Research Ethics
Research ethics and academic integrity — informed consent, ethics committee approval, data protection, plagiarism and similarity, self-plagiarism, authorship norms and UGC's academic-integrity framework.
All Research Ethics guides
2 articles
How to Use AI Ethically in Your Research
AI can accelerate real research work — or wreck your integrity. Here's where the line sits, what's allowed, and how to use tools like ChatGPT responsibly.
How to Reduce Your Similarity Score the Right Way
A high Turnitin similarity score usually signals weak paraphrasing and citation habits — not a doomed thesis. Here's how to fix the cause, ethically.
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Frequently asked
What similarity percentage is acceptable for a thesis?+
UGC regulations tier the response by similarity level, and most Indian universities in practice expect overall similarity around or below 10% (excluding quotes and bibliography). The deeper standard is that all sources are cited and nothing is presented as yours that isn't.
Do I need ethics approval for a survey study?+
If human participants are involved — even an anonymous survey — most institutions require ethics committee clearance before data collection, covering consent, data protection and risk. Check your university's IEC/IRB process early; retrospective approval is rarely possible.
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