Table 3 Recommendations for Early Career Researchers for ethical Research
From: Unethical practices within medical research and publication – An exploratory study
Pre-investigatory training phase | Laboratory investigation phase | Dissemination phase |
|---|---|---|
Read around the subject area, methodologies (and their potential flaws) | Think about your own research integrity. Do not let others influence your morals | Truthfully report what the data show in relation to hypothesis |
Learn about ethical principles and their applications to prepare your ethics application | Avoid data manipulation, selective usage, stealing results from others tc. | Defend your findings with facts supported by critical analysis |
Prepare for ethical application with power calculations, statistics , Gannt chart etc. | Repeat to ascertain reproducibility and always consider outliers | Avoid plagiarism, data manipulation and/or data recycling |
Complete health and safety course, risk assessments and COSSH | Be truthful and avoid manipulation or selective usage | Accept the shortcomings and discuss future directions |
Build a meaningful working relationship with your supervisor/guide | Record all the findings for future reference and analysis | Answer/address reviewers questions with integrity |
Acquire the necessary technical knowledge and train yourself | Challenge your findings by critical analysis | Accept the methodological flaws and address the issues highlighted by the reviewers |