Research Ethics

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Research Ethics

CODE OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH AND PLAGIARISM POLICY

Preamble

The quality and innovation of research in the fields of humanities, social sciences, and basic sciences is emphasized at R. C. Patel Arts, Commerce, and Science College (RCPACS). Including providing consulting services, the College regularly engages in research. This policy was adopted by RCPACS to emphasize and promote research, ensuring an ethical research environment for the faculty and students. Encouraging research among faculty and students is one of RCPACS's objectives.

Objectives of policy :

1. To nurture and encourage a research culture among students and faculty.

CODE OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH

Responsibilities of researchers : Key values that researchers should incorporate into their research are as follows:

1. Social responsibilities:

Researchers comprise a diverse community and take the responsibility of enhancing the community. Problems in the local, national, and worldwide communities should be taken into consideration by the researcher, and these issues should be covered in their research. Their contribution should be towards the development of ethical and prosperous communities.

2. Justice:

It is one of the main goals of this institute and refers to treating every person fairly. The following are at least four facets of justice that uphold a favourable research environment:

  • Fairness of specific agreement and transduction: This refers to fairness of specific agreement and transduction between the individuals and is representatives involved in research.
  • Fairness of distribution: This refers to distribution benefits for specific community and its members. e.g. funds allocation from the project to the individual teacher for their funding and result of the research should be aimed at benefiting all parts of society, e.g. The researcher should contribute for the upliftment of academically under privileged students by offering their assistance, information and mentorship.
  • Fairness of contribution requested:This refers to selection of human participants for research, ethical community guidelines for human volunteers & animals and Health and Hazard Safety guidelines for biologicals should be followed.
  • Fairness of punishment imposed:This refers to processes and actions dealing with contravention of research ethics or regulation and it should be fair.

4. Goodwill :

This refers to conduct of research in ethical way. All researchers involved in research should be protected from harm and efforts should be made to ensure their well-being. The principles of goodwill refer to generous or charitable behaviour, which may not be compulsory to everybody. It is goodwill and refers to two principles.

  • 1. Do not cause harm
  • 2. Increased possible benefits and reduce possible harm

This should be considered especially for projects in pharmacology, where human and animal subjects are involved, also individuals involved in research should avoid harm to each other.

5. Respect for the individuals:

This refers to autonomy of an individual for his action unless such actions are clearly detrimental to others to show lack of respect for autonomous person means to disregard person opinions, thoughts, actions and not to grant him the field freedom and to act in terms to withhold information that is essential for making a considerate discussion when there is no compelling reason to do so. Respect for immature and unaccountable person requires that such person should be protected when they are immature or unaccountable.

6. Professionalism :

Professional standards are the part of responsibilities for individual following professional responsibilities should be adopted by the researchers.

  • Integrity:Every researcher should be able to rely on truth and objectivity of reports of other scientists.
  • Quality: Researchers are responsible for a quality, accuracy, reliability of their own research or research done under supervision. The research should be limited to academics and technical, financial excellence of his research area. Highest quality standards should be applied for planning, implementation and reporting of research.
  • Accountability: Individual researcher shall be responsible for originality of the work and reporting the research. The disclosure of the research shall be as per contract, if any prior to the research.

7. Discrimination :

Discrimination may be based upon services, benefits, opportunities, facilities of RCPACS being withheld for someone on grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, old age, disability or medical condition, religion, conscience or belief, cultural language and birth should be avoided at any cost. Discrimination also includes any communication whether oral or written, electronic or non-verbal that promotes lack of respect or intolerance towards specific individuals or groups. No researcher may directly or indirectly unfairly discriminate against any person or any reason(s). RCPIPER believes in creating conducive environment for research that regards work performance and research success. Discrimination on any of one or more grounds having negative impact should be avoided at all cost of researchers.

