What Are Guidelines on Ethically Reporting Research

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The Answer is It is at the time of reporting research results that the researcher's ethical duty to be honest becomes paramount. Here are some guidelines:

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Provide an honest accounting of how the research was carried out and where the initial research design had to be changed. Readers do not have to know about every change you made in your plans and each new idea you had, but they should be informed about major changes in hypotheses or research design.

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Maintain a full record of the research project so that questions can be answered if they arise. Many details will have to be omitted from all but the most comprehensive reports, but these omissions should not make it impossible to track down answers to specific questions about research procedures that may arise in the course of data analysis or presentation.

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Avoid "lying with statistics" or using graphs to mislead.

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Acknowledge the sponsors of the research. In part, this is so that others can consider whether this sponsorship may have tempted you to bias your results in some way. Make sure to also thank staff who made major contributions.

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Be sure that the order of authorship for coauthored reports is discussed in advance and reflects agreed-upon principles. Be sensitive to coauthors' needs and concerns.

What Are Guidelines on Ethically Reporting Research

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