Research Ethics

Research models in the humanities are different from those of the hard sciences. Most researchers agree that the principles of the scientific method are worth implementing in all disciplines, but because of the difficulty of reproducing controlled experiments, they are much harder to apply to the humanities.

While results of chemistry experiments (for example) are supposed to be reproducible and the results clear-cut, historical evidence (for another example) is often much more difficult to interpret. What's more, actual historical occurrences can not be reproduced on demand. As a result, the ethical codes of the sciences are not always applicable to the humanities.

This does not mean that there are few ethics, of course. It just means that, once you get past the immediate hazards of Plagiarism, these ethics are less well defined. Compare the web sites of the American Psychological Association with that of the Modern Language Association. You will find the APA ethics code after not too much trouble, but you might have trouble finding one for the MLA.

Some ethical problems in any field are:

Conflicts of Interest--These are not always clear cut, but you should attempt to avoid them in any case. If they can't be avoided, you should clearly inform your audience that you are somehow connected to your own research.
Human subjects--Although human subjects are more common in the sciences, you might need to use people as resources in your research. It is very important that you follow general guidelines in doing so. These can include
- Informed consent of the subject and
- Permission from your institution.
Maryville College has guidelines and forms for research involving human subjects. This paperwork must be completed before any such research is approved. For more information on what human subjects can entail, look at the UTK Human Research Subjects Review Page.

Some other big ethical no-nos are:

Bending the evidence to suit your thesis;
Ignoring evidence that would prove you wrong;
Otherwise falsely presenting yourself or your data;
Allowing your biases to dominate your research

For more ethics issues, look at the following sites:

Research Council of Norway: Forget that this site is Norwegian; most of these guidelines are useful in any country. Yes, the site is in English.
Research Misconduct Policy (UTK): What can happen if you get caught
Research Compliances (UTK): An example of how to do it right
Office of Research Integrity (University of Pittsburgh)

There have been some very famous writers who have been accused of academic fraud: Martin Luther King, Jr., Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and the French literary critic Paul de Man are just a few.

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This page created by Christopher Ryland 25 August 2000. Last updated 25 August 2000.