RESEARCH PROCESS

RESEARCH
Redman and Mory define Research as a
“Systemized effort to gain new
knowledge”.
Research is thus, an original contribution
to the existing stock of knowledge
making for its advancement.
In short the search for knowledge through
objective and systematic method of
finding solution to a problem is Research.
 Objectives of Research
• The purpose of research is to discover answers to the
questions through the application of scientific procedures.
• The main aim is to find out the truth which is hidden and
which has not been discovered as yet.

The research objectives are:

• To gain familiarity with a phenomenon
• To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular
individual, situation or a group
• To determine the frequency with which something occurs or
with which it is associated with something else
• To test a hypothesis of a casual relationship between variables
 Motivation in Research
What make people to undertake research?
• Desire to get a research degree along with its
consequential benefits
• Desire to face the challenge in solving the
unsolved problems
• Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some
creative work
• Desire to get respectability
 Research Process
Research Process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to
effectively carry out research and the desired sequencing of these steps.

 Formulating and defining the research problem

 Extensive literature survey
 Developing the hypothesis
 Preparing the research design
 Determining sample design
 Collecting the data
 Execution of the project
 Analysis of data
 Hypothesis testing
 Generalization and interpretation
 Preparation f report or presentation of the results
• What are the main factors affecting
consumers purchase decisions?
• How does online education affect students
learning abilities?
• The effect of vitamin D supplementation on
the immune system?
• Influence of advertisement on product sales?
• Impact of technology on profitability of
company?
• Impact of NPAs on banking performance?
 What is Literature survey

• A systematic and thorough search of all types

of published literature as well as other sources
including dissertation, thesis in order to
identify as many items as possible that are
relevant to a particular topic.
• A good library is of great help to the
researcher at this stage.
 Significance of Literature survey
To discover what information exists in our
topic of interest
To form a starting point for our own work
To give scholarly authority to our work
To make effective use of our time by focusing
on appropriate resources
To avoid duplication
 Working hypothesis
• A working hypothesis is a hypothesis that is
provisionally accepted as a basis for further ongoing
research in the hope that a tenable theory will be
produced, even if the hypothesis ultimately fails. Like
all hypotheses, a working hypothesis is constructed as
a statement of expectations, which can be linked to
deductive, exploratory research in empirical
investigation and is often used as a
conceptual framework in qualitative research. The
term "working" indicates that the hypothesis is subject
to change
 Examples
• Drinking sugary drinks daily leads to being
overweight
• Smoking cigarettes daily leads to lung cancer
• Getting 8 hours of sleep can make people
more alert
 Research Design
• The research design refers to the overall strategy that
you choose to integrate the different components of
the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby,
ensuring you will effectively address the research
problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the
collection, measurement, and analysis of data.
 Determination of sample design
• All the items under consideration in any field of
inquiry constitute a ‘universe’ or ‘population’.
• Which is called census inquiry
• Highest accuracy is obtained in census inquiry
• But in practice it is not possible
• Hence the researcher must decide the way of
selecting a sample or popularly known as
sample design
 Sample Design
• Can be either probability samples or non
probability samples.
• In probability sampling each element has a
known probability of being included in the
sample but the non probability samples do
not allow the researcher to determine this
probability.
Probability Sampling Methods
Simple Random Sampling
Systematic Sampling
Stratified Sampling
Cluster Sampling
Multi Stage Sampling
Non-Probability Sampling Methods
Deliberate Sampling or convenience sampling
Judgmental Sampling
Quota Sampling
Snowball Sampling
Purposive Sampling
 Collecting the Data
• In dealing with any real life problem it is often
found that data at hand are inadequate and
hence it becomes necessary to collect data
that are appropriate.
• There are several ways of collecting the data
which differ considerably in context of money
costs, time and other resources at disposal of
the researcher.
 Ways of collecting data
• The main sources of the data collections methods are “Data”.
Data can be classified into two types, namely primary data
and secondary data. The primary importance of data
collection in any research or business process is that it helps
to determine many important things about the company,
particularly the performance. So, the data collection process
plays an important role in all the streams. Depending on the
type of data, the data collection method is divided into two
categories namely,
• Primary Data Collection methods
• Secondary Data Collection methods
 Primary data Collection Methods
• Observation Method
• Observation method is used when the study relates to behavioural
science. This method is planned systematically. It is subject to many
controls and checks. The different types of observations are:
• Structured and unstructured observation
• Controlled and uncontrolled observation
• Participant, non-participant and disguised observation
• Interview Method
• The method of collecting data in terms of verbal responses. It is achieved
in two ways, such as
• Personal Interview – In this method, a person known as an interviewer is
required to ask questions face to face to the other person. The personal
interview can be structured or unstructured, direct investigation, focused
conversation, etc.
• Telephonic Interview – In this method, an interviewer obtains information
by contacting people on the telephone to ask the questions or views,
verbally.
• Questionnaire Method
• In this method, the set of questions are mailed to the respondent. They
should read, reply and subsequently return the questionnaire. The
questions are printed in the definite order on the form. A good survey
should have the following features:
• Short and simple
• Should follow a logical sequence
• Provide adequate space for answers
• Avoid technical terms
• Should have good physical appearance such as colour, quality of the paper
to attract the attention of the respondent

