Unit 8: Ethics in Research - Practice Quiz

1 Objectivity in research primarily means that findings should be based on:

2 Which of the following is an example of subjectivity in research?

3 Integrity in research is best described as:

4 Which action clearly violates research integrity?

5 The ethical principle of carefulness encourages researchers to:

6 Keeping detailed records of research activities is an example of practicing:

7 Openness in research refers to a willingness to:

8 A researcher who welcomes constructive criticism of their work is demonstrating:

9 Copying another author's work without giving credit is called:

10 Respect for intellectual property requires researchers to:

11 Which legal protection is most directly related to intellectual property in research?

12 Confidentiality in research mainly involves:

13 Which practice best supports confidentiality of research participants?

14 Social responsibility in research means that researchers should:

15 A researcher studying clean water solutions to help communities is showing:

16 The principle of competence requires researchers to:

17 Which action best reflects research competence?

18 The principle of legality in research requires researchers to:

19 A researcher following institutional and government regulations is upholding:

20 Informed consent means that participants agree to take part after being told about:

21 A researcher discards data points that contradict their hypothesis while keeping only supporting results. Which principle is most directly violated?

22 In a qualitative study on lived experiences, some subjectivity is unavoidable. What is the most appropriate way to handle it ethically?

23 A scientist reports an experiment as successful on the first attempt, hiding that it failed nine times before working. This behavior most clearly breaches which principle?

24 Which situation best demonstrates a researcher maintaining integrity under pressure?

25 A researcher's conclusions are questioned because they cannot locate the raw data or lab notes used in the study. Which ethical principle was neglected?

26 Which practice best reflects the principle of carefulness in research?

27 After publishing, a researcher refuses to share their methods and data with others attempting to replicate the study. This most directly conflicts with which principle?

28 Which action best balances openness with legitimate confidentiality concerns?

29 A student paraphrases a paragraph from a journal article and includes it without any citation. Which principle is violated?

30 A researcher uses a colleague's unpublished idea in a grant proposal without permission or credit. This is best described as a violation of respect for intellectual property because it:

31 A researcher stores interview recordings with participants' real names on an unsecured, publicly accessible drive. Which principle is most compromised?

32 During a study, a participant discloses information suggesting imminent harm to another person. What is the most ethically appropriate action regarding confidentiality?

33 A researcher develops a technology and refuses to consider its potential misuse or harm to society. Which principle is neglected?

34 Which activity best demonstrates a researcher exercising social responsibility?

35 A researcher accepts a project requiring advanced statistical modeling they have never learned and produces flawed analyses. Which principle is most directly at issue?

36 How can a researcher best uphold the principle of competence when facing an unfamiliar method?

37 A researcher conducts a study using human tissue samples without the ethics board approvals required by national law. Which principle is violated?

38 Which statement best captures the relationship between legality and ethics in research?

39 A researcher enrolls participants but only tells them the study's purpose after data collection is complete. Which principle is violated?

40 For informed consent to be valid, which condition is essential?

41 A researcher discards three data points that deviate sharply from the expected trend, justifying the removal by citing "instrument noise" without documenting any independent calibration check. Which threat to objectivity does this most directly represent?

42 In qualitative research, complete elimination of subjectivity is often considered impossible. Which strategy best preserves rigor while acknowledging the researcher's interpretive role?

43 A team submits the same dataset and core findings to two journals under slightly different titles to increase publication count. Even though each paper is technically written differently, which integrity violation is central here?

44 Which scenario represents falsification rather than fabrication?

45 A researcher's statistical results cannot be reproduced because intermediate analysis steps were done manually in a spreadsheet with no saved record. Which principle of carefulness was most directly breached?

46 Two labs report conflicting results for the same assay. Investigation shows one lab never validated its pipette calibration schedule. This failure is best classified as a lapse in:

47 A researcher publishes conclusions but refuses to share the underlying data or code, citing only "competitive advantage," while the study was publicly funded. Which tension is most sharply illustrated?

48 Which practice best reflects openness while still protecting legitimate constraints?

49 A researcher paraphrases a colleague's unpublished grant proposal idea, obtained while peer reviewing it, and submits it as their own new project. Which violation is most precise?

50 Which situation constitutes plagiarism even though no exact wording is copied?

51 A dataset is anonymized by removing names, but combining ZIP code, birth date, and gender still allows re-identification of many participants. Which confidentiality concept does this failure demonstrate?

52 During interviews on illegal drug use, a participant discloses a specific, credible plan to seriously harm a named third party. What does responsible confidentiality practice generally require?

53 A study finds a widely used household product carries a modest but real health risk. The funder pressures the team to delay reporting. Which action best honors social responsibility?

54 Which choice best reflects the principle of social responsibility in framing research questions?

55 A senior researcher agrees to run advanced Bayesian hierarchical models despite never having used them, without consulting a statistician, and reports the output uncritically. Which ethical principle is most directly violated?

56 Which action best demonstrates the ethical maintenance of competence over a research career?

57 A study lawfully complies with all national regulations, yet exposes participants to undisclosed psychological stress. What does this scenario reveal about the relationship between legality and ethics?

58 Research involves adults with fluctuating cognitive impairment who cannot reliably retain study information. Which approach best satisfies informed consent requirements?

59 A researcher argues that deception is justified because disclosing the true aim would bias responses. What is the ethically defensible condition for such deception?

60 A consent form is technically accurate but written in dense jargon that most participants cannot understand. Even with signatures obtained, why is the consent ethically inadequate?