CONDUCTING ETHICAL APPLIED RESEARCH: A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW 1
Conducting Ethical Applied Research: A Biblical Worldview
Patrick D. Jacob
School of Education, Liberty University
Conducting Ethical Applied Research: A Biblical Worldview
Change is inevitable. In today’s 21st century world, one must always be willing to learn
and adapt to changes in order to play their part in making the world a better place. The Bible
reminds us in numerous ways about our duty to serve one another and contribute to our
society to help ensure a better world for posterity. We are reminded of this in Mark 10:45: “For
even the
CONDUCTING ETHICAL APPLIED RESEARCH: A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW 2
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”
(King James Version, 1769/2017). Service to others is a hallmark of a productive community.
We as educators provide such service every day in our communities. And as doctoral
students conducting educational applied research, it is up to us to ensure that our research is
practical, and most importantly, ethical. We should all understand the importance of conducting
research that is valid and ethical, and how that research can be used to help solve problems
that may arise in our professions and other parts of our daily lives; it is an essential skill that we
all should strive to become better at if we want to be the best in our fields and impart new
quality, significant information upon our students and colleagues.
Applied research is conducted by educators to help ameliorate certain areas in its field
by providing evidence-based solutions (Claxton and Michael, 2024; Butterwick et al., 2020).
Producing such evidence involves using participants to help acquire the data needed, which
may include teachers, students, neighbors, community leaders, etc. This type of research and
evidence gathering involves following detailed rules and procedures to ensure that ethical steps
are taken to protect the safety of all parties involved; as educators, we are especially charged
with ensuring that we create a safe environment for the students. This means that if we are
conducting research that involves them, then we must do everything to protect them mentally
and physically, which includes ensuring that their parents consent to them being involved in the
research. There has been numerous accounts where unethical research was conducted, such as
with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and Stanley Milgram’s Obedience to Authority Study; because
of such egregious, unethical research conducted in the past, The Belmont Report was created
with guidelines for researchers to follow regarding the protection of participants, which includes
respect for persons, beneficence, and justice (Greere, 2024; Correia, 2023). Adhering to these
guidelines is critical to our veracity as researchers.
Ephesians 5:13 states, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and
everything that is illuminated becomes a light” (King James Version, 1769/2017); this
CONDUCTING ETHICAL APPLIED RESEARCH: A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW 3
emphasizes the importance of honesty and transparency, and as researchers, we must remain
mindful that being transparent and honest with our participants and all other stakeholders
involved in our research, along with upholding ethical standards, is paramount to the research’s
success. Our ability to clearly identity the problem, articulate the proposal, and explain how the
data will be collected to the gatekeeper and stakeholders are key steps in ensuring successful
research (Claxton and Michael, 2024; Braun et al., 2020). Since the aim of conducting applied
research is to find a solution to a problem, it is also important for researchers to understand
that some teachers, principals, and other stakeholders may not initially be welcoming of the
proposed research, or may become defensive by the results if they believe it shines a negative
light on them and their organization (Claxton and Michael, 2024; Drolet et al., 2022).
Yet, trust and transparency are a two-way street, and developing a strong relationship
based on effective communication is a key role of the gatekeeper. One central question that the
gatekeeper will want to know before granting permission to conduct the research at their
location is: Why does this study need to be conducted? Being able to adequately articulate the
reason for the study, and how it will be ethically conducted, will help the gatekeeper see how
the results
will be beneficial to them, thus making them more willing to provide us with the requisite
resources and logistics to be successful.
Conclusion
Besides ensuring that our research is conducted ethically, we must also ensure that it is
valid. This is important to all involved, since certain stakeholders may rely on the validity and
reliability of the research to make key decisions, which may prove detrimental if invalid and
unethical research was conducted. When ethical and valid research is conducted, then the ones
making decisions from the provided results will have a better chance of having positive
outcomes. However, in today’s world, we can still face ethical dilemmas that can cause our
research to be questioned, and our veracity tarnished (Hamid et al, 2024). The advent of new
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technology, such as ChatGPT and other AI software, can indeed have a positive impact in today’s
academic world, but it can also pose ethical challenges for us as we effectively attempt to
integrate it into our research (Ekunday et al., 2024; Larsson et al., 2021).
By understanding the need for change and being diligent while conducting ethical
research, we can provide stakeholders with quality results that can guide them with making
quality improvements in their schools. When all parties involved are willing to trust one another
and work as a team, then all will understand that they are working together to improve an
institution where students will believe that they can excel. As Proverbs 11:3 instructs us, “The
integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them
(King James Bible, 1769/2017). Conducting unethical research will not only make others
question the researcher’s competence and credibility, but it may also cause irreparable damage
to others who relied on the data to make critical decisions.
References
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(Original work published 1769)
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