• Schedules
• This method is similar to the questionnaire method with a slight difference.
The enumerations are specially appointed for the purpose of filling the
schedules. It explains the aims and objects of the investigation and may
remove misunderstandings, if any have come up. Enumerators should be
trained to perform their job with hard work and patience.
 Secondary Data Collection Methods
• Secondary data is data collected by someone other than the actual user.
It means that the information is already available, and someone analyses
it. The secondary data includes magazines, newspapers, books, journals,
etc. It may be either published data or unpublished data.

Published data are available in various resources including

• Government publications
• Public records
• Historical and statistical documents
• Business documents
• Technical and trade journals

Unpublished data includes

• Diaries
• Letters
• Unpublished biographies, etc.
 Execution of the Project
• Very important step in research process
• The researcher should see that project is executed in a systematic
manner and in time
• Researcher need to check whether the information is being
collected on predetermined basis
• Questionnaire way of collection and interview method of collection
• Training must be given to the interviewers with the help of
instruction manuals and necessary arrangements should be made
for proper selection and training of interviewers.
• Occasional field checks should be made to check sincerity and
efficiency of interviewers.
• Must keep the survey realistic as much as possible
• In other words the survey must be under statistical control so that
collected information is in accordance with the pre defined
standard of accuracy.
 Analysis of Data
Marshall and Rossman, on the other hand, describe
data analysis as a messy, ambiguous, and time-consuming,
but a creative and fascinating process through which a mass
of collected data is being brought to order, structure and
meaning.

The systematic application of statistical and logical techniques

to describe the data scope, modularize the data structure,
condense the data representation, illustrate via images,
tables, and graphs, and evaluate statistical inclinations,
probability data, and derive meaningful conclusions known as
Data Analysis. These analytical procedures enable us to
induce the underlying inference from data by eliminating the
unnecessary chaos created by its rest.
Types of data in research
Every kind of data has a rare quality of describing things after assigning a specific
value to it. For analysis, you need to organize these values, processed and
presented in a given context, to make it useful. Data can be in different forms;
here are the primary data types.

• Qualitative data: When the data presented has words and descriptions, then we
call it qualitative data. Although you can observe this data, it is subjective and
harder to analyze data in research, especially for comparison. Example: Quality
data represents everything describing taste, experience, texture, or an opinion that
is considered quality data. This type of data is usually collected through focus
groups, personal qualitative interviews, or using open-ended questions in surveys.

• Quantitative data: Any data expressed in numbers of numerical figures are

called quantitative data. This type of data can be distinguished into categories,
grouped, measured, calculated, or ranked. Example: questions such as age, rank,
cost, length, weight, scores, etc. everything comes under this type of data. You
can present such data in graphical format, charts, or apply statistical analysis
methods to this data. The (Outcomes Measurement Systems) OMS questionnaires
in surveys are a significant source of collecting numeric data.
• Categorical data: It is data presented in
groups. However, an item included in the
categorical data cannot belong to more than
one group. Example: A person responding to
a survey by telling his living style, marital
status, smoking habit, or drinking habit comes
under the categorical data. A chi-square test is
a standard method used to analyze this data
 Hypothesis Testing
• After analyzing the data as stated, the
researcher is in a position to test the
hypothesis, if any, he had formulated earlier.
• The hypothesis may be tested through the use
of various techniques such as Chi square test,
t-test, F-test etc., depending upon the nature
and object of research inquiry .
• The hypothesis testing will result in either
accepting the hypothesis or in rejecting.
Generalizations and Interpretations
• If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several
times, it may be possible for the researcher to
arrive at generalizations to build a theory.

