You’re sitting in the library at UWI St. Augustine, final-year project due next week. Your topic? The impact of Carnival celebrations on sleep patterns in Port of Spain. You’ve got the data, the graphs, the whole story… but wait. Did you get written permission from the masqueraders you surveyed? Did you tell them their names would stay private? Did you make up any numbers to fill gaps? If you hesitated on any of those, you’re not alone. Most students skip the ethics part until the last minute—until they realize that plagiarizing a paragraph from Wikipedia about Pitch Lake or faking survey responses about beach clean-ups in Tobago can get their entire project thrown out. And that’s before you even think about the real consequences: damaged reputation, failed courses, or worse. This glossary is your shortcut. It’s packed with 32 research ethics terms you actually need, explained with local examples from Chaguanas markets, San Fernando fishing communities, and Port of Spain Carnival yards. No fluff. Just the rules you need to do good science—and pass your project with flying colours.
Animal Research
- 3Rs (noun) /θriː ɑːrz/
- Replacement, Reduction, Refinement—the three principles guiding ethical animal research to minimize harm and use alternatives where possible.
Synonyms : principles of humane animal research
The 3Rs are your checklist: can you replace, reduce, or refine the use of animals?
Using computer models instead of animals to test new drug interactions follows the Replacement principle of the 3Rs.
- animal testing (noun) /ˈænɪməl ˈtɛstɪŋ/
- Using animals in experiments to test products, drugs, or scientific hypotheses. It’s controversial but still used in some fields.
Synonyms : animal experimentation, preclinical testing
Animal testing requires strict ethical oversight—never do it without approval.
Testing a new pesticide on lab mice before using it on crops in Central Trinidad follows strict animal welfare guidelines.
Data Ethics
- data fabrication (noun) /ˈdeɪtə ˌfæbrɪˈkeɪʃən/
- Creating fake data points or results and presenting them as genuine research data. It’s making up numbers that never existed.
Synonyms : data invention, faked data
Fabricated data is the fastest way to destroy your credibility.
A student invents survey responses about beach clean-up participation in Tobago to complete an assignment on time.
- data falsification (noun) /ˈdeɪtə ˌfɔːlsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
- Manipulating real research data to match expected results, or selectively omitting data that doesn’t fit your hypothesis.
Synonyms : data manipulation, result tweaking
Falsifying data turns truth into fiction.
Removing outliers from water quality tests in the Caroni River to show better results than actually measured.
- data ownership (noun) /ˈdeɪtə ˈəʊnəʃɪp/
- The rights and responsibilities regarding who controls and benefits from research data, especially when involving communities or participants.
Synonyms : data rights, intellectual property of data
Data ownership means deciding who can use data and how—communities often have a say.
A study on water quality in Tobago must agree with local communities on who owns the data and how it can be used.
- data sharing (noun) /ˈdeɪtə ˈʃeərɪŋ/
- Making research data available for others to use, verify, and build upon. It’s about transparency and collaboration.
Synonyms : open data access, data transparency
Share your data—science grows when everyone can check and reuse results.
Publishing anonymized survey data from a study on soca festival attendance online for other researchers to analyze.
- open data (noun) /ˈəʊpən ˈdeɪtə/
- Research data that is freely accessible, reusable, and redistributable without restrictions. No paywalls, no secrets.
Synonyms : public data, free data
Open data speeds up science and prevents duplication of effort.
Sharing raw data from a study on coral reef health in Buccoo Reef under a Creative Commons license for anyone to use.
Ethical Principles
- autonomy (noun) /ɔːˈtɒnəmi/
- Respecting participants’ right to make informed, voluntary decisions about research participation without coercion.
Synonyms : self-determination, independence
Autonomy means participants choose freely—no pressure, no tricks.
Allowing participants to withdraw from a study on local food consumption habits at any time without penalty.
- beneficence (noun) /bɪˈnɛfɪsəns/
- Acting to maximize benefits and minimize harms to research participants. It’s the ‘do good’ principle in research ethics.
