Drawing from the readings this unit, discuss the primary responsibilities of researchers as they embark on research projects? How do the following tenets impact your research framework and interest:

• Credibility?
• Generalizability?
• Integrity?
• Reliability?
• Trustworthiness?
• Validity?

Considering what we are viewing on social media lately, believe it or not, the RCMP has a mission, vision, and value statement. The six values are honesty, integrity, professionalism, compassion, accountability, and respect. Integrity is defined as acting consistently with the other core values while upholding the RCMP’s ethical and social norms. Personal opinions aside, integrity is the linchpin holding research together. (Merriam-Webster, n/d) define integrity as a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values, incorruptible character. Synonyms include decency, goodness, honesty, morality, righteousness, and virtue. For (Paul & Elder, 2005), acting ethically is nothing more than knowing what we are sensitive to and how we come to understand or interpret others’ experiences, which falls short of defining research ethics. (Reid et al., 2017) comes closer to hitting the mark when they identify two “musts” when conducting research. First, the behaviour, values, and attitudes of a researcher must conform to the standards of conduct and second, a duty of care must be upheld and exercised by all those involved in the research. In my view, combine these two “musts” with integrity and whatever approved criteria is required, and my research results should pass the test.

To me, considering how my research will be presented is essential to avoid damaging or unintended consequences. I plan on a qualitative research method using interviews and narratives. I want readers to interpret and believe my results and report. As stated by (Miles et al., 2014, p. 62), “If people feel betrayed by you when they read a report, it becomes almost impossible for them to accept it as a reasonable interpretation of what happened.” As a participant, I can think of nothing worse than reading the final report and feel angry at being misled or tricked.

The tenets of credibility, generalizability, integrity, reliability, trustworthiness, validity, and others fall under the category of completing the research report with integrity.   How far do I go with writing my report using the data and interview narratives while making   my report? Written as a record of the research content, process, and analysis reported by you, the researcher (Babbie & Benaquisto, 2010, p. 465), or written in a rich and luminous manner while engaging readers with information that matters, in ways that matter.

References

Babbie, E. & Benaquisto, L. (2010). Fundamentals of social research (2^nd ed.). Nelson Education     https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Fundamentals-of-social-research-Babbie- Benaquisto/4837213e9877cb5f1957ee32d195aa0b9b65608c?p2df

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Integrity. In Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. https://www.merriam-        webster.com/dictionary/integrity

Miles, M., Huberman, A., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: a methods   sourcebook. Sage. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/qualitative-data-analysis/book246128

Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2005). The miniature guide to understanding the foundations of ethical        reasoning. The Foundation for Critical Thinking. https://www.criticalthinking.org/files/SAM-       EthicalReasoning2005.pdf

Reid, C., Greaves, L., & Kirby, S. (2017). Experience, research, social change: Critical methods (3rd ed.). University of Toronto Press.