Social sciences and research ethics in developing countries: The perspective from Nigeria

Emmanuel M. Akpabio and Idorenyin F. Esikot

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2014, vol. 6, issue 4, 231-241

Abstract: This study seeks to show how social science-related disciplines in Nigerian universities understand and incorporate ethical principles in research settings within the framework of general institutional practices. We used the University of Uyo, Nigeria, to specifically and empirically explore these issues among academic staff and postgraduate students. We used in-depth discussions and interviews, in addition to analysis of secondary record to collect necessary data. Findings show that individual ethical knowledge and consideration in a research setting is not optimal. At institutional level, ethical principles and norms are only weakly observed in teaching and administrative settings and hardly internalised in research settings. A lack of institutional capacity to evolve functional mechanisms for ethical discipline was observed and blamed on the society-wide poor commitment to moral values and the development of the education system in Nigeria. Given the exploratory nature of the study, there is need for more research.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2014.902562

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