Synonyms : doing good, positive contribution
If your research can’t help anyone, why do it?
A study on mosquito-borne diseases in Trinidad must ensure participants benefit from any health interventions offered.
- justice (noun) /ˈdʒʌstɪs/
- Fair distribution of research benefits and burdens across different groups in society. No exploiting one group for another’s gain.
Synonyms : fairness, equity
Justice means fairness—if your research helps one community, it should help all who need it.
If a study on water quality in rural Tobago finds a problem, solutions should benefit those communities first, not just urban areas.
- non-maleficence (noun) /ˌnɒn məˈlɛfɪsəns/
- The principle of ‘do no harm’ in research—avoiding physical, psychological, or emotional damage to participants.
Synonyms : do no harm, avoid harm
Non-maleficence means your research should never hurt anyone, even by accident.
Researchers must avoid causing distress to participants in a study on domestic violence in San Fernando.
Governance
- ethical approval (noun) /ˈɛθɪkəl əˈpruːvəl/
- Official permission from an ethics committee confirming that research meets ethical standards and can proceed.
Synonyms : ethics clearance, research permission
Ethical approval is your golden ticket—without it, your research is invalid.
Getting ethical approval from the university before interviewing elders in Maracas Bay about traditional medicine practices.
- Institutional Review Board (noun) /ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃənəl ˈrɪvjuː bɔːd/
- A committee that reviews research involving human subjects to ensure ethical standards are met before it starts. Think of it as the ethics police for your project.
Synonyms : IRB, ethics committee
No IRB approval? No human-subject research allowed.
Before studying how steelpan rhythms affect heart rates, researchers submit their plan to the university’s IRB for review.
- research protocol (noun) /rɪˈsɜːtʃ ˈprəʊtəkɒl/
- The detailed plan describing research objectives, methods, ethical considerations, and data management for review by an ethics committee.
Synonyms : study plan, research design
A strong protocol is your roadmap—and your ticket to ethical approval.
A student’s research protocol for a study on steelpan rhythms must include consent forms, data storage plans, and risk assessments.
Human Subjects
- anonymity (noun) /ˌænəˈnɪmɪti/
- Ensuring participants cannot be identified from research data or publications. No names, no photos, no unique details that could reveal who they are.
Synonyms : namelessness, untraceability
Anonymity is stronger than confidentiality—there’s no key to unlock identities.
In a survey about soca music preferences, responses are collected without names, and results are published only as percentages.
- confidentiality (noun) /ˌkɒnfɪdɛnʃiˈælɪti/
- Keeping participants’ personal information private and secure, accessible only to authorized researchers. Names stay locked away; data gets coded.
Synonyms : privacy, data protection
Confidentiality builds trust—break it, and no one will talk to you again.
A study on domestic violence in San Fernando keeps participants’ identities secret, using codes like ‘P12’ instead of names.
- debriefing (noun) /diːˈbriːfɪŋ/
- The process of explaining the true purpose and findings of a study to participants after their involvement, especially if deception was used.
Synonyms : post-study explanation, participant debrief
Debriefing is your chance to rebuild trust after any trickery in research.
After a study on music preferences in Port of Spain, researchers hold a debriefing session to explain the real purpose and answer questions.
- deception in research (noun) /dɪˈsɛpʃən ɪn rɪˈsɜːtʃ/
- Misleading participants about the true purpose of a study to obtain natural responses, requiring careful ethical justification and debriefing.
Synonyms : research deception, staged scenarios
Deception should be a last resort—and always followed by a full debrief.
A study on consumer behaviour in Chaguanas malls uses mild deception but fully debriefs participants afterward.
- human subject (noun) /ˈhjuːmən ˈsʌbdʒɪkt/
- A living individual from whom a researcher obtains data through intervention, interaction, or identifiable private information.
Synonyms : participant, research participant
People are not lab rats—treat them with respect.
Participants in a study on heat stress during Jouvert morning are human subjects because they’re directly involved in the research.