8. Abusing supervisory authority :

Abusing supervisory authority is a serious issue, which includes conditional or apparently conditional benefit opportunities or facilities on basis of performance not related to the academic achievement or work performance of the person being supervised. Such abuse of authority can take place even if it is not in benefiting supervising concern and such exploitation should be refrained. Person with supervisory authority over individuals who are closely related to them or person with whom they are close relationship are more liable to cause conflict of interest and are advice to relinquish the academic and work supervision of such person.

9. Sexual harassment:

Sexual harassment in any form should be refrained and should be reported to the sexual harassment cell of the institute.

Research obligations

1. Environment:

Considering authority duties of researchers, there should be conductive environment maintained by the researchers. The researchers should avoid following to maintain ethics in research:

  • Conflict of interest:should be avoided of what so ever form they may be e.g- with funding source, amongst each other, any contract, identity revealing etc.
  • Confidentiality: should be maintained with the funding agency as per the contract or as per the agreement of individuals.
  • Financial obligation: all financial agreement should be acknowledged and should be as per the contract either with institute or funding agency.
  • Scientific obligation:all scientific help in any form should be properly acknowledged.

2. Equipment :

Equipment shall be assets of the college and actual infrastructure of college can be used by anyone belonging to the college and affiliate and hindrances in granting permission by the in charge faculty shall be considered as misconduct. Similarly, Equipments mishandled purposefully by the researcher shall also be considered as misconduct.

3. Misconduct in research:

misconduct in research can be framed under Piracy & Plagiarism

  • Piracy: piracy in any form of the areas of research and or any research instrument shall be treated as misconduct and such cases shall be dealt by research advisory committee.
  • Plagiarism: this shall be dealt as per plagiarism guidelines mentioned below in this.

PLAGIARISM POLICY:

The Policy is framed as per University Grants Commission (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations – 2016.

Duties of RCPIPER:

The Institute has established the mechanism as prescribed in these regulations to enhance awareness about responsible conduct of research and academic activities, promotion of integrity and deterrence from plagiarism.

Awareness Programmes and Trainings:

1. RCPACS instructs students, faculty and staff about proper attribution, seeking permission of the author wherever necessary, acknowledgement of source compatible with the needs and specificities of disciplines and in accordance with rules and regulations governing the source.

2. RCPACS conducts sensitization seminars, awareness programmes every semester on responsible conduct of research, project work, assignment, thesis, dissertation, promotion of academic integrity and ethics in education for students, faculty and other members of academic staff.

Curbing Plagiarism

1. RCPACS uses “Turnitin” software and Urkund software to implement the technology based mechanism so as to ensure that documents such as thesis, dissertation, reports, publications or any other such documents are free of plagiarism at the time of their submission.

2. Every student submitting a thesis, dissertation, reports or any other such documents to the Institute shall submit an undertaking indicating that the document has been prepared by him or her and that the document is his/her original work and free of any plagiarism.

3. The undertaking shall include the fact that the document has been duly checked through a Plagiarism detection tool approved by the Principal and Supervisors.

4. Similarity checks for exclusion from Plagiarism: The similarity checks for plagiarism shall exclude the following:

  • All quoted work either falling under public domain or reproduced with all necessary permission and/or attribution.
  • All references, bibliography, table of content, preface and acknowledgements.
  • All small similarities of minor nature.
  • All generic terms, laws, standard symbols and standards equations.

5. Zero Tolerance Policy in core area: The core work carried out by the student, faculty, staff and researcher shall be based on original ideas and shall be covered by Zero Tolerance Policy on Plagiarism. In case Plagiarism is established in the core work claimed then Research Advisory Committee shall take up the case for hearing. The core work shall include abstract, summary, hypothesis, observations, results, conclusions and recommendations.

6. Detection/Reporting/Handling of Plagiarism: If any member of the academic community suspects with appropriate proof that a case of plagiarism has happened in any document, he or she shall report it to the competent/designated authority of the Institute. Upon receipt of such a complaint or allegation the Institute shall refer the case to the Research Advisory Committee.

This policy has been approved by RCPACS’s Research Advisory Committee.