• If the researcher had no hypothesis to start

with, he might seek to explain his findings on
the basis of some theory. It is known as
interpretation.
Preparation of the report or the thesis
• Finally the researcher has to prepare the
report of what has been done by him. Writing
of report must be done with great care
keeping in view the following:
1. The layout of the report should be as follows:
 The preliminary pages
 The main text
 The end matter
• In preliminary pages – contains

title & date

Acknowledgements & foreword
table of contents
list of tables
list of graphs & Charts
• The main text of the report should have the following parts:
a) Introduction: should contain clear statement of objective
of the research and methodology adopted in
accomplishing the research including scope and
limitations of the study undertaken.
b) Summary of findings: After introduction there would
appear a statement of findings and recommendations in
non technical language.
c) Main Report: the main body of the report should be
presented in logical sequence and broken down into
readily identifiable sections.
d) Conclusions: towards the end of the main text, researcher
should again put down the results of his research clearly
and precisely. In fact, it is the final summing up.
• At the end of the report, appendices should
be enlisted in respect of all technical data.
Bibliography, i.e., list of books, journals,
reports etc., consulted, should also be given in
the end. Index should also be given specially in
a published research report.
 Scope of Research

Environmental Level Organizational Level Marketing Level

Technological Innovations - HRM - Product

Competitor Analysis - Finance - Price
Industry Fears - Production - Promotion
New Market Entry - Organizational - Place
New Product Development Effectiveness and Success - Sales
- Customer
Measurement and Scaling
• In our daily life we are said to measure features of an
individual or a physical object using some yardstick to
determine height, weight, length, temperature etc.,

• We also measure when we judge how well we like a song, a

painting or the personalities of our friends.

• We thus measure physical objects and abstract concepts.

• Measurement is a relatively complex task specially when it

concerns to qualitative phenomenon.

• By measurement we mean the process of assigning

numbers to objects or observations.
 Measurement
Measurement is a procedure for assigning symbols, letters
or numbers to empirical properties of variables according
to rules. Measurement in research consists of assigning
event, objects, properties or activities with set of rules.

Example: Consider a business researcher willing to address

a research question “What motivates a consumer to buy a
luxury car”. In this case, a researcher has to focus on
unfolding the under lying motives of the consumer.
Therefore, a researcher has to broadly quantify the
research focus on “consumer motivation” to address the
above question. It has different dimensions in terms of
measurement.
• Strongly Motivated – 5
• Motivated – 4
• Neutral-3
• Not Motivated – 2
• Not Strongly Motivated - 1
 Scaling
Scaling is considered as extension of
measurement. Here, the researcher assigns
numbers not to objects but to its characteristics
such as perceptions, attitudes, preferences and
other relevant traits.

In research usually the numbers are assigned

to the qualitative traits of the object because the
quantitative data helps in statistical analysis of the
resulting data and further facilitates the
communication of measurement rules and results.
 Measurement Scales
The most widely used classification of
measurement scales are:
1) Nominal Scale
2) Ordinal Scale
3) Interval Scale
4) Ratio Scale
 1) Nominal Scale
If data are labels or names used to identify the
attribute of an element, then the nominal scale is
used. It is simply a system of assigning numbers or
symbols to events in order to label them.
For Example:
Assume that a marketing research company wants
to conduct a survey in three towns of India:
Bhopal, Nagpur and Baroda. Numeric code is as;
Bhopal code – 1, Nagpur code – 2, Baroda code - 3
• It is least powerful level of measurement
• It indicates no order or distance relationship
and has no arithmetic origin.
• A nominal scale simply describes differences
between things by assigning them to
categories.
• One cannot do much with the numbers
involved.
• We cannot compare the numbers assigned to
one group with the numbers assigned to
another group.
 2) Ordinal Scale
• The ordinal scale places events in order. It can be used to rank
or order objects. A student’s rank in his graduation class
involves the use of an ordinal scale.

• For instance if Ram’s position In his class is 10 and Mohan’s

position is 40, it cannot be said that Ram’s position is 4 times as
good as that of Mohan. This statement would make no sense at
all.

• Ordinal scale only permits the ranking of items from highest to

lowest.