- informed consent (noun) /ɪnˈfɔːmd kənˈsɛnt/
- The voluntary agreement of participants to take part in research after being fully informed about risks, benefits, and their right to withdraw at any time. It’s not just a signature—it’s a conversation.
Synonyms : consent process, participant agreement
Consent is a process, not a one-time form.
Before interviewing fishermen in Chaguaramas about their catch, the researcher explains the study in Trinidadian Creole and gets their written consent in English.
- informed refusal (noun) /ɪnˈfɔːmd rɪˈfjuːzəl/
- A participant’s voluntary decision to refuse participation in research after being fully informed about the study.
Synonyms : right to refuse, participation refusal
Respecting informed refusal is just as important as respecting informed consent.
A fisherman in Chaguaramas refuses to participate in a study on fish stocks after learning about the risks.
- vulnerable population (noun) /ˈvʌlnərəbəl ˌpɒpjʊˈleɪʃən/
- Groups with reduced capacity to protect their own interests, needing extra safeguards in research. Includes children, prisoners, elderly, or those in dependent relationships.
Synonyms : at-risk group, protected group
Vulnerable doesn’t mean powerless—it means you must work harder to protect them.
Children in after-school programmes in Laventille are a vulnerable population when studying educational outcomes.
International Codes
- Belmont Report (noun) /ˈbɛlmɒnt rɪˈpɔːt/
- A report outlining ethical principles and guidelines for human subjects research in the US, focusing on respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
Synonyms : Belmont principles
The Belmont Report’s principles are foundational for ethical review boards worldwide.
The Belmont Report’s principle of respect for persons requires obtaining informed consent from all participants.
- Declaration of Helsinki (noun) /ˌdɛkləˈreɪʃən əv ˈhɛlsɪŋki/
- Ethical principles developed by the World Medical Association for medical research involving human subjects, emphasizing participant welfare.
Synonyms : Helsinki Declaration
The Declaration of Helsinki guides medical research worldwide, including in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Declaration of Helsinki emphasizes that medical research should always protect participants’ health and well-being above all else.
- Nuremberg Code (noun) /ˈnjʊərəmbɜːɡ kəʊd/
- A set of research ethics principles developed after WWII to protect human subjects, emphasizing voluntary consent and right to withdraw.
Synonyms : Nuremberg principles
The Nuremberg Code is the foundation of modern research ethics.
The Nuremberg Code requires voluntary consent for all human experimentation, a lesson learned from tragic historical abuses.
Publication Ethics
- authorship (noun) /ˈɔːθəʃɪp/
- The status of being a recognized contributor to a research publication. It’s earned, not given—contribute meaningfully or don’t take credit.
Synonyms : credit, co-authorship
Authorship is about contribution, not convenience.
Including the lab technician who analyzed samples from a study on cocoa farming in Tobago as a co-author because they did real work.
- peer review (noun) /pɪər rɪˈvjuː/
- The evaluation of research by experts in the same field before publication. It’s the quality control system of science.
Synonyms : scholarly review, expert evaluation
Peer review catches mistakes and improves research quality.
Sending a paper on Carnival and health impacts to other researchers for feedback before publishing in a journal.
- retraction (noun) /rɪˈtrækʃən/
- The formal removal of a published research paper due to errors, misconduct, or ethical violations. It’s science’s way of saying ‘oops, our bad.’
Synonyms : paper withdrawal, publication correction
A retraction means the paper was wrong—don’t cite retracted work.
A journal retracts a paper on local biodiversity after discovering fabricated data from a researcher in Trinidad.
Research Integrity
- conflict of interest (noun) /ˈkɒnflɪkt əv ˈɪntrəst/
- A situation where personal, financial, or professional interests could improperly influence research judgment or objectivity.
Synonyms : bias risk, undue influence
Disclose conflicts early—hidden ones destroy credibility.
A researcher studying the health effects of local rum brands owns shares in a rum company; this must be declared in the study.
