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Unit 05 • 5 Lecture Hours

Research Ethics and Writing Research Report

Ethical frameworks for human-subject research, academic integrity safeguards, and standard TU thesis architecture.

TU Weightage: 10 - 15 MarksCore: Belmont Triad • Plagiarism • Thesis Prelims & Chapters
Core Memory Anchors: Research Ethics & Thesis Architecture
10-Mark Question (Ethics or Thesis Structure)

💡 Elaboration Strategy: परीक्षा हलमा यी मुख्य Anchor Points स्मरण राख्नुभयो भने प्रत्येक बुँदालाई प्राज्ञिक रूपमा विस्तार गरेर सजिलै २ देखि ३ पृष्ठको पूर्ण १०-मार्क्सको उत्तर तयार गर्न सकिन्छ।

1

Belmont Triad: Respect, Beneficence, Justice

मान्छेमाथि research गर्दा ३ वटा नैतिक नियम मान्नैपर्छ: Respect for Persons (Informed Consent लिएर मान्छेको इच्छाको कदर गर्ने), Beneficence (कसैलाई शारीरिक वा मानसिक चोट नपुर्‍याउने, 'Do No Harm'), र Justice (सबै सहभागीलाई निष्पक्ष व्यवहार गर्ने)।

कुनै पनि HCI वा software experiment गर्नुअघि Institutional Review Board (IRB) बाट अनुमति लिनुपर्छ भनेर खुलाउनुस्।
2

Academic Misconduct को त्रिमूर्ति: Plagiarism, Fabrication, Falsification

Plagiarism भनेको अरूको विचार वा शब्द चोरेर आफ्नो भन्नु हो; Fabrication भनेको ल्याबमा कामै नगरी नक्कली (fake) डेटा आफैं बनाउनु हो; र Falsification भनेको आफ्नो hypothesis मिलाउन साँचो डेटा तोडमरोड गर्नु हो।

Plagiarism का ३ प्रकार प्रस्ट लेख्नुस्: Verbatim (हुबहु कपी), Mosaic (शब्द फेरेर चलाखी), र Self-plagiarism (आफ्नै पुरानो पेपर फेरि बुझाउने)।
3

Informed Consent: जबरजस्ती होइन, बुझेर दिइएको सहमति

सहभागीलाई research को उद्देश्य, लाग्ने समय, र हुनसक्ने जोखिम प्रस्ट बताउनुपर्छ। उनीहरूले जुनसुकै बेला बिना कुनै जरिवाना research छोड्न पाउनुपर्छ, र उनीहरूको व्यक्तिगत गोपनीयता (privacy/anonymity) को १००% ग्यारेन्टी हुनुपर्छ।

HCI र Mobile Apps मा डिजिटल Click-Through Consent Form को रेकर्ड सुरक्षित राख्नुपर्छ भनी लेख्नुस्।
4

३ खण्डको Thesis Architecture (Prelims -> Body -> End Matter)

Preliminaries (Title, Declaration, Abstract, TOC - रोमन १-४ मा) -> ५ मुख्य Chapters (1. Introduction, 2. Literature Review, 3. Methodology, 4. Data Analysis, 5. Conclusion) -> End Matter (APA/IEEE References र Appendices)।

Exam मा यो ३-tier को Structural Block Diagram बनाउनुस्, पूरा १० मार्क्स सुनिश्चित हुन्छ।
Section 01

Fundamental Principles of Research Ethics (The Belmont Report)

Research ethics guides the moral integrity and professional standards of investigators across data gathering, analysis, and dissemination:

1. Respect for Persons

Acknowledges participant autonomy. Individuals enter research voluntarily with full information. Those with diminished autonomy (minors) receive heightened protection.

2. Beneficence

The non-negotiable imperative to “Do No Harm”. System designers must minimize participant fatigue, data leak exposure, and cognitive anxiety while maximizing societal benefit.

3. Justice

Fairness in distribution of research benefits and burdens. Research should not exploit disadvantaged groups while delivering resulting technologies solely to affluent users.

Section 02

Working with Human Subjects & Informed Consent

In computer applications, human-subject research occurs whenever users participate in usability trials, focus groups, eye-tracking tests, or telemetry studies.

Mandatory Elements of an Informed Consent Document:

• Clear Purpose: Explains what software is being tested and why.
• Voluntary Right: Explicit freedom to terminate session at any time.
• Risk Clarification: Discloses eye strain, screen time, or cognitive load.
• Anonymity Guarantee: IP addresses and names stripped before analysis.
• Data Retention Plan: How long recordings/logs are archived before deletion.
• IRB / REC Contact: Contact info for ethics committee escalation.
👨‍🏫शिक्षकको बोर्ड नोट (Teacher's Board Note)
गोल्डेन सूत्र: Informed + Voluntary + Understandable = Meaningful Consent. यदि सहभागीलाई अंग्रेजी बुझ्न गाह्रो छ भने स्थानीय नेपाली भाषामा स्पष्ट Consent फारम भर्न लगाउनुपर्छ।
Section 03

Plagiarism, Fabrication & Scientific Misconduct

1. Plagiarism

Appropriating ideas, text, or algorithms without attribution.
• Verbatim: Direct word-for-word copy-paste.
• Mosaic: Mixing sentences from multiple sources.
• Self-Plagiarism: Reusing own past thesis without citing.

