Journal of Al-Azhar University Engineering Sector

Ethics of Scientific Research

Journal of Engineering Sector of Engineering Colleges - Al-Azhar University

The ethics of scientific research requires respect for the rights, opinions and dignity of others, whether they are research colleagues, research participants or those who are targeted. Principles of ethics of scientific research generally adopt the values of “Positive Action” and “Harm Avoidance”. These two values must be the focus of ethical considerations during the research process. There are some considerations for moral conduct that include the following: -

1. Truthfulness

Your search results should be transferred truthfully. You must be honest about what you transfer and do not complete any deficient or incomplete information depending on what you think has happened. Do not attempt to enter data based on the results of the theories or other people.

2. Expertise

The work you do in research should be appropriate to your level of expertise and training. First, prepare the initial work and then try to understand the theory carefully before applying concepts or procedures. An expert in your research will be a good help for you in choosing the things you should consider.

3. Safety

Do not expose yourself to physical or moral danger. Take precautions in all experiments. Do not attempt to carry out your research in environments that may be from hazardous geological, air, social or chemical aspects. The safety of the target audience is also important, so do not embarrass them or make them shy or vulnerable to your research.

4. Trust

Try to build a trusting relationship with those you work with, so you get greater cooperation from them and more accurate results. Do not exploit the confidence of the people you study.

5. Consent

Always make sure you have prior consent of those you would like to work with during the research period. The individuals to be studied must know that they are under study. For example, if you need to take ownership of others, you need their consent. Lack of initial and good planning for your research may force you to search for another site and start again.

6. Withdrawal

People have the right to withdraw from study at any time. Always remember that participants are often volunteers and should be treated with respect and that the time they devote to your search can be spent in another, more profitable and useful business for them. For this reason, you should expect the withdrawal of some participants. It's best for you to start your research with as many people as you can to put them under study so that you can continue with a large enough group to make sure your search results are meaningful.

7. Digital Recording

Do not record sounds, take pictures or shoot video without the consent of the target audience. Get prior consent before starting any registration. Do not try to use cameras or hidden voice carriers to record targeted sounds and movements. Be aware that the request for consent after filming is not acceptable.

8. Feedback

If you can give feedback to your target audience, do so. You may not be able to provide the participants with the full report, but giving them a summary or some statements and recommendations may be important to them and do the job. It is very important that you show them pictures, sounds or printed texts of the words that they said in advance before publication, so as not to be subjected to any physical or moral damage because of your interpretation of what they said or did. Always make sure you have pre-approval before posting.

9. False Hope

Do not make your target audience think that things will change because of your search or project. Do not give promises outside of your search, power, status, or impact.

10. Vulnerability

Some people may be more likely to feel defeat or surrender due to age, illness, or inability to understand or express themselves. You must consider their feelings.

11. Exploitation of Situations

Do not exploit the situations in favor of your search. Do not interpret what others are saying or indirectly saying so that your search serves.

12. Anonymity

You must protect the identity of the target at all times. Do not give names or hints to reveal their true identity. This can be achieved by converting names into numbers or symbols and make sure that everything related to the identity of the target is destroyed after the completion of the study.

Conditions of Scientific Research

In order for the research to be successful, there are scientific conditions that must be met, including:

1. To present something new

It is very important for the researcher to appreciate the importance of the subject, in which he will write, and its seriousness and wit. The researcher shall not write in a subject preceded by another researcher where he has deepened by research, analysis and statement, unless the other has dealt with one of its aspects. So it is okay to choose another aspect. There is no doubt that each subject has several aspects.

2. Vitality & Realism

One of the most important factors of the success of the subject is to be vital and realistic and has a strong connection to the student's tendency and the need of the community. The greater the circle of use, the more important it becomes. Writing on a subject that interests people and provides them with benefits or solutions to their problems or diagnoses them or seeks to develop their community and their comfort and well-being, is more important than writing in a fictional subject far from the reality of people because they will not care about it.

3. Fertility & Abundance of Sources

The success of the research is also the fertility of the material and the ideas of research, and the abundance and availability of its sources. On the contrary, poor research in the scientific article and poor research in the sources will not be successful and the author will tire a lot. So it was one of the most important duties of the researcher before choosing his research to search for his sources, to know whether he can write in it or not?