- dual use research (noun) /ˈdjuːəl juːz rɪˈsɜːtʃ/
- Research that could be misused for harmful purposes, requiring extra ethical scrutiny to prevent abuse.
Synonyms : misuse risk, security-sensitive research
Some knowledge is too dangerous to share freely—dual use research must be controlled.
A study on infectious disease transmission in Trinidad must consider whether its methods could be used to create bioweapons.
- fabrication (noun) /ˌfæbrɪˈkeɪʃən/
- Inventing data, results, or observations and recording or reporting them as real. It’s making up numbers to fit your hypothesis.
Synonyms : data invention, faking results
Fabrication turns lies into published facts.
A student makes up survey responses about recycling habits in Tobago to meet a project deadline.
- falsification (noun) /ˌfɔːlsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
- Manipulating research materials, equipment, or data to get desired results, or changing/omitting data to mislead. It’s doctoring the truth, not inventing it.
Synonyms : data manipulation, result tampering
Falsification corrupts the entire research process.
Altering lab results to show a new fertilizer works better than it actually does in Central Trinidad soil.
- plagiarism (noun) /ˈpleɪdʒərɪzəm/
- Using someone else’s words, ideas, or data without proper credit and presenting them as your own. It’s theft disguised as scholarship.
Synonyms : intellectual theft, copying without credit
Plagiarism is the fastest way to fail your project—and your reputation.
Copying a paragraph from a Wikipedia article about Pitch Lake without citing it is plagiarism, even if you change a few words.
- questionable research practices (noun) /ˈkwɛstʃənəbəl rɪˈsɜːtʃ ˈpræktɪsɪz/
- Practices that fall short of clear misconduct but still compromise research integrity, like selective reporting or inadequate record-keeping.
Synonyms : research sloppiness, ethical shortcuts
Questionable practices erode trust even if they’re not outright fraud.
Only reporting positive results from a study on local music therapy while hiding negative findings.
- research ethics (noun) /ɹɪˈsɜːtʃ ˈɛθɪks/
- The moral principles guiding how research is designed, conducted, and shared to protect participants, ensure honesty, and benefit society. It’s the difference between science that helps people and science that harms them.
Synonyms : ethics in research, scientific integrity
Without ethics, research becomes dangerous, not just useless.
When studying the impact of Carnival celebrations on sleep patterns in Port of Spain, researchers must get written consent from masqueraders before collecting data.
- research integrity (noun) /rɪˈsɜːtʃ ɪnˈtɛɡrɪti/
- The adherence to ethical and professional standards in all aspects of research, ensuring honesty, transparency, and accountability.
Synonyms : scientific integrity, research honesty
Research integrity is the foundation of trust in science.
Keeping detailed lab notebooks and sharing raw data are signs of research integrity in a study on cocoa farming in Tobago.
- scientific misconduct (noun) /ˌsaɪənˈtɪfɪk mɪsˈkɒndʌkt/
- Serious breaches of research ethics including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. It’s not just bad practice—it’s fraud.
Synonyms : research fraud, academic dishonesty
Scientific misconduct can end careers and destroy trust in science.
A professor is dismissed after being found guilty of plagiarizing an entire chapter from a book on Caribbean history.
- social responsibility in science (noun) /ˈsəʊʃəl rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlɪti ɪn ˈsaɪəns/
- The obligation of scientists to consider the broader impacts of their work on society, the environment, and future generations.
Synonyms : science and society, ethical science
Good science doesn’t just answer questions—it makes the world better.
Researchers studying offshore drilling impacts must share findings with coastal communities in Trinidad and Tobago.
- whistleblowing (noun) /ˈwiːsəlˌbləʊɪŋ/
- Reporting suspected research misconduct or ethical violations to authorities or oversight bodies, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Synonyms : reporting misconduct, ethics complaint
Whistleblowing protects science—stay silent, and misconduct spreads.
A lab assistant reports a professor for fabricating data in a study on local biodiversity.