3 Ethical considerations Flashcards
Basic ethical principles
Honesty
Scrupulousness Transparency
Independence Responsibility
Honesty
Honesty implies that one needs to report accurately, taking alternative opinions and counterarguments seriously. Being open about margins of uncertainty, refraining from making unfounded claims, and refraining from presenting results more favorably or unfavorably than they actually are.
Scrupulousness
Scrupulousness implies that one uses methods that are scientific or scholarly. And that one takes the best possible care in designing, undertaking, reporting, and disseminating the research.
Transparency
Transparency implies that it is clear to others what data the research was based on, how the data were obtained, what and how results were achieved, and what role is played by external stakeholders. If parts of the research or data are not to be made public, the researcher must provide a good account of why this is not possible.
Independence
Independence means that the research at all stages should not be guided by non-scientific and non-scholarly considerations.
Responsibility
Responsibility implies that one conducts research that is scientifically and also societally relevant. At the same time, responsibility presupposes that a researcher takes the legitimate interest of human subjects and participants, as well as those of commissioning parties, funding bodies, and environment into account.