Ethical Principles & Responsible Conduct in Research

Abstract

Research plays a critical role in the development of human society. Research has contributed to the advancement in health, communication and technology which have in turn brought about improvement in living standards and quality of lives of human beings. Research is a systematic, deliberate process of investigation conducted to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge (FHI, 2000).Research is a deliberate, intentional, planned effort to investigate and collect information on a given subject.Research is also aimed at providing solutions to problems affecting individuals, families, communities and the society at large. Research is therefore meant to fill an existing gap in knowledge on a specific subject.

There are six stages of research namely (1) development of a research plan, (2) submission of the plan to an Ethics Review Committee (ERC) for review and approval, (3) collection of information from field or laboratory, (4) processing, analyzing and interpreting the information, (5) writing a report of the process, and (6) the dissemination of findings through workshops, presentations at conferences and publications in peer-review journals