• Ordinal measures have no absolute values, and the real

differences between adjacent ranks may not be equal.
• All that can be said that one person is higher or
lower on the scale than another, but more precise
comparisons cannot be made.

• It implies a statement of ‘greater than’ or ‘less than’

without being able to state how much greater or
less.

• The real difference between ranks 1 and 2 may be

more or less than the difference between ranks 5
and 6.
For Example, a manufacturing company administers a
questionnaire to 150 consumers to obtain the consumer
perception for one of its products. Each consumer is asked
to judge between three given options;

Excellent – 1, Good – 2, Poor – 3

The nominal and ordinal level data are often used for
inaccurate measurements such as demographic questions,
ranking of items under the study and so on. This is why
these data are termed as non metric data and are referred
as qualitative data.
 3) Interval Scale
• In the interval scale, the intervals are adjusted in
terms of some rule that has been established as a
basis for making the units equal.

• In interval level measurement, the difference

between the two consecutive numbers is
meaningful. The interval data are always numeric.

• The primary limitation of this scale is a lack of a true

zero, It does not have the capacity to measure the
complete absence of a trait or characteristic.
For example: three students of MBA Statistics have scored
65, 75 and 85 in the subject reliability theory. These
students can be rated in terms of their performances.

85 Marks – Highest ranking performer

75 Marks – Middle ranking performer
65 Marks – Lowest ranking performer

In the interval level measurement, the meaningful difference

between the two ranking points can be obtained. In the
above example, we can also compute that between the
highest and lowest ranking points, the difference is 20 marks
(85-65)
Example:
the Fahrenheit scale is an example of an interval
scale and shows similarities in what one can and
cannot do with it.
One can say that an increase in temperature from
30 degrees to 40 degrees involves the same
increase in temperature as an increase from 60
degrees to 70 degrees, but one cannot say that the
temperature of 60 degrees is twice as warm as the
temperature of 30 degrees because both numbers
are dependent on the fact that the zero on the
scale is set arbitrarily at the temperature of the
freezing point of water.
 4) Ratio Scale
• Ratio level measurement possess all the properties of
interval data with meaningful ratio of two values. The ratio
scale must contain a zero value that indicates that nothing
exists for the variable at zero point.
• For Example, a company markets two toothbrushes priced
Rs. 30 and Rs. 15 respectively. In the ratio scale, the
difference between the two prices, that is, 30-15=15
can be calculated and is meaningful. With it we can also say
that the price of the first product, Rs 30 is two times that of
the second product.
• The interval and ratio level data are collected using some
precise instruments. These data are called metric data and
are sometimes referred as quantitative data.
 Scaling
• In research we quite often face measurement
problem (since we want a valid measurement but
may not obtain it), especially when the concepts
to be measured are complex and abstract and we
do not posses the standardized tools.

• Alternatively, we can say that while measuring

attitudes and opinions, we face the problem of
their valid measurement. Similar problem may be
faced by a researcher, of course in a lesser degree,
while measuring physical or institutional concepts
• Scaling describes the procedures of assigning
numbers to various degrees of opinion, attitude
and other concepts. The term ‘scaling’ is applied
to the procedures for attempting to determine
quantitative measures of subjective abstract
concepts.

• Scaling has been defined as a “procedure for the

assignment of numbers (or other symbols) to a
property of objects in order to impart some of the
characteristics of numbers to the properties in
question”.
 Scaling Techniques

Comparative Scales Non-Comparative Scales

Paired Comparison
Continuous Itemized rating
Rating scales Scale
Rank Order

Likert
Constant Sum
Semantic
Differential
Q-Sort Scaling
Stapel
 A) Comparative Scaling
1. Paired Comparison:

A paired comparison symbolizes two variables from which the respondent

needs to select one. This technique is mainly used at the time of product
testing, to facilitate the consumers with a comparative analysis of the two
major products In the market.
To compare more than two objects say comparing P, Q and R, one can first
compare P with Q and then the superior one (i.e., one with a higher
percentage) with R.

For Example: A market survey was conducted to find consumer’s preference

for the network service provider brands, A and B. the outcome of the survey
was as follows:

Brand A = 57%
Brand B = 43%

Thus it is visible that the consumers prefer brand A over brand B.

 2) Rank Order
In rank order scaling the respondent needs to
rank or arrange the given objects according to
his or her preference.

