1. RESEARCH ETHICS AND PLAGIARISM

2. Research ethics Ethical issues in research Negotiating access
Data protection
Academic integrity

3. The Milgram studies Obedience to authority – Stanley Milgram (1963)
Highly controversial
Based on volunteers acting as teachers of people learning a series of simple word pairs

4. Milgram studies (cont/)
The ‘student’ sat in a separate room
‘Teachers’ shown the electric chair, then told to administer increasing shocks for a wrong answer
‘Student’ would scream and beg for the experiment to stop, then silence
Men in white coats calmly told ‘teachers’ to continue
‘Teachers’ continued… many in tears

5. Milgram study results
How many volunteers administered ‘fatal’ shocks?

6. Milgram study results
66% of volunteers administered ‘fatal’ shocks – because an authority figure told them to do so
Peer support enabled some to disobey
Most volunteers needed counselling afterwards for post-traumatic stress disorder
Also went on to investigate deviance to authority
The start of ethics committees

7. Research Ethics
The appropriateness of the researcher’s behaviour in relation to the rights and fair treatment of the subject of research work, or people who are affected by the research
Ethics relate to:
Research subjects
Research facilitators (e.g. contacts in organisations)
Research collaborators
Research users

8. General Ethical Issues in Research
Privacy of participants
Voluntary nature of participation and right to withdraw
Consent and possible deception
Maintaining confidentiality of data
Reactions of participants to how data are collected
Effects on participants on how data are used, analysed and reported
Behaviour and objectivity of researcher

9. Ethical issues in data collection
Stay within agreed limits or explicitly negotiate extensions
Maintain objectivity – record and retain data both supporting and opposing your viewpoint
Maintain confidentiality of data
Treat research subjects with courtesy

10. Ethical issues in analysis and reporting
Maintain your objectivity – don’t ‘cook’ the results
Ensure that anonymity is maintained unless consent to use real names is given
Ensure that participants can’t be identified indirectly
Try to ensure that results are not abused (difficult if research is sponsored)

11. ‘Academic Integrity’ (a.k.a. Plagiarism)
Claiming someone else’s work
Intellectual Property Theft
Be fair to other people’s work – IP is all academics have!
Plagiarism = FAIL!