Ethics in academic research and scholarship: An elucidation of the principles and applications

Responsible, respectable, and successful engagement in research and scholarship in academia requires adherence to certain basic professional ethical principles to sustain the fidelity of academic work and the integrity of the researcher-scholar. This is more so for works which are intended for dissemination, information, attention, and consumption of audiences beyond the researcher-scholar's proximal academic habitat. Ethical principles in research and scholarship apply whether the intended work, to be made public, is a conceptual scholarly narrative of ideas and thoughts or a narration of actual scientific-process-based research. This paper explores some of the key ethical principles in research and scholarship, their applications, and implications. Emerging ethical requirements, based on the 2018 updates to the Common Rule for Institutional Review Board, are explored. Criteria for meeting international ethical requirements and processes in research and scholarship are outlined with guidelines for authorship. Implications for current and future need for fidelity, integrity and trustworthiness in the academic enterprise are stressed.