Abstract
Ethical consideration has a fundamental importance in conducting any research. It plays an important role, especially in social science. This study is designed to examine the perceptions and practices of research students towards ethical concerns in conducting social sciences research. A survey design was adopted for this study. The population of the study comprised all the public sector universities of Pakistan. The sample of 26 public universities was selected from all administrative areas of Pakistan. Document review was further used to identify ethical concerns in social sciences research and a self-developed questionnaire was used for data collection. This study revealed that students were not completely aware of the ethical norms of their research in social sciences. Most of the research students do not obey the research norm during conducting their study in social sciences. This study also highlights the impact of research aptitude on the quality of research and it helps to improve the performance of students in the context of research.
Key Words
Ethical practices, Research ethics, Quality
Introduction
Ethical considerations are a fundamental part of any research. Ethics is the parameter of moral standards that are based on rights obligations honesty, equality, and benefits to mankind. The realization of the ethics in any field of life makes the person more responsible and honest in their deeds. Research Ethics is a set of principles that create interaction between the researcher and respondents. Social Sciences also require the best ethical practices in conducting research (Agwor & Osho 2017). Research standards are universal, while their codes of conduct are developed by the universities and research boards according to related policies and standards. Awareness of research ethics demands the researcher more responsible for obtaining information in the right way which is original and confidential.
Ethical considerations are the basic set of rules, principles, and regulations of research, which a researcher should follow during their whole research. In the current era, research practitioners have gained a reputation in academic literature and graduate programs. Researchers must understand the research rules and they also know how to implement the ethical protocol in their research work. This may make them able to make decisions and act ethically in various situations. Research standards rely on several aspects rather than focusing on plagiarism or citation. Unethical practices are those when one is not conforming to approved standards of social or professional behavior.
The research policy of every university is based on ethical considerations if students follow these research rules they will be able to meet the requirement of standard research. Researchers need to evaluate the ethical norms of research before time. Now, the different countries’ institutions are concentrating to develop the strict principles, codes, rules, and regulations for implementing true ethical practices. Even print media or online research journals play vital rules to identify unethical practices. True ethical practices in social science make sure the good quality of research.
Tangen (2014) divided the research ethics into three areas, morals within the research community, protecting research participants, and the part and worth of educational research in civilization. The issues of research ethics are increasing in the context of social sciences whereas the trend of unethical practices also increasing in the current scenario of research. The importance of research consideration cannot be ignored. Higher Education Commission has mainly focused on the development of research at universities to promote publication among researchers. Many research misconduct cases were reported in the higher education commission.
The trend towards publications is increasing because these are necessary for promotions and financial benefits as brought about ethical challenges in research in our country identified the ethical challenges in all stages of research. Researchers need to improve critical and analytical skills regarding research in the field of social sciences. Anonymity, confidentiality, and informed consent are major concerns of any kind of study (Sanjari et al., 2014).
Moral values have also a positive role in the education system if the researchers are playing a responsible role in conducting any kind of research. Moral values have also a great influence on social science research. The system of beliefs and practices that change from one generation to another generation is called culture. However, moral values are also part of the culture. Same as the culture, the moral values are also transferred from generation to generation. The ethics of social science research has proven to be a useful tool for developing standard quality research. Especially in this 21st century a lot of plagiarism cases has been reported in higher education at national and international level. Many studies have been conducting on plagiarism practices in social sciences but not on ethical practices of research. Idiegbeyan et al (2016) found that student’s awareness and perception have a relationship. Students have an understanding of plagiarism practices but ethical practices of research in social sciences were less familiar among them. Many cases of plagiarism had been reported in higher education in the 21st century. Medium level knowledge of plagiarism practices, but they understand these concepts, but training needs to be improved.
Ramzan et al. (2011) highlighted the value of ethics in research at all ages. Ethics speaks of a system of behavior about the standards of right or wrong behavior. Students do not bother the research policies of their universities because these are just rules and regulations. It is too light to be effective in detecting and punishing those who violate university policy of research and unfair means. Agwor & Osho (2017) found that research students face many challenges during their researches because of poor time management and planning. As Mustafa (2017) explored the strong relationship between knowledge of students, management skills, and quality practice in the higher education of Pakistan. Mollet (2017) study highlighted the ethical issue in social sciences. So there is a need to adopt an ethical procedure of study universally. The internet becomes a major tool of getting information about research it developed the status of ethical examination in the research of social science in developing countries.
