Ethics in Research: Assessment Questions

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* 1. Please provide your name, surname and UFS student/staff number.

Section 1: Research Integrity

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* 2. Which of the following best defines ‘research integrity’?

Ensuring that data is interpreted in a way that supports the study hypothesis and that publications undergo peer review

Fairness and accountability in collaboration

Principles of research integrity include honesty, accountability, professional courtesy, fairness, and good stewardship of the research

Adherence to ethical principles and professional standards in the conduct of research

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* 3. Which of the following is NOT one of the four core principles of the Singapore Statement on Research Integrity?

Honesty in all aspects of research

Accountability in the conduct of research

Professional courtesy and fairness in working with others

Financial gain from research outcomes

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* 4. According to the Singapore Statement, researchers should take responsibility for the trustworthiness of their research. This falls under which responsibility?

Adherence to regulations

Integrity

Research methods

Authorship

Section 2: Research integrity and misconduct

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* 5. Research misconduct is commonly defined by the acronym ‘FFP’. What does FFP stand for?

Funding, findings, and publication

Facts, figures, and proof

Fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism

Fairness, formality, and precision

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* 6. A researcher changes a few data points in their data set to make the results appear statistically significant. This is an example of:

Honest error

Plagiarism

Falsification

Fabrication

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* 7. Making up data or results and recording or reporting them is known as:

Fabrication

Falsification

Plagiarism

Data optimisation

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* 8. Which of the following is NOT considered research misconduct?

Inventing experimental results for a grant application.

Deviating from a research ethics-approved research proposal to prevent an immediate hazard or risk to a research participant.

Manipulating research equipment to change the outcome of an experiment.

Using someone else's ideas without giving appropriate credit.

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* 9. What is the best course of action for a scientist who discovers a significant, unintentional error in their published research?

Delete the original data to avoid confusion.

Notify the journal editor immediately to publish a correction or retraction.

Correct the mistake in future, unrelated studies.

Ignore it if it does not change the main conclusion.

Section 3: Data integrity

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* 10. From the following responses, please select the option that least applies in relation to what counts as data:

Field notes, survey data sets, interview or focus group transcripts, video and/or audio recordings, quantitative and qualitative observations.

Laws and policies.

Books and articles for research in a systematic or scoping review.

Existing data sets, including census data.

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* 11. In the context of data integrity, what does the acronym ‘ALCOA’ stand for?

Automated, linked, centralised, online, archived

Authorised, legal, certified, official, audited

Attributable, legible, contemporaneous, original, accurate

Accessible, logical, clear, organised, analytical

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* 12. The ‘attributable’ principle in ALCOA requires that

data must be stored in a way that is easy to find;

it must be clear who performed an action and when it was done;

all data must be attributed to a specific funding source; or

data must be published in an open-access format

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* 13. Data principle in ALCOA+ ensures that data remains readable and accessible throughout its required retention period. Data integrity refers to the maintenance of data ________ throughout its entire life cycle.

cost and accessibility

complexity and completeness; or

accuracy and consistency;

volume and speed;

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* 14. Which of the following is a crucial aspect of ensuring research data integrity?

Modifying data to fit hypotheses

Sharing data on open access platforms to foster collaboration

Keeping clear, accurate records of all research

Deleting raw data after analysis to prevent unauthorised access and future misuse of data

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* 15. What is a key ethical consideration when sharing sensitive research data, including personal information?

Restricting access to all data indefinitely to ensure the protection of participants’ privacy

Sharing data without anonymisation

Obtaining explicit informed consent from participants and ensuring that a data sharing agreement is in place

Ensuring that a data sharing agreement is in place and maximising commercialisation prospects from data sharing

Section 4: Authorship and best practices

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* 16. ‘Guest authorship’ (adding a senior researcher's name to a paper, even if they did not contribute significantly) is considered

mandatory for all collaborative projects

a violation of research integrity standards; or

an ethical practice to help junior researchers get published;

a standard professional courtesy;

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* 17. What is the primary purpose of a ‘conflict of interest’ disclosure in research?

To identify which researchers are the most successful

To allow journals to charge higher publication fees

To ensure transparency regarding interests that could potentially bias the research

To prevent researchers from having any outside financial interests

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* 18. When a researcher uses their own previously published work in a new paper without proper citation, it is known as

self-plagiarism (or redundant publication);

efficient writing;

content recycling; or

peer-reviewed synthesis

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* 19. The Singapore Statement emphasises that lists of authors should include

all members of the research team, especially the head of the research group, regardless of contribution

anyone who contributed financially to the research; or

all and only those who meet applicable authorship criteria;

only the principal investigator;

Data Dissemination

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* 20. Effective data management practices include

storing all data on a single, unbacked-up device;

maintaining a clear and structured folder system for data and code, keeping a comprehensive documentation of experimental procedures and data collection methods;

discarding data that does not support the research hypothesis and avoiding public communication to prevent misinterpretation; or

avoiding documentation of experimental procedures to ensure that there will be space for archiving data

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* 21. When should researchers share data and findings, according to the Singapore Statement?

