Research Ethics – A focus on

PlagarismResearch Methodology Training Postgraduate Students, Tshwane

University of Technology,

Presented by Prof Khumbulani Mpofu

REC Faculty Representative: TUT Research

Ethics Committee – 2013 to 2016

http://j.static-locatetv.com/images/content/4/561463_head_games.jpg (10 Nov 2012)

‘IT IS REQUIRED IN STEWARDS

THAT A MAN BE FOUND

FAITHFUL.’

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement.

All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition.

Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism?wssl=1

Plagiarize (and plagiarism) comes from the Latin plagiarius “kidnapper.”

This word, derived from the Latin plaga (“a net used by hunters to catch game”), extended its meaning in Latin to include a person who stole the words, rather than the children, of another.

When plagiarius first entered English in the form plagiary, it kept its original reference to kidnapping, a sense that is now quite obsolete.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize

“Research is finding out

the things that we don’t

know, while Ethics is doing

it in a way that does not

hurt anyone”

Ann RobertsonUniversity of Toronto

“Ethics refers to norms for

conduct that distinguish

between acceptable and

unacceptable behaviour”

David Resnik

RESNIK D.B. What is ethics in research & Why is it important?

http://www.niehs.nig.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis.cfm

❑ … responsibly attempt to figure

out right vs wrong, virtuous vs

vicious

❑ … take a pause to reason, not

merely check a list of have-to-

dos

ETHICS IS TO …

http://michaeljosephtherapy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/balancing.jpg

❑ A right is a legitimate claim that

is independent of cultural

preferences (i.e. universal)

❑ Principle: Applies equally to

all by virtue of one’s status as a

human being; everyone has it

❑ Individual rights trump Social

utility → Primacy of human person

→ Avoid abusive decisions

HUMAN RIGHTS

http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/img/info/un-to-adopt-cuba-human-rights-report-2009-02-09.jpg

❑ Function: To provide a framework

which enables people to choose

(determine) the course of their

own lives → Self-responsibility

❑ Autonomy (self-determination) vs

Paternalism (“expert” knows what

is “good” for others)

http://1stchoiceam.com/resources/_wsb_514x414_Direction.jpg

HUMAN RIGHTS

http://www.statebrief.com/briefblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Kant.jpg (7 Sep 2012)

HUMAN DIGNITY

Immanuel Kant

➢ Principle: Treat humans as an

end, not as a means/object to

an end (categorical imperative)

➢ A fundamental principle of

bioethics & human rights

➢ Inherent inviolable right

HUMAN DIGNITY

➢ Refers to inherent “human worth”

regardless of age, sex, social

status, achievement, ethnic origin

▪ Respect for diversity

▪ Avoid discrimination and acts

of humiliation

➢ Cannot be gained

or lost, you have it

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fundamental-rights/media/photos/frcrowd.jpg (7 Sep 2012)

➢ Ethics principle: The interests

& welfare of the individual should

have priority over the sole interest

of science or society → Not be

reduced to instruments (objects,

subjects) of research

➢ Science is not an end in itself but

a means to serve individuals and

society → Attitude of “privilege”

HUMAN DIGNITY

❑ Duty/Obligation: Responsibility to

adhere to values in a specific

context; to follow certain rules of

conduct

A QUICK DEFINITION

http://pixabay.com/en/symbol-signs-symbols-obligation-24077/ (20 Nov 2012)

HUMAN DIGNITY

➢ Two research obligations:

▪ Duty to avoid harm (non-

maleficence) – Exploitation,

Abuse, Unwarranted risks

▪ Duty to do good (beneficence)

➢ Respect & Benefits

➢ Protection of wellness, rights &

socio-cultural diversityhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/--trxV43QPtM/Tp6vBEF7-XI/AAAAAAAABeM/1JkfIvfyzEg/s1600/respect+1.png (7 Sep 2012)

HUMAN DIGNITY

http://cst2012.wikispaces.com/file/view/6a00d8341c318c53ef00e54f2299228834-

800wi.jpeg/302160058/400x261/6a00d8341c318c53ef00e54f2299228834-800wi.jpeg (11 Nov 2012)

➢ Two research obligations:

▪ Summary: “Dignity is a minimum

threshold of research conduct”

❑ Ethics principle: Direct and

indirect benefits to participants

should be maximised & possible

harm / risks should be minimised

❑ Research is always risky

http://www.teknat.umu.se/digitalAssets/25/25328_risk_webb.jpg

(11 Nov 2012)

BENEFITS & HARMS

❑ Beneficence = Obligation

to advance the interests

of participants or society

❑ Direct benefits: Material, health,

psychological, information

❑ Societal benefits: Knowledge,

economic, public health

❑ Tendency to overestimate

https://www.baltimoreaircoil.eu/sites/default/files/images/BAC_knowledge_centre.jpg (11 Nov 2012)

BENEFITS

❑ Aim: To induce participation

❑ BUT, incentives should not under-

mine autonomy (i.e. coercion or

undue inducement vs Fair and

reasonable incentive)

❑ Monetary; Tangible items

❑ Fair compensation (travel)

❑ Gift of appreciation

INCENTIVES

http://www.interlink.org.nz/gifs/money.gif

❑ Non-maleficence = Moral

obligation to not inflict harm

❑ Harms = Potential of injuring a

participant or society/community

❑ Tendency to underestimate risks;

most risks accrue to participants

❑ Self-test: “Would YOU accept the

harms / risks?”

HARMS & RISKS

http://www.malaspina.com/jpg/hippocrates.jpg

❑ Physical harm

❑ Psychological harm: Regret

❑ Moral harm: Unfairness, disrespect

❑ Social harm: Stigmatisation

❑ Economic harm: Income,

employment

http://ospitiweb.indire.it/adi/DiffApprendimento/immagini

/DiffA_3b.jpg

HARMS & RISKS

❑ Moral sanction for exposure to

risks is the intended benefit →

Research must have favorable

benefit-harm ratio → Max benefit

& Min harm/risks

http://www.rfi.fr/actuvi/images/111/balancejusticetribunal200.jpg

BENEFITS & HARMS

❑ Ethics principle: Recognition

of the human capacity to:

▪ Hold viewpoints

▪ Make authentic decisions (wrong)

▪ Take actions based on personal

values and beliefs

▪ Take responsibility for it

❑ Autonomy (Person-centred) vs

Paternalism (Researcher-centred)

AUTONOMY

http://1stchoiceam.com/resources/_wsb_514x414_Direction.jpg

❑ Application in research contexts:

▪ Subject vs Participant

▪ Informed Consent

▪ Voluntary participation: Free

from coercion & deception;

Withdrawal at any time

AUTONOMY

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/photos/autonomy-416.jpg (11 Nov 2012)

▪ Privacy: Free from interference

from others (personal info,

thoughts, opinions, personal

communication with others)

▪ Confidentiality: Responsibility to

protect personal information

from unauthorised access,

disclosure, use, loss or theft

AUTONOMY

❑ Children, cognitively impaired,

mental illness

❑ Proxy judgment, but respect

dignity through involvement

❑ Individual vs Communal autonomy

(Cultural knowledge / treasures)

❑ Not an absolute right; limited to

non-infringement of others’ rights

RESTRICTED AUTONOMY

❑ “Informed Consent is an expression

of respect for autonomy, dignity &

privacy”

❑ Interactive consent process:

1. Disclosure of information

2. Capacity to understand info

3. Ensure voluntariness of decision

4. Formal consent

INFORMED CONSENT

1. Adequate information: Jargon,

Language, Deception, Research

info (aims, methods, duration, risks,

benefits), Conflict of interest

2. Capacity to understand: Age;

Mental /cognitive ability;

Comprehension (literacy/reading

level, risks, harms); Ethics awareness

training prior to consent

INFORMED CONSENT

http://bemycareercoach.com/wp-content/uploads/yes-no.jpg

3. Voluntary (Free): Coercion (undue

influence), Deception, Withdrawal,

No disadvantage, Asymmetrical

power issues, Incentives

Collective/cultural consent by a

leader? Respect for cultural

diversity (authority structures) &

cultural knowledge (rituals, genome);

should not limit individual autonomy

INFORMED CONSENT

http://bemycareercoach.com/wp-content/uploads/yes-no.jpg

4. Formal consent process:

▪ Time to reflect on information

▪ Prior vs Retrospective consent

▪ Explicit/Express (written, oral,

gesture) vs Implied consent

▪ First person vs Proxy (children)