Sen & Nagwanshee (2016) discussed the importance of the role of the internet for conducting high-quality research. He also emphasized the ethical consideration in social sciences. Saeed (2016) investigated the attitude of the students towards research ethics. Her study revealed that self-reported knowledge about research ethics was good but students lacked correct attitude the results of her study emphasizes on the proper way of research ethics. The study conducted by Rehman & Waheed (2014) identified the unethical attitude of researchers towards research and also review the Student’s Dishonest Acts. Students did not follow ethical protocol in their research work therefore their research required. Research ethics committees, However, cheating is not a serious problem by the faculty and administration of universities therefore rules should be followed.
Okonta and Rossouw (2014) recognized that Nigerian researchers perceived that illegal conduct of research is there in their institutions. The value of research ethics can be used as a strategy to reduce research irregularities. However, research institutes should play an essential role in promoting responsible ethics of research and discouraging misconduct. The results identified the fabrication and falsification of the research caused the results of the analysis as severe forms of misconduct. They adopt unethical practices to complete their degrees in time. Sanjari et al (2014) identified the ethical challenges in all stages of research. Students have to face many ethical challenges in all stages of the research. The maintenance of the confidentiality of the respondent is a challenge. When the research is conducted on sensitive issues in the social sciences, researchers need to improve their critical and analytical skills regarding research in the field of social sciences. Anonymity, confidentiality, and informed consent are major concerns of any kind of study. The purpose of this study is to examine the current ethical practices of research among research students in social science.
Objectives
1)To identify the role of ethical considerations in social sciences research
2)To measure the awareness level of research students about research ethics education and its need.
3)To examine the perception of research students regarding ethical practices of research
4)To find out the impact of ethical practices on the quality of research
Research Methodology
A survey design was adopted for this study. The first step of this research was to review the selected research documents to identify ethical practices of research in social sciences. In the second phase, a self-developed questionnaire was utilized to measure the student’s awareness level about ethical practices and to explore the perceptions regarding the role of ethical practices in their research. Self-developed Questionnaire was validated through experts’ opinion further reliability of the questionnaire was also calculated and the Cronbach Alpha value was found to be 0.71. The level of awareness among research students was categorized into three levels of low, average & high.
Population
The population of the study consisted of research students enrolled in social sciences programs being offered in 52 public sector universities in Pakistan. There were 52 universities were identified in the target population offering social sciences.
Sample of the Study
Out of fifty-two target universities, twenty-six universities were randomly selected
from each province. Research students of masters and M.Phil levels were invited to participate in the research process. After taking consent, a sample of 902 research students was considered suitable for the sample with the following detail.
Table 1. Distribution of Sample Region Wise
Region | Universities | Male | Female | Total | % |
Punjab | 8 | 175 | 128 | 303 | 34 |
ICT | 4 | 66 | 40 | 106 | 12 |
Sindh | 3 | 44 | 67 | 111 | 12 |
KPK | 7 | 135 | 113 | 248 | 27 |
Baluchistan | 2 | 35 | 26 | 61 | 7 |
GB | 1 | 21 | 14 | 35 | 4 |
AJK | 1 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 4 |
Total | 26 | 498 | 404 | 902 | 100 |
Results
Table 2. Gender wise Level of Awareness of Ethical Practices
Degree | Awareness level | Male | Female | Total |
MSC | Low | 41 | 27 | 68(43%) |
Average | 35 | 23 | 58(37%) | |
High | 24 | 8 | 32(20%) | |
M Phil 3rd | Low | 138 | 86 | 224(57%) |
Average | 50 | 47 | 97(25%) | |
High | 44 | 25 | 69(18%) | |
M Phil 4th | Low | 89 | 102 | 191(54%) |
Average | 39 | 54 | 93(26%) | |
High | 38 | 32 | 70 (20%) |
Table 2 present the gender and degree-wise sample distribution based on their level of awareness. The study consisted of 55% male students and 45% of female students after data collection. This study has 18% of MSC students with research that was included while 82 % of students were selected from M Phil / MS level. MSC students having a 43% low level of awareness which is less than M Phil 3rd and 4th-semester students. Although 37% of MSC students have an average level of awareness, whereas 25% of M Phil students have an average understanding of ethical practices of research in social sciences. Male students have a higher level of awareness as compare to female students although they have the same level of awareness in the average level group. Male students have a higher percentage in low level of awareness as compare to female students.
