Unethical and Misconduct in Project Research

Unethical and misconduct in Project Research

A research project was conducted in Fahari Maize Millers Company aimed at expanding the business to other parts of the country. Having grown from a small retail business to a company management in order to increase their production and broaden the market to other regions of the company. The research involved a plan of set up branches in various regions of the country. The company specializes in processing and packaging of maize flour. The study was conducted taking into consideration the raw materials that are corn and the extent of the farmer’s dedication to maize production.

The research was conducted in various parts of the country especially those areas with good climate that favors the planting of corn. There were different methods used to gather information during this research, among them the use of questionnaires to be filled by various farmers and consumers. Interviews were conducted targeting head of farmer's associations and groups. Other area of the research included one-on-one interaction with a sample of farmers and consumers in order to get their views and experience of maize farming, the current market prices and sales of the maize products in their various areas (Baporikar, 2014).

Possible challenges to the setting up of the branches in the various regions reviewed during the research and means of coping with the challenges were established. The challenges posed; among other were competition from an existing company offering the same product, in some of the areas, farmers concentrated on small-scale farming while in some areas there were insecurity issues.

There are a number of unethical practices associated with research. Those that should be avoided in this research are; Falsification and fabrication of the results obtained from the study. It is the responsibility of any researcher to ensure that no data is falsified in any way. The research should the distortion of data found or omission of the same. It can be done by ensuring that the research is documented and preserved orderly and (Polonsky & Waller, 2011). The data acquired should be presented clearly and in an orderly manner and most of all it should be complete.

Another unethical issue to be avoided by the researcher is the leaking of the project to other companies. The research conducted by the researcher from this company should not by any chance be shared by the company’s competitor or any other company for that matter. In other words, confidentiality of the report should be considered, and strict access to the project be granted to those who are approved by the company. Leaking of this report will lead to the questioning