International Society for the Study of Information (IS4SI)
Code of Ethics
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IS4SI Member’s Ethical Responsibilities and Duties
As members of the International Society for the Study of Information (IS4SI), individuals from diverse disciplines are committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct in their professional activities. The following responsibilities and duties guide members in contributing positively to the society and the broader field of information studies.
3.1. Core Ethical Responsibilities of IS4SI Members
- IS4SI members are committed to conducting research and professional activities with integrity and honesty. This includes accurate reporting of data, acknowledgment of contributions, and avoidance of plagiarism or misrepresentation.
- Members respect the intellectual property rights of others by properly citing sources, obtaining permissions for copyrighted materials, and safeguarding confidential information.
- A dedication to excellence is fundamental to membership. Members strive for excellence in research, teaching, and professional practice. They maintain up-to-date knowledge of field developments and continuously enhance their skills.
- IS4SI fosters a collaborative and collegial environment among its members and the broader academic community. Members share knowledge, support colleagues, and engage in constructive dialogue.
- Recognizing the importance of social responsibility, members ensure that their research benefits society and contributes to the public good. They carefully consider the ethical implications of their research and its impact on individuals, communities, and the environment.
- Members uphold transparency and accountability in their professional activities. They disclose conflicts of interest and adhere to society policies and guidelines.
- IS4SI values diversity and inclusion. Members respect and promote diversity within the society and the field of information studies. They appreciate different perspectives, foster inclusivity, and oppose discrimination.
The Core Ethical Responsibilities of IS4SI Members are crucial for the success of interdisciplinary teams. These teams benefit significantly from diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
It is essential to highlight that interdisciplinary research:
- Often involves collaboration, emphasizing the importance of open and honest communication.
- Frequently entails the integration of knowledge from different fields, necessitating respect for intellectual property rights.
- Demands a high level of expertise and a sustained commitment to learning.
- Thrives on collaboration and the free exchange of ideas.
- Often has a far-reaching societal implication, requiring careful consideration of ethical duties.
- Involves multiple stakeholders, making transparency and accountability fundamental.
3.2. Ethical Responsibilities for Scientists
In addition to the core ethical responsibilities, scientists hold specific obligations.
- Research Integrity: Interdisciplinary research necessitates rigorous research methodologies and data management practices. Scientists employ robust research methods, conduct critical analysis of evidence, and accurately and comprehensively report findings in publications and peer reviews. Maintaining clear and accurate research records is essential.
- Open Communication: Effective interdisciplinary collaboration requires open and honest communication among researchers. Scientists communicate findings honestly and transparently, disclosing any potential conflicts of interest.
- Ethical Treatment: Interdisciplinary research frequently involves working with human or animal subjects. This emphasizes the importance of ethical treatment. Scientists protect the well-being of human and animal subjects, as well as the environment. They consider the broader societal implications of their research.
- Inclusive Environment: Scientists contribute to fostering a diverse and inclusive scientific community by treating colleagues with fairness and respect. Interdisciplinary teams thrive in environments that value diverse perspectives.
- Scientific Integrity: Interdisciplinary research demands adherence to the highest ethical standards. Scientists oppose unethical or illegal practices, uphold scientific codes of conduct, and report misconduct.
- Societal Contribution: Interdisciplinary research offers potential for innovative solutions to complex societal problems. Scientists communicate scientific findings to the public and contribute their expertise to address societal challenges such as sustainability, health, and welfare.
By upholding these ethical principles, IS4SI members contribute to the advancement of information studies in a responsible and ethical manner.
3.3. Ethical Responsibilities and Duties of IS4SI Institutional Members
Being real institutional members, research institutions, educational establishments, governmental and non-governmental organizations and companies are in vital point in determination of the future of information. To facilitate that this advancement is done appropriately, IS4SI has developed organizational code of ethics and corresponding duties and responsibilities for institutional members.
- Ethical Research Practices: The fundamental ethical duties of IS4SI institutional members is to contribute to ethical research. This means that every single research activity to be conducted should conform to the highest standards of ethics. This covers issues of permission and consent, participants’ welfare, and issues of confidentiality and privacy. Moreover, members should create an atmosphere that stimulates ethical practices in the dissemination of research works and discourages violations of integrity including plagiarism and/or fabrications.