Table 3. Role of Ethical Considerations in Research Among Students
Ethical considerations | Responses | Mean | S. D | ||||
SA | A | N | DA | SDA | |||
Honesty | 246 (27%) | 215 23% | 156 17% | 157 17% | 128 14% | 3.32 | 1.40 |
Objectivity | 369 41% | 232 26% | 166 18% | 61 7% | 74 8% | 3.84 | 1.25 |
Integrity | 407 45% | 251 28% | 111 12% | 79 9% | 54 6% | 3.97 | 1.21 |
Carefulness | 319 35% | 227 25% | 143 16% | 109 12% | 104 12% | 3.60 | 1.37 |
Openness | 221 24% | 246 27% | 163 18% | 128 14% | 144 16% | 3.30 | 1.39 |
Confidentiality | 137 15 | 235 26 | 182 20 | 235 26 | 113 12 | 3.05 | 1.27 |
Table 3 represents the role of ethical considerations in research among students. Most respondents agree with ethical practices honesty, objectivity, integrity, carefulness, openness, and confidentiality of research in social sciences. The highest mean score is 3.84 for the integrity of any kind of research, which is the priority of standard research. However, the mean score for the confidentiality of research was 3.05. Table 3 demonstrates the frequency distribution of the variables regarding the Ethics of social scientific research and its impact on student’s behavior. There are six indicators for the effects of social scientific research and its impact on students’ behavior. It is concluded that integrity is a useful tool if it is utilized during the research process may be proved profitable for the research. The mean score is 3.97 and the standard deviation is 1.21. The positive criticism and the generation of new ideas increase the unbiasedness in the research. The mean score is 3.30 and the standard deviation is 1.39. Another useful and innovative ethics of social science research is the maintenance of confidentiality e of the respondents as well as the researcher. The confidentiality smoothes the way for other researchers to get the knowledge of social issues as well as society.
Table 4. Administrative Area wise Students with Published Articles
Administrative area | Sampled students | Publications | Percentages |
Punjab | 303 | 64 | 21% |
ICT | 106 | 27 | 25% |
Sindh | 111 | 22 | 20% |
KP | 248 | 36 | 14% |
Baluchistan | 61 | 13 | 21% |
GB | 35 | 4 | 11% |
AJK | 38 | 5 | 13% |
Table 4 represents the student’s attitude towards publication out of 902 respondents. Data is collected from Punjab, ICT, Sindh, KP, Baluchistan, GB, and AJK. Overall 19 % of respondents have publications. However, ICT has the highest percentage as compared to other provinces. Students are less concerned about their publications or maybe they do not have awareness about the important research publications. 19% of students have published their article, although the remaining 81% have no publication.
Table 5: ANOVA table Showing Summary of Awareness Ethical Practices of Post-Graduate Students from all Administrative Area
Variations | Sum of Squares | Mean Square | F | ||
Between Groups | 42.682 | 6 | 7.11 | 12.64* | .000 |
Within Groups | 503.398 | 895 | .562 |
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Total | 546.080 | 901 |
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Table 5 represents the ANOVA of ethical practices of research among students of the different administrative areas of the public universities of Pakistan consider for this study. The findings revealed a significant difference at F=12.64* and P-value is 0.00 which is <0.05(?=5%). It demonstrates that what research students perceived as ethical concerns differ across all administrative area of Pakistan. There is a significant difference in perceptions of ethical practices by post-graduate students of public universities from all administrative area of Pakistan.
Table 6. Association between Awareness of Ethical Practices and their level of Degree