The scope for violating research ethics is considered to be relevant in…
2020
The scope for violating research ethics is considered to be relevant in respect of which of the following stages in a research study?
A. Formulating research hypothesis and setting up a Null hypothesis for testing it
B. Defining and delimiting the scope of the research study
C. Analysing and interpreting research data
D. In defining a research population and method of sampling
E. Reporting the research findings and using the same as a basis for policy formulation
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
- A.
C and E only
- B.
A and B only
- C.
B and C only
- D.
D and E only
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Correct answer (official UGC NET key): C and E only.
Research ethics is relevant across a study, but the scope for an ethical violation is considered greatest at the stages that handle real data and communicate results to the public.
Statement C (analysing and interpreting research data): fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, p-hacking and biased interpretation are all possible here, so the scope for violating ethics is high.
Statement E (reporting the findings and using them as a basis for policy): plagiarism, misrepresentation, misleading conclusions and misuse of results for policy are possible here, so the scope for violating ethics is high.
Statements A and B (forming the hypothesis and delimiting the scope) are mainly design and planning decisions. Statement D (defining the population and sampling method) can raise some ethical issues (for example fair selection or consent), but the official answer treats it as a methodological design step. By the exam key, the stages where the scope for violation is taken to be most relevant are C and E.
Hence the keyed answer is C and E only.