4. Clarity of Methodology

One of the success factors of the research is the clarity of its methodology and the organization of its plan in a logical and clear and understandable. The researcher should distribute his main ideas within coherent parts and chapters. Then the writing begins, so that his thoughts will be transmitted, and he will move with the reader from one point to the other in a coherent way, so that his reader feels that he understands what he reads. On the contrary, there is ambiguity.

5. Selection of subject title accurately

The title of the topic must reflect its content. Research titles are usually abbreviated in two or three words. The researcher must determine the subject accurately and do not go out of it or provide prefaces using very long introductions or comes with its contents in a very extensive in which digression or deviation and exit from the intended. But the researcher should try to focus seriously on the subject and not to mention only related to the near. The best thing to say is what you say. Boring excess and inclusions to fill pages and get out of the topic are troublesome to the reader leading to aversion to research.

6. Integrity of Style & Clarity of Phrase

One of the things that give great importance for the research is the integrity of its style of grammatical and linguistic mistakes and the clarity and unambiguity of its words. Among the things that lose the importance of the research is the large number of grammatical, linguistic or scientific mistakes. The researcher should be careful to write according to the clear Arabic structural methods, trying to avoid grammatical and linguistic mistakes. If he is weak in the language, the researcher should try to avoid the lack of request of this science from its scholars and greatly read in its books, as well as should ask the help of professors and colleagues strong in the language to read his research and to find out the mistakes before printing and the appearance of the research.

7. Accuracy of Information

The information documented by mentioning its sources, stated in numbers, indicates the accuracy of the research and gives the reader certain information. On the contrary, the abstract transfer of memory or what people pass without scrutiny or verification or search for its sources, and ensuring its integrity, are things that lead the research to lose its importance and value.

Charter of Ethics of Scientific Research

The progress in the field of health requires advanced medical education and scientific research that meets the needs of society and is based on ethical controls at all stages. The Faculty of Medicine - Suez Canal University has taken great care that the research complies with all ethical standards.

Objectives of Research in the Ethical Framework:

To contribute to human and cognitive development and to improve the quality of life and comprehensive care to preserve human dignity.
The benefits of scientific research would exceed the expected damage to society.
The means of scientific research would be consistent with the principles of ethics and the noble purpose would not be justified as an unethical means.
The hypothesis of the research and its outcomes would not contradict the moral framework and the principles of human protection and the society in which it lives.

Most Important Values of Research Ethics

1. Scientific Honesty

- Respect for the intellectual property of others: reference to the sources from which the researcher derived the information used in his research according to systematic principles, mentioning the name of the author.

- Data must be collected carefully, accurately and impartially by the researcher. Tolerance of deliberate scientific fraud cannot be tolerated.

- Non-scientific fraud: such as fabrication, falsification and plagiarism.

2. Financial Honesty

1- When research and project programs are supported by governments or international or private funds, support should be used to meet expenses as agreed in the search protocol.

2- The funds disbursed should be documented and periodic financial and final reports should be submitted.

Conflicts of Interest:

Researchers should disclose any material links with the bodies that finance the research or are examining their products. This should be done in writing to their research centers and institutions.
It is prohibited to assign arbitration in a research to a person who has an interest or relationship with the company or the financer of the research.
The research team should not dispose of the financial resources and resources available for research only in the budget items and objects of expenditure allocated to him.
The reward of the researchers and their method of disbursement and entitlement must be determined in advance and agreed upon, with the sponsor stating the reward.
In order to preserve the integrity and objectivity of the results, persons associated with donors, sponsor or financer from participation in research should be excluded.
Research centers should form review committees to examine cases of financial links with businesses.
Funding controls should be established for research.
Acceptance of support should not be conditional on what is contrary to the terms and conditions of scientific research.
The research should be conducted in a correct scientific and methodological manner. The supporting body should not, however, interfere with the results or manner of conducting the research.
It must be kept away from places where sources of funding are feared to be suspect or illegal.
The flow of research work and its stages should not be affected by financial funding or gifts from the sponsor.
The State or any of its institutions shall not be subject to pressure from the external financer.
Funding agencies and organizations: No proposal may be funded by any international or national agency unless it clearly articulates the ethical aspects of the study and provides guarantees on the monitoring of ethical principles, including the acceptance of an institutional review committee.

