MAC 205: Foundations of Communication Research 1 - Topic 10: Ethics of Research

The most common way of defining ethics is norms for conduct that distinguish between ______ and unacceptable behaviour.

One may also define ethics as a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analyzing complex problems and ______.

Scholars must follow a code of ethics to maintain ______.

Ethical norms serve the aims or goals of research and apply to people who conduct scientific research or other scholarly or creative ______.

Research should be designed, reviewed and undertaken to ensure ______ and quality.

The principle of voluntary participation requires that people not be coerced into participating in ______.

Risk of harm: Ethical standards require that researchers not put participants in a situation where they might be at risk of ______ as a result of their participation.

Harm can be defined as both physical and ______.

Almost all research guarantees the participants’ ______ -- they are assured that identifying information will not be made available to anyone who is not directly involved in the study.

The stricter standard is the principle of ______ which essentially means that the participant will remain anonymous throughout the study -- even to the researchers themselves.

Clearly, the anonymity standard is a stronger guarantee of privacy, but it is sometimes difficult to accomplish, especially in situations where participants have to be measured at multiple ______ points.

There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research. Norms promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of ______.

Since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among many different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and ______

Many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable to the ______

For instance, federal policies on research misconduct, conflicts of interest, the human subjects protections, and animal care and use are necessary in order to make sure that researchers who are funded by public money can be held accountable to the ______

Ethical norms in research also help to build public support for ______

People are more likely to fund research projects if they can trust the quality and integrity of ______