who want to address social issues. However, not all funding organizations accept proposals year-round, nor are they all interested in solving the same types of social problems.
Thus, it is necessary to conduct research to find agencies whose missions match the objectives of particular advocacy programs or social-change projects. An aspiring business owner can likewise meet potential investors through research. They can examine investor profiles to find a good fit in terms of vision, mission, goals work ethic, and available capital. Some hobbies and interests are expensive to pursue. One of these is traveling. For budget-conscious tourists, searching for airfare and hotel promos, discount rides, and cheap markets is certainly a must to maximize the value of their money.
Seizing opportunities can broaden one's social network, raise one's awareness, or secure the support one direly needs to start a project or a business.
Indeed, research contributes to a person's ability to make life-changing decisions. It encourages self-growth, participation in worthwhile causes, and productive living. Research entails both reading and writing.
These two literacy functions help maintain critical thinking and comprehension. Without these skills, research is far more difficult. Reading opens the mind to a vast reservoir of knowledge, while writing helps us express our own perspectives and transform our thoughts into more concrete ideas in a way others can understand. Apart from reading and writing, listening and speaking are also integral to conducting research.
Conducting interviews, attending knowledge-generating events, and participating in casual talks can help us gather information and formulate research topics. These things also facilitate our critical thinking process, much like reading and writing. Listening to experts discuss their work can help us analyze issues from new perspectives and add new techniques to our information-gathering arsenal.
With the wide array of ideas floating around and the interconnectedness of people and places through the internet, scholars and non-scholars involved in research are able to share information with a larger audience.
Some view this process as ego-boosting, while others see it as a means to stimulate interest and encourage further research into certain issues or situations. Literacy is integral in improving a person's social and economic mobility and in increasing awareness, and research hones these basic life skills and makes learning a lifelong endeavor.
Exercising your mind is just as important as exercising your body. Heath Vester via Unsplash; Canva. Curiosity may kill the cat, but it also fuels the mind to seek answers.
Keeping the mind active may also help prevent certain mental illnesses like Alzheimer's. Several studies have shown that mentally stimulating activities like doing research can contribute to brain health.
However, she also noted that there may be other factors involved in averting dementia and relates issues. One of these is intelligence. A study involving year-old pupils in Scotland in , for instance, pointed to intelligence quotient IQ scores as "predictive of future dementia risk".
Gatz opined that clinical trials are needed and that "conclusions must be based on large samples, followed over a long period of time. We have better evidence that good brain health is multiply determined, that brain development early in life matters, and that genetic influences are of great importance in accounting for individual differences in cognitive reserve and in explaining who develops Alzheimer disease and who does not. For older adults, health practices that could influence the brain include sound nutrition, sufficient sleep, stress management, treatment of mood or anxiety disorders, good vascular health, physical exercise, and avoidance of head trauma.
Gatz would have not formed such a perspective if she failed to conduct her own research about the effects of mentally stimulating activities on the human brain. This demonstrates how research can be both an exciting and challenging cerebral endeavor.
Various studies may or may not support each other based on gathered information and other evidence. Data collection and analysis are vital aspects of the research process.
These are mental activities that both expend mental energy and nurture the brain. Indeed, doing research encourages people to explore possibilities, understand existing issues, and disprove fabrications. Without research, all of our technological advancements and other developments would have remained fantasies. Reading, writing, observing, and analyzing facilitate an inquisitive mind's quest for knowledge, learning, and wisdom. Research is a bridge that we must cross to achieve all of our goals—both personal and societal.
Research is about contributing to a growing pool of knowledge and information. Although we are inherently curious as kids and young adults and often conduct informal research without even realizing it, there is a methodology for conducting formal, academic research. Use the following tips to get you started:. It is important to set out a suitable timeframe for your project and to assemble all the necessary literature, find sources of information, and establish a financial budget if applicable.
Research should be reviewed by the IRB only when human subjects are involved, and the term research should be considered under a more narrow definition. Specifically, when the researcher is conducting research as outlined above AND has direct interaction with participants or data linked to personal identifiers , it should always fall under the purview of the IRB.
Even if you have not directly collected the data yourself, as the researcher, your research may fall under the purview of the IRB. In reviewing such research, the IRB is concerned with the methodology of data collection in the "field" e.
Research can find answers to things that are unknown, filling gaps in knowledge and changing the way that healthcare professionals work. Some of the common aims for conducting research studies are to:. Research and clinical trials are an everyday part of the NHS.
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