Professor's ethics in the scientific supervision on his students

The teacher (or professor) must be morally committed because it is the permanent example of his students.
The professor should perform his work in each site faithfully and faithfully, keen to develop the knowledge and ethics of his students.
The teacher should not teach the results to students. Instead, he shall teach them methods to reach such results. The teacher shall not teach them skills, but ways to develop skills.
The professor should not use his students to complete his own research or use them in his scientific advancement without reference to their efforts.
The professor should ensure that they are familiar with and adhere to ethical rules, values, and their knowledge of the laws and policies of their research institution.
The professor should commit to use the time of scientific supervision well used and in the interests of students and society.
The professor should guide his students with proper guidance on the sources of knowledge and information vessels and study references.
The professor should direct his students with proper guidance in the duties or research or projects commissioned by him.
The professor should follow the performance of his students to the maximum extent possible.
The teacher should develop in the student logical thinking abilities, and accept to reach independent results based on this thinking.
The professor should respect the student's ability to think independently, and respects his opinion based on specific grounds.
The professor should allow discussion and objection according to the principles of constructive dialogue and according to the ethics of the modern tradition.

Rights and Ethics of Authorship and Copyright

Recognition of the author based on substantive participation in the following:

Idea and design, or the collection or analysis and interpretation of data
Writing or reviewing the draft article accurately to verify the importance of intellectual content.
Final approval of the text to be published.
The introduction of funding, data collection or general supervision of the research team only does not justify the acquisition of the author's status.
The names of any shareholders who do not meet the criteria for the author's status shall be included in paragraph of thanks and appreciation.

Ethical Standards for Publication

Each author should be sufficiently involved to take responsibility for readers for certain parts of the content.
The work of the former researchers should be mentioned in the subject in question and the researcher should not assign himself a prior idea or studied by others.
The researcher should refer to previous studies which may have given different results.
The researcher should seek to identify himself among his colleagues. It is morally unacceptable for a researcher to broadcast news that he has reached certain results for the public before publishing them in scientific journals.
The researcher must recognize the contribution of those who participated in the research and the definition of what they have provided.

Moral responsibility of editors of scientific journals in the arbitration process:

Editors of scientific journals may not accept research that does not conform to ethical standards, as they will be responsible for any research they publish.
The arbitrators shall disclose to the editors any conflict of interest, which may affect their opinion on the research and shall withdraw from its review.
Editors should avoid selecting external arbitrators who clearly have potential conflicts of interest or work with authors in the same department or institution.
The arbitrators shall not exploit their knowledge of the work prior to publication in order to promote their personal scientific interests.
Editors should take all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the material they publish. When they notice the publication of a serious error, misleading phrase or distorted report, they should correct it immediately and prominently. If the articles prove to be deceptive or contain serious errors that are not clear in the text, they should be withdrawn.
The critical comments on published research should be published.

Scientific Research and Media:

Scientists should be cautious when reporting scientific data to the media.
Scientists should resist the temptation to report simply to achieve fame.
Scientists should assist the media for the preparation and presentation of accurate reports on the scientific data of interest to the public.
It is not morally acceptable to publicize their findings to the public or the media before first reporting them to their peers through journals or scientific meetings.

General Ethical Principles for Research on Humans:

All research involving human studies should be conducted in accordance with three main principles relating to the ethics of scientific research: respect for individuals, benefit and justice.

Respect for Individuals means:

v Participation in research should be voluntary;

v The privacy and confidentiality of participants' information should be respected;

v The participation of individuals should be based on their informed consent;

v Persons with weak or deficient independence should be protected and all measures should be taken to protect them from exploitation or harm.

Benefit means:

v Ethical obligation to maximize interest and minimize damage;

v The risk of research should be reasonable in the light of expected benefits;

v Research design should be flawless;

v Researchers should be competent in carrying out research and protecting research participants;

v The benefit is to prevent intentional harm to individuals.

Justice means:

v The moral obligation to treat each person according to what is morally correct;

v Giving everyone what they deserve, whether male or female;

v In the case of research involving human studies, justice means the distribution of both burdens and benefits of participation in research.

