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Ethical Issues in Applied Linguistics Scholarship
Edited by Peter I. De Costa, Amr Rabie-Ahmed and Carlo Cinaglia
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 7] 2024
► pp. 330–342

Chapter 18
Research ethics and decisions

Cases of engagement and science communication

| Indiana State University
Within academia, we often compartmentalizes our work into research, service, and teaching. This creates an illusion of separation, neglecting the interconnectedness of these activities. A typical day involves a blend of tasks — meetings, mentoring, teaching, emails — sometimes leaving limited time for research, the very activity that often defines our scholarly value. Thus a conundrum exists: How can we excel in research if its time allotment is constantly squeezed by other necessary duties? Further complicating matters, these pressures can push scholars towards ethically questionable research practices (QRPs) with far-ranging outcomes.
This chapter explores this very issue by discussing two non-research projects, one in community engagement and another in science communication. Both projects aligned with my scholarly role, yet presented unforeseen ethical dilemmas. While not being ‘research’ in the traditional sense, both projects had an impact on my ability to ethically conduct research. By discussing the challenges that arose during these projects, the chapter highlights the importance of understanding research decision making and how decisions made in one sphere of our academic lives can impact others.
Article outline
  • Contextualizing ethics
    • Community engagement, science communication, and research ethics
  • Ethics-in-practice
    • The projects and issues
    • Migrant farm education project
    • Teacher training
  • Commentary and reflection
    • Resolving the ethical issues
    • Implications
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
References (15)
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