Research and Publication Ethics

Paper Code: 
SOC/MSW145
Credits: 
2
Contact Hours: 
30.00
Max. Marks: 
100.00
Objective: 

The course will enable the students to gain comprehensive understanding of ethical principles and guidelines of research to ensure quality and integrity in research.

 

4.00
Course Outcomes: 

Course Outcomes (COs):

Course

Learning outcome

(at course level)

Learning and teaching strategies

Assessment Strategies

Course Code

Course

title

24SOC/MSW 145

Research and Publication Ethics  (Theory)

 

CO24: Examine the philosophy and ethics of research
CO25:  Conduct research in a trustworthy  and scientific manner
CO26: Present research findings in ethical manner
CO27:Identify good quality journals

 CO28: Develop skills to use databases and research metrics  

CO29:  Contribute effectively in course specific interaction

 

Approach in teaching: Interactive Lectures, Discussion, Tutorials

 

 

Learning activities for the students: Self- learning assignments,

Class test, Semester end examinations, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit I: 
Philosophy and Ethics
  • Introduction to philosophy: definition; nature & scope; concept; branches
  • Ethics: definition; moral philosophy; nature of moral judgements & reactions

 

6.00
Unit II: 
Scientific Conduct
  • Ethics with respect to science & research, group discussion on subject specific ethical issues
  • Intellectual honesty & research integrity
  • Scientific misconducts: falsification, fabrication, & plagiarism (FPP), group discussion on subject specific FPP issues
  • Redundant publications: duplicate & overlapping publications, salami slicing
  • Selective reporting & misrepresentation of data                                            

 

 

7.00
Unit III: 
Publications Ethics
  • Publication ethics: definition, introduction & importance
  • Best practices/standard setting initiative & guidelines: COPE, WAME etc
  • Conflicts of interest, group discussions on conflicts of interest
  • Publication misconducts: definition, concept, problems that lead to unethical behaviour & vice versa, types
  • Violation of publication ethics, authorship & contributor-ship, group discussion on subject specific authorship issues 
  • Identification of publication misconduct, complaints & appeals, group discussion on examples and fraud from India & abroad
  • Predatory Publishers & journals

 

7.00
Unit IV: 
Open Access Publishing
  • Open access publications & initiatives SHERPA/RoMEO online resource to check publisher copyright & self-archiving policies
  • Journal finder/journal suggestion tools viz. JANE, Elsevier Journal Finder, Springer Journal Suggester etc.
  • Software tools developed by SPPU to identify predatory publications
  • Software tools: use of plagiarism software like Turnitin, Urkund, and other open source software tools

 

6.00
Unit V: 
Databases and Metrics

Databases (3 hrs)

  • Indexing databases
  • Citation databases: Web of Science, Scopus, etc.

Research Metrics (3 hrs)

  • Impact Factor of journal as per Journal Citation Report, SNIP, SJR, IPP, Cite Score
  • Metrics: h-index, g index, i10 index, altmetrics

 

Essential Readings: 
  • Bird. A (2006), Philosophy of Science, London, Routledge

 

  • Bryman, Alan, 1988: Quality and Quantity in Social Research, London, Unwin Hyman.

 

  • Bealle.J (2012), Predatory Publishers are Corrupting Open Access, Nature, 489 (7415), 179

 

  • Chaddah.P.(2018), Ethics in Competitive Research,

 

  • MacIntyre.A(1967), A Short History of Ethics, London, Routledge

 

  • Yadav.S.K, (2020). Research and Publication Ethics, New Delhi. Anne Books

 

 

 

Academic Session: 
2024-25
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