Research and publication ethics are closely connected as each new study leads to new finding, which on publication enter the public domain. By ensuring research is conducted ethically, the participants of any study are protected from direct harm during research. Also, these policies protect patients indirectly from poor application of research concepts. In recent years, both research and publication ethics are considered together and researchers are expected to portray research integrity and good research practices.
In this module, we will focus on the background to research and publication ethics as well as the regulations that govern research conduct. We will also focus on publication ethics as ensuring publication in international journals has become very important and researchers unknowingly tend to follow unethical practices for publication.