Avoiding plagiarism,
self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical
writing
Selective
reporting of Methodology
Replication of others’ research is one
of the hallmarks of the scientific enterprise. As such, scientists and scholars
have a responsibility to inform others about the specific procedures used in
their research. This information is typically found in the methods section of a
research paper the purpose of which is to provide other researchers with
sufficient details about the study so that in the event that anyone wishes to
replicate the study, they will have enough information to do so. For example,
we identify the subjects of our study (e.g., select clinical population,
specific species of animals) and provide important details about
characteristics of the sample, such as how subjects were recruited, that are
relevant to the kinds of variables that are being manipulated and measured.
The
Methods section also contains description of instrumentation or other
observational techniques that are used in carrying out a study. Whether data
were collected using sophisticated instrumentation, such as a positron emission
tomography or via a simple paper-and-pencil questionnaire, scientists must
describe these materials with sufficient detail to allow other researchers to
conduct the study.
Perhaps
the most important part of a Methods section is the description of the actual
procedure that was used to carry out the study. Here, investigators must
explain in clear language the series of steps that were used to establish,
observe, or manipulate the independent variables. They must offer a complete
description of the testing conditions and all of the other necessary details
that would allow an independent investigator to carry out the same study again.
Any essential details that are inadvertently omitted from this section may lead
others to carry out replication attempts that will be doomed to failure, resulting
in a waste of valuable time and resources. A more serious offense occurs when
an author intentionally leaves out an important detail about the procedure or a
crucial event that altered the conditions of the study. There are several
reasons why some authors will knowingly leave important details out of a
research report. Perhaps an extraneous variable was inadvertently introduced
into the study while it was in progress leading to biased results. Thus, for
the sake of expediency, rather than discarding the biased results and starting
all over again, the investigator may inappropriately leave that major detail
out of the report. The important point here is that authors have an obligation
to describe all of the important aspects of the research conducted, even if
some of those details reflect poorly on his or her abilities.
Because of the concern that some investigators may at times omit important details of the methodology used, guidelines have been formulated to help authors write better research reports. For example, for reports describing randomized control trials authors are advised to consult Moher, Schultz, and Altman’s (2001) Consort statement, which is a set of guidelines designed to improve the quality of such reports.
GUIDELINE 21: Authors have an ethical obligation to report all aspects of the study that may impact the independent replicability of their research.
