AEE 578--Scientific Inquiry in Agricultural and Extension Education
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AEE 578--Scientific Inquiry in Agricultural and Extension Education |
Class 3:  |
The
Ethics of Research
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Introduction:
 |
Recently the Journal
of Agricultural Education (Vol. 46 No. 3,
2005) had the following
notice on Page 1: Notice of Retraction
Plagiarism was discovered in three manuscripts published in the Journal of Agricultural Education. Based upon a review of the materials and M. Wood's acknowledgment of essential citation errors, the Editing Managing Board of the Journal of Agricultural Education has decided to retract the articles. The following articles are hereby retracted: Woods, M. &
Trexler, C. J. (2001). Linking intepretive theory to practice:
Examining an underused research tool in agricultural education. Journal
of Agricultural Education 42(2), 68-78.
Woods, M. & Jones, B. L. (2003). Institutional engagement within a land-grant college of agriculture: Perceptions of faculty, staff and administrators. Journal of Agricultural Education 44(1), 70-83 Woods, M. & Moore, E. A. (2003). Diversity in agricultural education: A review of research. Journal of Agricultural Education 44(3), 12-22. Obviously there was an ethical problem involved in the reporting of this research. There are other ethical issues involved in research in addition to plagiarism. In this lesson we will explore the ethical issues involved in conducting research. These include working with human subjects, fabrication of data and falsification of data. |
Learning
Objectives:  |
 Describe briefly what is
meant by "ethical" research. Describe briefly three
important ethical principles recommended for researchers to follow. State the basic question
with regard
to ethics that researchers need to ask before beginning a study. State the 3 questions
researchers need to address in order to protect research participants
from harm. Describe the procedures
researchers must follow in order to ensure confidentially of data
collected in a research investigation. Describe when it might be
appropriate to deceive participants in a research investigation and
researcher's responsibility in such a case. Describe the special
considerations involved when doing research with children Define
what is meant by
IRB (Institutional Review Board) and explain the process for obtaining
IRB approval to conduct research. |
| Instructional Activities:  |
Read
Chapter 4 "Ethics and Research"
in the course text, How to Design and Evaluate Research in
Education (Fraenkel & Wallen). Walk
through the interactive
tutorial on using human subjects. (click on human subjects
after you log in) Learn about the NCSU Institutional
Review Board (IRB). Learn which research activities
typically are considered exempt from full IRB board review. Read Many
Scientists Admit to Misconduct from the Washington Post. Read Peer
Trouble from the Education Guardian. Read Acknowledging
Academic Fraud from the FrontPage Magazine. Read this letter
to a journal. View the PowerPoint presentation on Research Ethics or you can download
the presention.
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Review: |
Go to the text web site
and complete the multiple
choice review questions for
chapter four. |
Assignments:
 |
Using
a web search engine, find an article, story, news release, etc. about
scientific misconduct and read it (you might want to search for
plagiarism, data falsification, data fabrication, academic fraud,
scientific misconduct, research falsification, etc). Then send an
e-mail to your classmates, where in one paragraph, you summarize the
article. Be sure to also send the e-mail to the instructor. |