▪ Specific vs Blank consent

▪ Consent waiver – Archive

records; anonymous; traceable?http://www.voyagesphotosmanu.com/Complet/images/Mangosuthu_Buthelezi.jpg

INFORMED CONSENT

“In applying … medical

practice and associated

technologies, human

vulnerability should be taken

into account … individuals and

groups of special vulnerability

should be protected and

personal integrity … respected”

PATRÃO NEVES, M. 2009. Chapter 10 - Article 8: Respect for human vulnerability and personal integrity, In: The

UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights: Background, principles and application, (Eds.)

Ten Have, H.A.M.J. & Jean, M.S., UNESCO: Paris, pp.155-164 . Quote taken from 1st paragraph, page 155.

❑ Latin vulnus: Susceptibility of

being wounded / touched =

Human fragility & finitude

❑ Godfrey Tangwa (Cameroon):

Risk to be harmed, exploited,

deceived or unfairly treated

HUMAN VULNERABILITY …

http://www.ivyleagueinsecurities.com/wp-

content/uploads/2012/01/vulnerable.jpg (11 Nov 2012)

❑ Threats to dignity / integrity

(human fragility) that requires

recognition & non-exploitation

❑ Un-freedom to exercise

autonomy

http://www.amcr.com.au/images/travel/birdsville/dingo%20barrier%20fence%202.jpg (11 Nov 2012)

HUMAN VULNERABILITY

http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4ed7e95feab8ea443d000011-

590-440-400-/shadow-1.jpg (20 Feb 2013)

VIEWS OF “VULNERABILITY”

❑ Emmanuel Levinas (1972): “…

when self always comes after

otherness … self is already in

relation to the other, who waits

for him/her, who makes him/her”

❑ Hans Jonas (1979): “… a

perishable characteristic

of what exists”

VULNERABILITY

❑ Social marginalisation:

Very sick, elderly, xenophobia,

illiteracy, immigrants, sexuality

❑ Socio-economic context:

Poverty, unemployment,

homelessness

❑Power imbalances: Student-

lecturer, employee-employerhttp://knowledge.allianz.com/nopi_downloads/images/poverty_homeless_feet_z_2.jpg

❑ Vulnerability can not be fully

eliminated → “Ethics of care”

obligation/responsibility on

researchers:

➢ Recognise fragility / finitude of

participants → Awareness that

vulnerable others are subject to

diverse forms of “wounding” →

Consider alternative options

HUMAN VULNERABILITY …

❑ “Ethics of care” obligation on

researchers:

➢ Not add “wounds” in our

dealings with participants

➢ To let self step out of

other’s shadow

➢ Be ethical mentors &

role models

http://homestagingmentoring.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Home-Staging-Mentoring-Become-a-Mentor.jpg (11 Nov 2012)

HUMAN VULNERABILITY

PERSONAL INTEGRITY

❑ Latin tangere:

➢ Being “untouched”, that which

is unaltered/uncorrupted

➢ State of integration in the

private sphere of life

http://www.christysclipart.com/integrity_torch1.GIF (6 Sep 2012)

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PERSONAL INTEGRITY

❑Merleau-Ponty (1945):

➢ Multidimensionality of

humans → Physical,

mental, social, cognitive &

spiritual dimensions forms an

inseparable unity

➢ Participants are not merely a

“source of data” but an

integrated “lived body”

❑ To recognise, acknowledge &

respect the personal coherence

in someone else’s multiple

dimensions → Motivates

researchers to strive towards

keeping participants

“untouched”

PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY

http://www.mb-hs.com/images/carer.jpg (20 Feb 2013)

❑ Definition: Virtue of being

faithful to moral values & Standing

up in their defense when they are

threatened

❑ Why do we need integrity?