International Ethical Norms for Research on Humans:

1. Moral Justification & Scientific Validity:

v The moral justification for research, including a human case study, is the hope of finding new ways to benefit human health.

v Such research can be justified from a scientific research ethics perspective only if it is implemented on the basis of respect, justice and benefit.

v Research that is scientifically unsound is not committed to the ethics of scientific research because it presents research situations to risks without potential benefits.

2. Research Ethical Review Committees:

v All proposals for conducting research, including a human case study, must be submitted to one or more scientific committees and ethics review committees to examine the scientific benefits of such proposals and their ethical acceptability.

v Review committees should be independent of the research team.

v The researcher should obtain the consent or authorization of these committees before proceeding with the research.

v The Research Ethics Review Committee should conduct further study when necessary during the research process, including measuring the progress of research.

3. Informed Consent:

v The researcher must obtain the declared voluntary consent of the individual subject to the research before conducting the research.

v In the event that the individual is unable to grant the approved consent, it must be obtained from the legally authorized guardian in accordance with the applicable laws.

v Among the conditions for the validity of the declared voluntary consent, which must be obtained from the researcher [the case of research] to be issued after sufficient knowledge and understanding of what was authorized and approved. It requires that it be provided with the data and information it needs to know before making the approval decision.

v The declared approval of each case shall be renewed if there are significant changes in the circumstances or procedures of the research or new information has been made available that will affect the desire of the cases to continue to participate.

v The stated approval of each case is renewed in the long-term studies at predetermined intervals, even if there are no changes in the design or objectives of the research.

4. Encouragement of Participation in Research:

v The research cases may be compensated for lost earnings, travel costs and other expenses incurred due to the participation in research and they may also receive free medical services.

v Money may also be given to cases, especially those who do not have direct benefits from the research process, or are instead compensated for the harassment involved in the research and the time spent.

v However, the amounts should not be too large and medical services should not be too expensive to induce the expected cases of consent to participate in the research at the expense of their better opinion (“Improper Encouragement”).

v Approval of a research ethical review committee must be obtained for all the funds, compensation and medical services provided for the research cases.

5. Fair distribution of burdens and benefits in the selection of case groups in research:

v Justice requires that a group or a certain class of persons shall not bear more than its fair share of the burden of participation in research.

v Similarly, no group should be deprived of its fair share of research benefits in the short or long term.

v These benefits include the direct benefits of participation as well as the benefits of new knowledge for which the research is designed to acquire.

6. Maintenance of Confidentiality of Information:

v Researcher should take measures to ensure the confidentiality of the information of the participants in the research, such as the cancellation of data that may lead to the identification of persons participating in the study and the obstruction of access to data, information and other means. The researcher shall also inform them of all legal limits that would ensure confidentiality and possible consequences of breach of this confidentiality.

v Researchers should obtain “informed consent” from the “potential study participants” based on an understanding of the consequences of their participation in the study and inform them of precautions to be taken to protect confidentiality.

7. Patients' right to research in treatment and compensation in case of injury:

v Researchers should ensure that participants are entitled to research when they develop any disease resulting from their participation in the search for free medical treatment, financial assistance, etc. to compensate them for appropriate damage, disability or disability.

v In case of death due to participation in the research, their families shall be entitled to compensation. Researchers may not require patients to waive their right to compensation.

v With respect to the contractual liability arising from the implied agreement between the sponsor and the participants, the first party shall bear the consequences of damages caused to the case as a result of participation in the research.

8. Research involving vulnerable groups:

Ethical justification for their involvement in research:

Research cannot be done with the same degree of proficiency with less rapid vulnerability.
The research aims to obtain knowledge that will improve diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases or other health problems that are characteristic or unique to these groups.
It is usually ensure for the research cases that any diagnostic, preventive or therapeutic results are available as a result of the research.
Research-related risks do not exceed simple risks unless the scientific research ethical review committee authorizes a slight increase from this risk limit.
When candidates are not qualified or substantially unable to grant the stated consent, their consent will be accompanied by permission from their legal counsel or other appropriate representatives.
The type of consent for the cases in which the individuals are minors or belong to a group of authority that requires careful study, because their consent may be influenced inappropriately - justified or unjustified - out of aspiration to a privileged remedy if they agree, or out of fear of disapproval or reprisal if they refuse.

Journal of Al-Azhar University Engineering Sector (AUEJ) - Publication Ethics