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[ RESEARCH INTEGRITY ] October 27, 2022

How emerging topics are shaping ethics in the research community

Understanding the emerging ethics affecting the scientific community is fundamental to developing models that will benefit all stakeholders. Can early-stage research hold the key to the evolution of research models and bridge the gaps in ethical lapses?

Emerging trends such as Open Access, digital transformation, research integrity, and public engagement in science are constantly challenging traditional norms. This is why the industry needs to respond with updates and innovations that will change the status quo.

Advancements in science depend on the reliability of research and the models that shape norms in the research community. Scientific ethics have evolved over time, but a greater focus on the effective acceleration and dissemination of early-stage research can reduce the ethical pressures faced by stakeholders.

 

The role of ethics in the future of science

Ethics in scientific research are morals that define how theories and discoveries are propounded, reviewed, and shared with the community. These ethics help guide professionals on how to do their jobs in line with standard requirements. For instance, engineers are held to the ethical standards of ensuring the safety and quality of their projects.

Similarly, the research community values integrity, transparency, and openness, and a breach of these ethics could backlash the stakeholders involved. Upholding ethics throughout all stages of the research lifecycle- from accurate reporting of results to acknowledging contributors and maintaining transparency in peer review- can help guide the research community. However, for early-stage research to thrive, the community needs to innovate these standards and agree on how they are checked in order to meet the industry's requirements.

 

How ethical standards can impact early-stage research

Although the ethics that guide science are not necessarily laws, they influence the processes through which research is conducted, verified, and disseminated. Ethical concepts such as research integrity and transparency in peer review can be used to criticize, evaluate and dictate the relevance of research to the community. Adhering to research ethics is important because it allows the industry to avoid risks and errors such as fabrication, falsification, and misrepresentation of data, all of which can ruin the quality of research.

 

Ethics on research processes

Given the importance of ethics to research, even from the early stage, it's no surprise that societies and associations are adopting policies that reflect high ethical standards. Unethical practices in research cost stakeholders and researchers alike. Therefore, introducing ethical standards into research processes will help keep researchers in check in a bid to uphold honesty and integrity.

 

Ethics on publishing processes

Scientific journals are constantly pressured to uphold Open Access models, observe transparency in peer review, and avoid using impact factors that could limit the dissemination of important early-stage research.

Additionally, fraud in research which results in retractions, can cost publishers and affect their credibility. This is why ethical standards must be upheld to ensure research quality and improve public trust and engagement with science.

 

Ethical standards misconduct and its costs

Due to misconduct and breaches in research integrity, transparency, and trust, ethical standards need to be made enforceable to prevent dangerous costs. Misconducts in scientific research result in wasted funding and could cost the organization future sponsorships due to dented reputation. More so, it robs the public of scientific knowledge financed with government funds.  These and other results of unethical practices can have negative impacts on the general scholarly community.

 

Conclusion

Promoting ethical standards such as research integrity, peer review transparency, open publication, and open presentation of methods and results for better scrutiny and reproducibility helps improve the quality of science. Furthermore, it helps reduce the pressure on publishers and journal articles while enabling them to prevent losses. 

At Morressier, our peer review workflows and ethical approaches are catalyzing the dissemination of research with digital transformation as a driving force. 

Get in touch with our team to learn more about how we enable the research community to share quality science faster and more efficiently.

guide to research integrity