Only when requested by funders

Openly and promptly, as soon as priority and ownership claims have been established

After all potential patents have been secured

Never, to protect intellectual property

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* 22. Please select one answer from the following responses about reporting the findings:

The methodology should be clearly set out in sufficient detail so that another researcher could replicate the study

It is sufficient to declare conflicts of interest in publications when required by the journal

Authors decide whether to include or exclude relevant data.

Authors are not responsible for ensuring correct authorship for their publications

Core research ethics principles and key norms and standards

Section1: Broad Ethical Principles (DoH 2024 Section 2.1)

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* 23. Choose the best definitions of the principle of beneficence and non-maleficence. These terms refer to

the ethical obligation to maximise benefit and to minimise harm;

the requirement that the anticipated risks of harm posed by the research must be reasonable, considering anticipated benefits;

the requirement that the research design must be scientifically sound and ethical, and that the researchers must be competent to carry out the proposed research activities; or

actively promoting welfare, protecting rights, and providing care, such as conducting research that improves health outcomes

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* 24. During a global pandemic, four African countries participated in clinical vaccine trials but faced financial constraints, preventing them from securing vaccines early, while other countries had stockpiles. What ethical principles does this scenario reflect?

Beneficence and non-maleficence; the African countries were exposed to the risk of harm by participating in the trials, but with little direct benefit

Distributive injustice

Respect for persons; the African countries were disrespected and treated unfairly

Unfairness and lack of transparency

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* 25. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was conducted between 1932 and 1972 on a group of nearly 400 African American men with syphilis, a disease that was confined to this group. The men were not informed of the nature of the study, proper treatment was withheld, and more than 100 died as a result. What ethical principles does this scenario reflect?

Respect for persons, as the men did not exercise autonomy and voluntariness to participate but were subjected to medical experimentation without their consent

Distributive injustice, as the disease was not confined to this group of men, and the benefit of the research did not flow primarily to this group

Beneficence and non-maleficence: beneficence prohibits deliberate infliction of harm on persons; sometimes expressed as a separate principle: non-maleficence (do no harm)

Protection of research participants: participants were not protected from the harms of research, as many died; also, their rights, dignity, and welfare were not protected

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* 26. Which three definitions best describe or demonstrate respect for persons in research involving human participants?

Individuals must choose autonomously whether to participate

There should be a reasonable likelihood that the population from which participants are drawn will benefit from the research results – if not immediately, then in the future

Persons who lack capacity or who have diminished capacity for deliberation about their choices must be protected against harm from irresponsible choices

Respect for persons recognises that the dignity, privacy and confidentiality, well-being, and safety interests of all research participants are primary concerns in research that involves human participants

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* 27. People must choose voluntarily about their participation in research and should not be coerced or paid to participate. Which three of the following practices that involve ‘giving’ to the participants or participating communities are acceptable in research?

Reciprocity: a value incorporated in the African philosophical concept of Ubuntu

Reimbursements: reimbursing participants for any costs for travel and refreshments incurred during participation in research

Benefit sharing: a value that emphasises equity

If the research has prospects of commercialisation or any generation of revenue, then the moral values of respect, honesty, justice, and fairness dictate that the principal investigators share any revenue with the participants

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* 28. Respect for persons also means that the interests of researchers must be considered. What interests could these be (select three)?

Welfare and safety interests

Authorship and intellectual property interests

Collegial and professional interests

Deriving financial gains from the indigenous knowledge of communities without sufficient community and stakeholder engagement

Section 2: Key Norms and Standards (DoH 2024 sec 2.3)

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* 29. Which of the following demonstrate continued respect for enrolled participants?

Respect the autonomy of participants at all times by ensuring that they remain willing to participate; this includes reaffirming informed consent throughout the study

By ensuring that participants know and understand their right to withdraw from the study

Exercising the ethical duty of confidentiality rigorously throughout the life of the study

Continuing to monitor their welfare during the research period and, when appropriate, to inform them of results or findings of the research

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* 30. An honours student is conducting interviews with research participants involved in what the ethics committee has classified as a high-risk study. The study involves the assessment of the prevalence of prostate cancer among South African men and focuses on male correctional centres in the Free State. Which three key norms and standards raise concern?

