Page 53 - Academic and Research Book_WEB

to do such a review? While this question does not itself impinge on ethics, it will contribute to
defining the parameters.
• The tools of search need to ensure that the researcher is able to scan a wide range of literature.
For instance, a study of IT workers will review literature on the topic in India but should also
include literature in other countries because of the cross-national span of the topic. Leaving out
the latter is bad science and bad in ethics since it introduces an uncalled-for limitation.
Most search strategies today yield more material than is required and the researcher’s tendency
is to aim for twice the spread of material as may be required. To avoid bias, select a good spread of
material. This may mean selecting material that we may not agree with given our early perception of
the problem, or with papers by authors we do not regard highly. Nonetheless, we must include full
details of all the items in the literature review. This is not only ethically correct but also helps to avoid
inadvertent plagiarism.

It is ethically necessary to read all the material carefully without cherry-picking them. We cannot
allow personal likes and dislikes in selecting material. A fairly conducted research survey leads to
an ethically sound research design and does not bias the study even before it is begun (See Salmons,
2019).

Framing the Research Question

Framing the research question is an important step in planning research. The research question feeds
into the description of the project and defines it.
It defines the agency and the object and their relationship. An ethical perspective ensures that there
are no distortions in the elaboration of this relationship.

Let us look at some illustrations:

Illustration 1:

The focus of this research study was the fishing community where mechanized trawlers had been
introduced. The impact of the trawler was felt in several ways across the community. What should the
research question be?

• Study the impact of trawlerization on the fishing community? Or
• Study the impact of trawlerization on the poorest sections of the fishing community?

The first study may well miss the finer impact on the poorest, but the second keeps the focus on
the groups that are generally most vulnerable to change and therefore exhibit the impact of change
sharply. Wearing an ethical lens allows the researcher to contribute to the levelling off the field, in that
it will reveal information that might feed into interventions that will alleviate the worst impacts of
trawlerization.

Illustration 2:

Teachers were frequently absent in rural schools without an acceptable reason. A study was designed
to find out why this was so. The research question was framed thus:

• Rural schools suffer because teachers are not committed enough to attend school regularly.
• How can teachers be made to be more regular in their attendance?

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