For Example: A soap manufacturing company

conducted a rank order scaling to find out the
orderly preference of the consumer. It asked
to rank the following brands in the sequence
of their choice:
 SOAP BRANDS RANK
Brand V 4
Brand X 2
Brand Y 1
Brand Z 3

The above scaling shows that soap ‘Y’ is most

preferred brand, followed by soap ‘X’, then soap
‘Z’ and the lest preferred one is the soap ‘V’.
 3) Constant Sum
• It is a scaling technique where a continual sum
of units like dollars, points, chips, chits etc., is
given to the features, attributes and
importance of a particular product or service
by the respondents.
• For Example: the respondents belonging to 3
different segments were asked to allocate 50
points to the following attributes of a cosmetic
product ‘P’.
 ATTRIBUTES SEGMENT 1 SEGMENT 2 SEGMENT 3
Finish 11 8 9
Skin Friendly 11 12 12
Fragrance 7 11 8
Packaging 9 8 10
Price 12 11 11

From the above constant sum scaling analysis, we can see that:
- Segment 1 considers product ‘P’ due to its competitive price as
a major factor.
- segment 2 and segment 3, prefers the product because it is skin
friendly.
 4) Q-Sort Scaling
• It is a technique used fro sorting the most
appropriate objects out of a large number of
given variables. It emphasizes on the ranking
of the given objects in a descending order to
form similar piles based on specific attributes.
It is suitable in the case where the number of
objects is not less than 60 and more than 140,
the most appropriate of all ranging between
60 to 90.
For Example:
The marketing manager of a garment manufacturing company
sorts the most efficient marketing executives based on their
past performance, sales revenue generation, dedication and
growth. The q-sort scaling was performed on 60 executives and
the marketing head creates 3 piles based on their efficiency as
follows:

In the above diagram, the initials of the employees are used to

denote their names.
 B) Non – Comparative Scale
1. Continuous Rating Scales:
it is a graphical rating scale where the
respondents are free to place the object at a
position of their choice. It is done by
selecting and marking a point along the
vertical or horizontal line which ranges
between two extreme criteria.
The given diagram shows a non-comparative analysis of
one product, i.e., comfy bedding. Thus, making it very
clear that the customers are quite satisfied with the
product and its features
 2. Non Continuous Rating Scale
1.Itemized Rating Scale:
Itemized Scale is another essential technique under the non
comparative scales. It emphasizes on choosing a particular
category among the various given categories by the
respondents. Each class is briefly defined by the researchers to
facilitate such selection. The three most commonly used
itemized rating techniques scales are as follows:

a) Likert Scale:
In the likert scale, the researcher provides some statements
and ask the respondents to mark their level of agreement
or disagreement over these statements by selecting any
one of the options from the given alternatives.
 2. Differential Semantic Scale
• A bipolar seven point non comparative rating
scale is where the respondents can mark on any
of the seven points for each given attribute of the
object as per personal choice. Thus depicting the
respondents attitudes or perception towards the
object.
• Example: A well known brand for watches, carried
out semantic differential scales to understand the
customers attitude towards its products.
 3. Staple Scaling
It measures the responses, perception or attitude of the
respondents for a particular object through a unipolar
rating. The range of a stapel scale is between -5 to +5
eliminating zero, thus combining to 10 units.
The stapel scale got its name after its developer Jan
Stapel. The scale is usually constructed vertically with a
single adjective in the middle of the range of values (-5 to
+5). The respondent is asked to select the appropriate
numerical response category that best describes the
extent to which the adjective related to the object is
accurate or inaccurate. The higher the positive score
selected by the respondent, the more accurate the
adjective describes the object and vice versa.
 For example, the respondent is asked to rank the quality
of food, and crew member service of an airline on a scale
ranging from -5 to +5:

