Ethics in Science Education research: analysis of the editorial policy of national scientific journals

• Grant number: 20/16504-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Specific topics in Education
• Principal Investigator: Leandro Londero da Silva
• Grantee: Larissa Zubioli Lelis Vilela
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Issues related to ethical principles, involved in the development of research and in the preparation and submission of articles for journals, are of increasing concern to researchers, journal editors, and funding agencies. We start from the finding of the absence of a study that investigates the editorial policy of indexed national journals in the area of Education in Sciences with regard to ethical issues. We look for an answer to the following problem: 1) What is the editorial policy of the journals regarding the guidelines of good practices for ethical conduct and scientific misconduct? 2) How did the journals insert the rules applicable to research in CHS, contained in Resolution no 510, of April 7, 2016, of the CNS, in their editorial policies? 3) Do indexed scientific journals in the area of Education in Science publish articles with research results that do not include, in their execution, informed consent or have not been analyzed and approved by institutional ethics committees? 4) What are the differences in the magazines' policies in relation to the extract in which they belong in Qualis Capes? To this end, we will carry out a literature review in journals in the area of Education in Sciences and in conference proceedings to identify the studies already published that deal with the subject in question. In continuity, we will read the identified studies and the texts of the theoretical and analytical framework that support our investigation. Afterward, we will elaborate on the criteria for the selection of journals to be analyzed. At first, we believe it is appropriate to analyze journals indexed and classified in Qualis CAPES. Next, we will build tables and tables to record data/information collected (name of the journal, electronic address, ISSN, institution to which it belongs, indexers, editor, editorial policy, rules and laws, and resolutions mentioned). Then, we will map and record the policies by accessing the journals' websites with a careful reading of each one. Regarding the ethical precepts contained in the guidelines for authors, editorial policies will be classified based on the procedure developed by Amdur and Biddle (1997) and, later, adopted by Sardenberg et al. (1999). We will also use the categories proposed by Sardenberg et al. (1999) that concern the ways in which the ethical aspects of articles should be informed to the editors. In the end, we will synthesize the answers found, the conclusions, advances, and gaps in the editorial policies, and notes of the implications for the editorial policies of Science Education journals. We will end with the preparation of the final essay and the research report. (AU)