2. Fabrication

Making up non-existent data. Synthesizing benchmark tables or user survey responses without ever administering tests on hardware or with participants.

3. Falsification

Manipulating genuine data. Deleting unwanted outlier latency spikes or adjusting dataset values to artificially force hypothesis significance (p < 0.05).

Section 04

Standard Thesis & Report Architecture

Based on Salmani-Nodoushan & Alavi's authoritative standard, an academic thesis comprises three distinct sequential divisions:

PART 1: PRELIMINARY PAGES (Numbered in lower-case Roman numerals: i, ii, iii...)

Cover Page, Title Page, Certificate of Approval, Recommendation, Declaration of Authenticity, Acknowledgments, Abstract (250-300 words), Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Abbreviations.

PART 2: MAIN TEXT (Numbered in standard Arabic numerals: 1, 2, 3...)
  • • Chapter 1: Introduction: Background, Problem Statement, Objectives, Hypotheses, Scope & Delimitations.
  • • Chapter 2: Literature Review: Related Works, Theoretical Scaffolding, Identification of the Research Gap.
  • • Chapter 3: Research Methodology: Research Design, System Architecture, Population & Sampling, Instruments.
  • • Chapter 4: Data Analysis & Discussion: Descriptive statistics, Hypothesis Test Results, Comparative evaluation.
  • • Chapter 5: Conclusion & Recommendations: Summary of contributions, limitations, and future research directions.
PART 3: END MATTER (References & Appendices)

References / Bibliography formatted strictly in APA 7th or IEEE format; Appendices (Survey instruments, detailed code algorithms, raw data matrices).

🎯 Must-Draw Examination Diagram:१० नम्बरको प्रश्नमा यो ३-तहको ब्लक रेखाचित्र (Prelims -> 5 Chapters -> End Matter) कापीमा कोरेर हरेक च्याप्टरको २-२ लाइन व्याख्या गर्नुहोस्।
Section 05

Preparing and Submitting Research Proposals

A Research Proposal is a persuasive academic blueprint presented to a faculty review committee to demonstrate feasibility, originality, and methodological rigor:

Expected Deliverables:Clear definition of expected computational outputs (e.g., benchmark dataset, open-source repository, trained weights, empirical model).
Work Plan & Gantt Chart:Milestone scheduling detailing Literature Review (Month 1), Architecture (Month 2), Data Collection (Month 3), and Final Thesis (Month 4-5).
High-Probability Exam Blueprint

TU Exam Model Q&A Bank — Unit 5

5 Past & Model Questions

💡 यी प्रश्नहरू विगतका TU परीक्षा तथा सिलेबसका मुख्य उद्देष्यहरूबाट संकलन गरिएका हुन्। उत्तरपुस्तिकामा Full Marks पाउन चाहिने मोडेल ढाँचा यहाँ प्रस्तुत गरिएको छ।

शिक्षकको छोटो सारांश (One-Minute Exam Recall):
Belmont Report अनुसार रिसर्च इथिक्सका ३ मुख्य पिलर हुन्छन्: १) Respect for Persons (Informed Consent लिनु र कसैलाई दबाब नदिनु), २) Beneficence (सहभागीलाई कुनै मानसिक वा शारीरिक हानि हुन नदिनु), र ३) Justice (न्यायसंगत छनोट गर्नु)।

Standard Model Answer Structure:

1. Principle of Respect for Persons: Recognizes the personal dignity and autonomy of human participants. Individuals must be capable of deciding whether to participate voluntarily after receiving complete information (Informed Consent). Vulnerable populations (minors, prisoners) require enhanced protection.

2. Principle of Beneficence: Formulates an ethical obligation to 'Do No Harm' (non-maleficence) and maximize tangible benefits while minimizing physical, psychological, social, or computational privacy risks.

3. Principle of Justice: Demands equitable selection and fair distribution of the burdens and benefits of research. No single group should bear experimental burdens while another enjoys the fruits of technological advances.

4. Institutional Oversight: Independent Institutional Review Boards (IRB) or Research Ethics Committees (REC) must formally review and approve human research protocols prior to participant recruitment.

✍️ Essential Answer Keywords / Must-Draw Elements:
✓ Respect for Persons (Autonomy)✓ Beneficence (Do No Harm)✓ Justice (Fair Selection)✓ Informed Consent & IRB Clearance
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