▪ Being trustworthy (Society &

colleagues)

▪ Being morally accountable for

knowledge, skills and conduct

INTEGRITY

http://www.christysclipart.com/integrity_torch1.GIF (6 Sep 2012)

❑ Lack of Integrity → Exploitation,

Negligence, Sub-optimal care,

Abuse, Objectification, Sloppiness,

Doubtful contribution to body of

knowledge → Participants and/or

society are wounded

INTEGRITY

http://www.christysclipart.com/integrity_torch1.GIF (6 Sep 2012)

Adapted from: Prof W Landman, “Governing and managing ethics in the

university”, Presentation at TUT, 21 May 2012.

INTEGRITY GROWTH

Survival Reactive

Ethics

Compliance Integrity Ethical

Society

Bread first,

morals later

Mere

awareness

of ethical

“rules”

“Cold

adherence”

to norms

and

checklists

Internalised

personal

ethical

behaviour &

Benevolence

Ethics

entrenched

in the “way

we all live

and work”

Unethical

practices

endorsed

Ethical

standards,

but no

enforcement

Rules and

external

enforcement

Values,

virtues and

internal

commitment

Unethical

practices

regarded as

“stupid”

Some things in life are

morally more important

than research endeavors,

namely human dignity

and respect for individual

autonomy

“Moral responsibility

increases in proportion

to knowledge”

UNESCO. Report of the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of UNESCO on the Principle of Social

Responsibility and Health (2010), UNESCO, Paris, pp.69. Quote taken from paragraph 88, page 40.

▪ UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN, Bioethics Centre,

International Research Ethics Network for

Southern Africa (IRENSA), Diploma in

International Research Ethics, 2007-2008.

▪ UNESCO, Sector for Social and Human Sciences,

Division of Ethics and Global Change, Ethics

Education Programme, Paris. Specific Event:

Ethics Teacher Training Course, Dubrovnik,

Republic of Croatia, 2-6 July 2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

▪ RACHELS J. & RACHELS S. 2007. The elements of moral

philosophy. 5th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

▪ UNESCO. 2008. Bioethics Core Curriculum, Section 1: Syllabus

Ethics Education Programme. UNESCO, Sector for Social and

Human Sciences, Division of Ethics of Science and

Technology, Paris, 68pp.

▪ UNESCO. 2011. Casebook on Human Dignity and Human

Rights, Bioethics Core Curriculum Casebook Series, No. 1,

UNESCO: Paris, 144pp.

▪ The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human

Rights: Background, principles and application, (Eds.) Ten

Have, H.A.M.J. & Jean, M.S., UNESCO: Paris, pp.370

REFERENCES

▪ UNESCO. 2009. Report of the International Bioethics

Committee (IBC) of UNESCO on Consent, UNESCO, Paris,

pp.65.

▪ UNESCO. 2011. Report of the International Bioethics

Committee (IBC) of UNESCO on the Principle of Respect for

Human Vulnerability and Personal Integrity, UNESCO, Paris,

pp.15.

▪ Milgram Experiment (Derren Brown) (Running time - 10:48

minutes). Available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6GxIuljT3w

REFERENCES

▪ Privacy and Confidentiality in Human Subject Research

(Running time - 5:15 minutes). Available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPOxvNbVwKk&feature

=relmfu

▪ Blood Trail - Havasupai Diabetes Study (Running time: 6:02

min). Available at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/us/22dna.html?_r=1&pa

gewanted=all

▪ Pfizer & Trovan I (Running time - 1:26)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EjNxYP9Swg&feature=re

lated

▪ Pfizer & Trovan II (Running time - 3:06)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PDE9G0ahU4

REFERENCES

▪ Diversity makes the world colorful. Available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cgbewUnGFQ&play

next=1&list=PL2CA61ADAB81A5072&feature=results_videoUploaded on March 9, 2010. Video by Giulia Peruzzotti,

Giulia Colella, Gabriele Squizzato & Liceo Scientifico

"Leonardo da Vinci" (2009, Italy), PLURAL+ 2009 Paley

Center for Media Education Award.▪ https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/

plagiarism?wssl=1 accessed 26 April 2020.

▪ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize,

accessed 26 April 2020.

REFERENCES

Acknowledgements to Prof

Braam Hoffmann

(Past TUT REC Chair)

E-mail: mpofuk@tut.ac.za

Tel (W): (012) 382-5571