Fair selection of participants: persons should not be unfairly targeted for research based on the fact that they are in confined spaces and might be subject to manipulation; the research must explain the inclusion criteria and whether the inclusion of inmates is necessary for the research

Relevance and value: the research should be relevant and responsive to the needs of the inmates

Stakeholder engagement: whether researchers engaged and collaborated with stakeholders at an early stage

Researcher competence and expertise: researchers must be suitably qualified and technically competent; an honours student might have the required competence to conduct a high-risk study

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* 31. Most community-based projects fail due to insufficient community engagement. The terms 'stakeholder' and 'community' are sometimes used interchangeably, yet they are distinguishable in significant ways. Which three of these options describe what proper and sufficient community engagement entail? (DoH 2024 section 3.1.4).

Hearing the views of as many people in the community as possible, so that the overall community contributes to shaping outcomes that align with their needs and aspirations

Selecting individuals or groups who have an interest or stake in the research to be involved, in order to provide a high level of impact or influence on the planned project

Ensuring that the views of those concerned, including those who are vulnerable and marginalised, are solicited

Building community contributors as partners, and that the ethical standard of respect should be obvious in all engagement, including the process of community consent

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* 32. Dissemination of research findings is an ethical requirement. What information (select three options) ought to be shared? With whom, how, and when?

To safeguard the interests of participants and participating communities, the research findings must be shared and discussed with pertinent stakeholders before being published, following approval

Principal investigators must disseminate research results or findings, whether positive or negative

Research findings must be disseminated in a timely, accessible, responsible, and competent manner

Dissemination of findings includes reporting back to participant communities where appropriate

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* 33. Recruitment, selection, exclusion, and inclusion of participants for research must be just and fair, based on sound scientific and ethical principles. Persons should not be unreasonably or unfairly excluded based on any of the prohibited grounds for discrimination. Under which key norm and standard do this explanation fall?

Informed consent

Scientific integrity

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Fair selection of participants

Informed consent: Assessment questions

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* 34. What are the key components of informed consent?

Disclosure of all information about the research

Confidentiality

Withdrawal rights

Voluntariness

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* 35. Informed consent is embedded in which two ethical principle(s)?

Autonomy

Right to full information

Respect for persons

Protection of participants, especially their privacy

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* 36. What are the three requirements for informed consent?

Capacity

Evidence of consent

Community consent in the case of sensitive information where assent cannot be obtained from minors in research involving minors

Translation of consent documents by a qualified translator

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* 37. Minors are classified as a vulnerable group. What are some of the minimum conditions for research involving minors (section 3.2.2.1 NDoH 2024)?

Children and adolescents should only participate in research where such research poses acceptable risks of harm

The research, including observational research, is not contrary to the best interest of the minor

The research involves greater than minimal risk of harm but provides the prospect of direct benefit to the child or adolescent

Permission in writing from parents or legal guardian for the minor's personal information to be processed (POPIA)

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* 38. Sexual offences committed against 'vulnerable' persons must be reported by a person 'who has knowledge, reasonable belief, or suspicion that a sexual offence has been committed’. The report must be made to a police official. A 'vulnerable’ person includes the following:

A person who is being cared for or sheltered in a facility that provides services to victims of crime

A woman under the age of 25 years who is receiving tuition at a higher education college, higher education institution, or university college

A child or person with a mental disability

A person who is 60 years of age or older and who is receiving community-based care and support services, other than from a family member

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* 39. Researchers and RECs should exercise extra caution when women participants are or may become pregnant. Usually, research involving pregnant women should be undertaken on the following three conditions:

Appropriate studies on animals and non-pregnant women have been completed

The purpose of the proposed research is to meet the health needs of the mother of the embryo, foetus, or infant

The risk of harm is outweighed by the prospect of potential individual benefit if procedures or interventions pose potential individual benefit to the woman or embryo, foetus, or infant

Research involving pregnant women should never be undertaken, as it could pose harm to the foetus

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* 40. What are the two minimum conditions for research involving adults with incapacities, e.g., persons in dependent relationships, inmates, and persons with visual, hearing or mobility impairments:

Research should only be conducted among inmates if their participation is indispensable to the research, and the research cannot be conducted with non-inmates

Participants with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments should generally be excluded from research

Particular attention should be given to ensuring that participants are adequately informed and can choose voluntarily whether to participate in research

A researcher must use their professional judgment to assess the mental capacity of participants and to protect mentally incapacitated people from harmful choices

A minimum score of 70% is required to pass. If you achieve less than 70%, kindly retake the quiz to ensure successful completion.