Researchers Ethics: Do Researchers Practise What They Preach?

Abstract

The major aim of this study was to find out the extent to which educational researchers practise research ethics. Data were collected using a questionnaire from 78 respondents who were studying for a Bachelor of Education degree at Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. The findings indicate that the majority of the respondents were not asked to give informed consent whether verbally or in writing by the researchers before they took part in the research studies. The respondents’ right to confidentiality and privacy was being upheld as indicated by 88.5% and 84.6% of the respondents respectively. All the respondents in the study indicated that they have never been physically harmed during the research, with only 26.9% indicating that they have sometimes been emotionally disturbed during the research. 61.5% of the respondents however indicated that they have been lied to during the research process. The study recommends that educational researchers should endeavor to observe the ethical principles relating to human participants particularly that of seeking informed consent from the respondents.