After data credibility and data shield for participants, ethical research involves the appreciation of the social and ethical consequences of the research to be conducted. This comprises of concerns like prejudice, racism, and the odds of misuse of the research results. As well, some points which can be beneficial for members to pay attention on is the ethical use of information technology in research which include issues such as data privacy, data security, and data sharing.
- Social Responsibility: IS4SI institutional members are under the obligation to ensure the delivery of good for society in whatever they do. This entails tackling social issues, advocating the common cause and making sure that their work is utilitarian in nature that is it benefits the society. Members should always endeavor that their carried out research activities are beneficial to society and in ways that are sensitive to the multiculturalism.
Another aspect of social responsibility is the implication of several adverse factors after conducting research and development and coming up with knowledge discovery and actively seeking ways of minimizing such impacts. As it is, it may involve coming up with standards on how the findings of a research should be utilized or even participating in the process of translating the findings of a research into practice. Besides, the members should carefully consider how their results can be misused or misrepresented, and how to avoid such issues.
- Collaboration and Inclusivity: Equality, cooperation and integration are among the values on which IS4SI is built. This implies that members of institution are supposed to create environment where knowledge and resources are shared. This also involves collaborating with other members in the society, as well as with others outside the society, in order to develop information studies. Members should also fully integrate all social groups and guarantee that those groups do not have to face any limitations imposed by the members’ actions.
There is a need to encourage the kind of integration, cooperation, and assimilation of the study of information. As separate divisions and groups of members, we can also collaborate and promote diversity in the works that will be conducted to promote relevance, novelty and contribute to the improvement of society. Further, implementation of collaboration avoids biases hence, research works and findings show cases from more than one aspect.
- Professional Standards: Being members of IS4SI, institutional members are required to conduct themselves in a very professional manner. It should involve compliance with the rules of the society as well as the codes of ethics, in their academic disciplines. All members should be professional, and treat members of the society, and any other persons of interest with due respect.
Professionals do not only embrace ethical conducts in the line of duty. Members should also endeavor to adopt high level of competence and expertise in the area of specialization. This may entail a variety of duties which include updating the knowledge of the discipline through literature review, engaging in professional development, and contributing to the scientific community through writing and presenting papers and other products that reflect Scholars’ best practice.
- Continuous Improvement and Accountability: IS4SI institutional members, as active learners and doers, are expected to carry out practice development and take responsibility for their practice. This will include choosing their policies and procedures asking for their review from time to time, to ensure that new policies are more ethical than their previous ones. Members should also be ready to accept changes when the need arises in each team to deal with any ethical issue.
Responsible conduct of researching requires a process through which individuals will be held accountable for their work. Members should follow responsibilities for the actions done and to be open to the research details done by them. Also, members should accept public inspection and audit and definitely ought to be teachable.
- Ethical Implications of Information Technology: Technological advancement in particularly the information technology has brought new ethical dilemmas for the researchers as well as institutions. It is important for members to understand the ethical usages of information technology coupled with the issues of privacy, security, help and access to information.
- Data Privacy: Members should also observe the principle of data protection and hereby assure the appropriate collection, storage and use of data that cannot reveal the identity of individuals. This comprise with the following aspects; informed-consent, security measures, and following laws pertaining to data protection.
- Security: It is the responsibilities of members to ensure that the data is protected against access or disclosures by others as well as alteration or destruction. This may employ the use of encryption, firewalls, and other security features in order to secure the information.
- Accessibility: Members also feel that a conscious effort should be made to ensure that information from their research is available to a disabled person. It can range from offering different formats of research sources or the language used in writing inclusive terms.
- Addressing Ethical Dilemmas: Ethical issues are generally a common element of research in most cases. Members should be ready to answer to ethical dilemmas of this type on behalf of the organization. In this regard it may entail discussing with co-workers, soliciting advice from ethics committees it may also entail being clear with interested parties.
In this way, ethically lobbyists of IS4SI institutional members such as these duties and responsibilities can contribute to developing information studies for the convenience of individuals and inside a moral manner. It would appear that they can assist in guaranteeing that information studies are utilized in a beneficial manner and individual and communal rights and freedoms are preserved.
IS4SI 2024
