Midlands State University is committed to fostering a research environment that adheres to the highest ethical standards. Research ethics and integrity are fundamental to ensuring the quality, credibility, and responsible conduct of all research activities undertaken by our faculty, staff, and student. The Research team provides resources, policies, and guidance to support researchers in upholding these standards throughout the research lifecycle.
Core Principles of Research Ethics
MSU expects all researchers to embrace the following core principles:
- Honesty and Integrity: Researchers must be honest in all aspects of their research, including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting. Fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism are strictly prohibited.
- Objectivity: Researchers should strive to minimize bias in all aspects of their work, from experimental design to data interpretation.
- Respect for Persons: Research involving human participants must respect their autonomy, rights, and dignity. Informed consent is essential, and vulnerable populations require special consideration.
- Beneficence and Non-Maleficence: Research should aim to maximize benefits for individuals and society while minimizing risks and potential harm to participants.
- Justice: Research should be conducted fairly and equitably, with consideration for the distribution of benefits and burdens across different groups.
- Confidentiality and Privacy: Researchers must protect the confidentiality and privacy of participants’ data and personal information.
- Accountability: Researchers are accountable for their actions and should be willing to address concerns or complaints about potential breaches of ethical standards.
- Openness and Transparency: Research methods, data, and results should be shared openly and transparently, where appropriate, to promote collaboration and reproducibility.
- Due Diligence: Researchers should be aware of and comply with all relevant laws, regulations, institutional policies, and professional standards governing their research.
- Respect for Intellectual Property: Researchers must respect patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Proper attribution and citation are essential