From the above example, the airline is evaluated as having a high

food quality but somewhat a poor cabin crew service.
 Measurement & Variables
• Measurement is the process whereby a feature is evaluated. Those features can be
things like height or weight, or they could be more psychological in nature, like
intelligence or anxiety levels.
• In any given study, you are trying to measure (or evaluate) certain elements that
change value depending on certain factors. These are called variables. Think of the
word 'vary,' which means 'to change,' and you'll be able to remember variable.
Variables
• Imagine that you are a psychologist and that you want to do a study on whether tall
people are smarter. You decide to gather a bunch of people together and get their IQs
and height. If tall people really are smarter, you think, the taller the person is, the
higher his IQ will be.
• Some variables change from person to person. For example, height is a variable
because it changes from person to person; if everyone in the world was the same exact
height, it wouldn't be a variable. Likewise, IQ varies from person to person, so it is
another variable.
• Other variables change across time. For example, a person's level of anxiety might
change depending on the situation or the point in their life or for another reason. A
person's age can be a variable, too: if you measure someone today and then a month
from now, their age has changed.
There are three main types of variables: continuous,
discrete, and categorical. Let's look closer at each one.
Continuous
• Okay, so you want to do a study to see if taller people are smarter. One of the first
things that has to be done when designing a study is to identify your variables. In our
study above, height and IQ are the variables that we are measuring.

• Let's say that we want to measure height in inches. Some people might be 62 inches,
and one or two might be 82 inches. And then, there are a bunch of people in between
those two heights.

• A continuous variable is one that can take any value between two numbers.

• For example, between 62 and 82 inches, there are a lot of possibilities: one
participant might be 64.03891 inches tall, and another person might be 72.67025
inches tall. And, there are literally millions of other possible heights between 62 and
82 inches.

• So, how do you know if you've got a continuous variable? In general, a continuous
variable is one that is measured, not counted. Height, for example, is measured.
Weight is measured. Temperature, time, distance - all are continuous variables.
 Discrete variables
• Let's say for a moment that instead of height, you want to
measure how many siblings a person has and see if people
with more siblings have higher IQs. The number of siblings a
person has is a discrete variable, or a variable that has only
certain values. For example, a person isn't going to have
2.34978 siblings; he will have two siblings or three siblings.

• Remember how we said that continuous variables are

measured but not counted? Well, discrete variables are
counted. The number of times heads comes up when you toss
a coin, number of students present in class, number of times a
person has attended therapy sessions - these are all discrete
variables.
 Importance of Conceptualization
• When conducting research, it is very important that there
be a unified understanding of key concepts, or variables.
This is very important when conducting research because
the researcher could be discussing a concept, in the
context of their understanding, whereas others outside of
the study, the audience, may have a completely different
understanding of that concept. Differences in the
understanding of these key concepts will render the
research invalid and unreliable. For example, if I wanted to
count the number of families in a certain area, what the
audience might classify as a family may be completely
different than what the research team classifies as a
family. And then, you have discrepancies in the research
• Conceptualization is the process in which the
researchers identify key concepts used in the
research and provide a unified explanation of
those concepts so that both the research team
and the audience is on the same page. This
process of conceptualization is important
when coming up with your research question
and survey questions.
 Ethics in Business Research
What are Ethics?
• Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide
moral choices about our behavior and our relationship
with others. As in other aspects of business, all parties in
research should exhibit ethical behavior. The goal of
ethics in research is to ensure that no one is harmed or
suffered adverse consequences from research activities.

• This objective is usually achieved. However, unethical

activities are pervasive and include violating non
disclosure agreement, breaking respondent
confidentiality, misrepresenting results, deceiving people,
invoicing irregularities, avoiding legal liability, and more.
• Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that
guide moral choices about our behavior and
our relationships with others. Ethics differ
from legal constraints, in which generally
accepted standards have defined penalties
that are universally enforced. The goal of
ethics in research is to ensure that no one is
harmed or suffers adverse consequences from
research activities.
Research ethics provides guidelines for the responsible conduct of research. In
addition, it educates and monitors scientists conducting research to ensure a
high ethical standard. The following is a general summary of some ethical
principles:
Honesty:
• Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication
status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data.
Objectivity:
• Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data
interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert
testimony, and other aspects of research.
Integrity:
• Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for
consistency of thought and action.
Carefulness:
• Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your
own work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research
activities.
Openness:
• Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.
Respect for Intellectual Property:
• Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use
unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give credit where
credit is due. Never plagiarize.
Confidentiality:
• Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for
publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.
Responsible Publication:
• Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your
own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
Responsible Mentoring:
• Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their welfare and allow
them to make their own decisions.
Respect for Colleagues:
• Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.
Social Responsibility:
• Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through
research, public education, and advocacy.
Non-Discrimination:
• Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex,
race, ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their scientific
competence and integrity.
Competence:
• Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise
through lifelong education and learning; take steps to promote
competence in science as a whole.
Legality:
• Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental
policies.
Animal Care:
• Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research.
Do not conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.
Human Subjects Protection:
• When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms and risks
and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy.