Lesson-4 : Truth & Truthfulness ; Trust & Trustworthiness

Lesson-4 Honesty and Academic Integrity

TRUTH & TRUTHFULNESS; TRUST & TRUSTWORTHINESS
Honesty is the foundation for trust in a relationship, and trust is necessary for a relationship to function and
thrive. When you're always honest with someone, it tells them that they can trust you and the things you say.
It helps them know they can believe your promises and commitments.

We normally categorize honesty in acts, honesty in speech, and honesty in belief, honesty in words.
Honesty in acts includes no lying, no stealing, no cheating, no fabricating, no plagiarism, no
misrepresentation, no bribing, no padding and respect for the system and code of conduct.
Honesty in speech includes honesty in word, intentionally no lying, no deceiving, misleading others.
Honesty in belief includes honoring others’ ideals, religion and belief.
Honesty has two aspects. One truth and truthfulness and another is trust and trustworthiness.

Truth

A concept most often used to mean in accord with fact or reality; the fact of being true; truth. the
fact of being realistic or true to life; realism. is that truth is the state or truthfulness refers to the
quality of telling the truth. You will notice that being honest also includes being truthful.
John Hus (1373-1415) quoted:
“Seek the truth,
Listen to the truth,
Teach the truth,
Love the truth,
Abide by the truth,
And defend the truth, Unto death.”

Truth is the quality of being true to someone or something while truthfulness is the quality of being
truthful. Honesty refers to the quality of being truthful and sincere whereas

 The quality or state of being true.

(Example - There would seem to be some truth in what she says. | There is no
truth in the reports of his resignation. | You cannot question the truth of his alibi -
);
 That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality; a fact or belief that is accepted as
true;

Dictionary meaning of truth

 A fact or principle that is thought to be true by most people.

(Example - The judge was satisfied that she was telling the truth. | There
was certainly an element of truth in what she said. | He's dying but he refuses to face the
truth. | The truth about the accident may never be known.); the actual fact or facts about a
matter;
 A statement or principle that is generally considered to be true.
(Example - Tell the truth, now, how did the chair get broken? | We may never know the
truth about what happened.)

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AN AFRICAN FABLE [ / ] regarding battle of Truth and Falsehood

Truth, Falsehood, Water, and Fire were traveling together and came upon four heads of cattle. They
decided to split the cattle evenly and each take an equal share. But Falsehood was greedy and told
Water that Fire was going to burn his land and steal his cattle. Water believed him and jumped on
Fire and put him out. Falsehood tricked Truth into believing that Water was going to steal their cattle
so they took them to the top of a hill for Water cannot run uphill. Falsehood laughed that he had
tricked everyone and Truth, realizing Falsehood had lied, began to fight him for the cattle. They
called Wind to determine whom the cattle belonged to, but Wind did not know. Then, what
Falsehood and Truth are still doing?

Truthfulness
Honesty has two aspects. One is Truthfulness (meeting responsibilities concerning truth telling) and
another is trustworthiness (meeting responsibilities concerning trust).

 The quality of being honest and not containing or telling any lies.
(Example - I believe I have earned a reputation for truthfulness and fairness. | She would
not comment on the truthfulness of her original statement. | We
will analyze the data to determine the truthfulness of their claims. | He didn't doubt her
truthfulness.);
 The quality of being truthful.

Truthfulness may refer to:

 Honesty - a moral character of a human being, related to telling the truth

 Accuracy - the propensity of information to be correct
 Strategyproofness - a property of a mechanism in game-theory, related to encouraging the
participants to act according to their true preferences.
 Truthiness - a quality characterizing a "truth" that a person making an argument or assertion
claims to know intuitively

Trust
Trust means: to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something
is safe and reliable: firm belief in the character, strength, or truth of someone or something.

Trustworthy: A trustworthy person is reliable, responsible, and can be trusted completely.

worthy of being trusted; honest, reliable, or dependable.

Trustworthiness:
 Trustworthiness is the quality of a person or a thing that inspires reliability.
 The trait of deserving trust and confidence.
 Deserving of trust or confidence; dependable; reliable.
(Example - The treasurer was not entirely trustworthy.

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Trustworthiness is the ability to be relied on as honest or truthful. the quality or fact of

being trustworthy (= able to be trusted)

Trustworthiness is an attribute that is fundamental to our technologies and to our human relations.
Overly trusting something that is not trustworthy often leads to bad results. Not trusting something
that really is trustworthy can also be harmful.

Trustworthiness is something that everyone has and learning how to see into a person will help you
discern if they will be trustworthy to you, if you generally distrust people and feel trust needs to be
earned, you will find most people untrustworthy, if you are willing to give trust (being aware that
some will break that trust) you will find far more people to be trustworthy then if you don’t.
Trustworthiness is a moral value considered to be a virtue. A trustworthy person is someone in
whom you can place your trust and rest assured that the trust shall not be betrayed. A person can
prove their trustworthiness by fulfilling an assigned responsibility - and as an extension of that, not
to let down expectations. The responsibility can be either material, such as delivering a mail package
on time, or it can be non-material such as keeping an important secret to themselves. A trustworthy
person is someone that you can tell your worries and secrets to and know they won't repeat them
without your permission. In general, in order for trust to be earned, worth and integrity must be
proven over time. A trusted component has a set of properties that are relied upon by another
component. If A trusts B, this means that a violation in those properties of B might compromise the
correct operation of A. Observe that those properties of B trusted by A might not correspond
quantitatively or qualitatively to B’s actual properties. This happens when the relation is not taken
into account by the designer. In consequence, trust should be placed to the extent of the
component’s trustworthiness. The trustworthiness of a component is thus, not surprisingly, defined
by how well it secures a set of functional and non-functional properties, deriving from its
architecture, construction, and environment, and evaluated as appropriate.

Engineering, like all professions, is based on exercising expertise within trust relationships to provide
safe and useful products. Untruthfulness and untrustworthiness undermine expertise by corrupting
professional judgments and communications. They also undermine the trust of the public, employers,
and others who must rely on engineers’ expertise. Sound engineering is honest; dishonesty is bad
engineering

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How to be Honest? 14 Ways to be Honest & Practice Honesty

1) Be truthful
2) Take time to reflect
3) Be Straightforward
4) Stop comparing yourself to others
5) Change your habits
6) Be the best version of yourself
7) Do not exaggerate or embellish
8) Stop impressing others
9) Exercise tact
10) Avoid liars
11) Create opportunities for improvement
12) Consider therapy
13) Accept feedback
14) Forgive yourself

20 Key Traits of an Honest Persons:

1. They don't exaggerate. ...

2. They have empathy for others. ...
3. They don't gossip or talk behind people's backs. ...
4. Their words and actions match up with each other. ...
5. They know how to keep promises. ...
6. They are accountable for themselves. ...
7. They are transparent. ...
8. They don't like making excuses.
9. They aren’t easily angered.
10. They don’t hold grudges.
11. They are truthful even when they don’t want to be.
12. They have integrity.
13. They are honest with themselves.
14. They can admit when they are wrong.
15. They are trusting in their relationships with others.
16. They aren’t afraid of what others think of them.
17. They understand mistakes happen but learn from them anyway.
18. They tell the truth even when it’s difficult.
19. They are honest because it’s the right thing to do.
20. They aren’t driven by money or fame.

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What is academic integrity?

Academic integrity is the foundation of the University’s commitment to the academic honesty and
personal integrity of its University community. Academic integrity is grounded in certain
fundamental values, which include honesty, respect and fairness. Broadly defined, academic honesty
is the completion of all academic endeavors and claims of scholarly knowledge as representative of
one’s own efforts. Knowledge and maintenance of the academic standards of honesty and integrity
as set forth by the University are the responsibility of the entire academic community, including the
instructional faculty, staff and students.

Ethics are very important for engineers. Ethics are something that can not be taught by teachers, but
must be learned on your own. You must be the one to learn and teach yourself this important skill.
Ethics are the basis for your own confidence as an engineer. Engineers who make the correct, ethical
decisions are the ones who know what they are doing and can correct their mistakes. Unethical and
poor engineers are so worried in their performance they are "forced" to cheat, lie, and steal in order
to be competent. Cheating can be easy, but doing the work will make you a much better engineer in
the long run. It is hard to cheat on exams, harder to cheat on projects, and impossible to cheat when
you are designing systems never before done. That is why it is necessary to do things the hard way
so you can think for yourself when the time comes.

Cheating is most likely the most common form of unethical behavior in learning at collage &
university and work settings, but it certainly is not the only unethical practice. Lying to other
students & engineers and not helping others is also unethical. There is a fine line between cheating
off some ones work and working together in a team/group to complete work. Working together is
extremely beneficial and important when growing as an engineer. Everyone knows more in some
subjects/areas then others, so everyone can help each other be the best engineers they can be.
Working together on team/group or homework can allow you to see other ways of doing problems
and seeing problems through more then one lens.
Other unethical behavior includes not attending class or not co-operating others in work situation.
Now you might have the freedom you want to, but this behavior is not unethical to others, it is
unethical to yourself. You are paying a lot of money to be here and have a great opportunity to learn
at one of the best engineering schools in the world, so you are cheating yourself if you do not take
advantage of it. At your disposal are world class professors/teachers that are more than happy to sit
with you for hours and explain extremely interesting topics with you. Also nearby are the future
inventors and innovators of the world that can show you things you never thought of. So try not to
waste your time and money here by participating in unethical behavior, because it will only reflect
poorly on you.
integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
The University and wider academic community is built on shared values and norms of behavior,
including honesty, fairness and responsibility. Academic integrity means putting those values into
practice by being honest in the academic work you do at university, being fair to others, and taking
responsibility for learning, and following the conventions of University. It is the University's
responsibility to award credit for honestly conducted work, and it is your responsibility to ensure
that you demonstrate academic integrity by:

 using information appropriately, according to copyright and privacy laws

 acknowledging where the information you use comes from
 not presenting other people's work as your own
 conducting research ethically, in line with the University's regulations on human research ethics
 reporting truthfully on your research
 acting in an ethical manner in all your academic endeavors

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Academic Integrity: Students

Honesty as an engineer begins with honesty in studying to become an engineer. Studies of colleges
and universities reveal alarming statistics about academic integrity. According to one study, among
schools lacking a strong honor code, three out of four students admitted to having engaged in
academic dishonesty at least once during their college career. Among the schools with an honor
code, one in two students made the same admission. Academic dishonesty among students takes
several forms:

Cheating: "Cheating is using or attempting to use materials, information, notes, study aids, or other
assistance in any type of examination or evaluation which have not been authorized by the
instructor." Intentionally violating the rules of fair play in any academic exercise, for example, by
using or communicating materials, study aids crib notes or copying from another student during a
test/ exam.
Fabrication: Intentionally falsifying or inventing information, for example, by faking the results of an
experiment.

Plagiarism: Intentionally or negligently submitting others’ work as one’s own, for example, by
quoting the words of others without using quotation marks and citing the source. We define
cheating as separate from plagiarism. At its most basic level, plagiarism refers to representing
someone else's work as your own.
Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional and can range from turning in an essay written by
someone else who took the class in a previous year to accidentally omitting in-text citations for
paraphrased source material. Technically either example is plagiarism.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

 Every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation and must
be properly acknowledged by citation.
 When material from another source is paraphrased or summarized, even in your own words, that
source must be acknowledged by citation.
 Information gained in reading or research that is not common professional knowledge must be
acknowledged by citation.
 You cannot submit your own work for more than one project. That's plagiarizing yourself, and it is
not allowed!
 When working in a group, make sure you understand the rules for the collaboration. Make sure
you know whether your final submission should be your own work and not that of your group
members.

Facilitating and commting or contributing to dishonest act: Intentionally helping other students to
engage in academic dishonesty, for example, by loaning them your work and duplicate submission.

Misrepresentation: Intentionally giving false information to an instructor, for example, by lying about
why one missed a test.

Failure to contribute to a collaborative project: Failing to do one’s fair share on a joint project.

Sabotage: Intentionally preventing others from doing their work, for example, by disrupting their lab
experiment.

Theft: Stealing, for example, stealing library books or other students’ property.

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Studies reveal a variety of motivations, including performance worries, such as fear of low grades
and desires for higher grades; responses to external pressures, such as heavy work load, parental
pressure, or losing financial aid; the belief that professors are unfair, whether in demanding too
much or in how the design tests and grades; the desire to help a friend; the belief that because other
students are cheating it is all right for me to do the same; and the belief that plagiarism is not a big
deal, and that it is a “victimless crime” in which no one really gets hurt. We should also ask why
students do not cheat, that is, why they meet standards of academic integrity. Here, too, there are
many motives: the conviction that dishonesty is wrong and unfair; the conviction that cheating
undermines the meaning of achievement; self-respect; respect for the teacher; and fear of getting
caught.

Integrity for Students

As a student, academic integrity means making ethical decisions, asking questions, and following
instructions - even when faced with difficult situations. All members of the University are expected
to follow the six core values of integrity: honesty, trust, respect, fairness, responsibility, and courage.

Students demonstrate honesty by:

 following their instructor’s guidelines and expectations for assignments and tests
 submitting original work and completing individual assessments independently

Students demonstrate trust by:

 being dependable and reliable in their work, commitments and actions

 following their instructor’s directions and completing work by the set deadline

Students show respect by:

 consistently and accurately citing the work of others in their assignments

 keeping academic materials and instructor’s intellectual property private (e.g., class slides,
assignments, tests, etc.), and not sharing these without the instructor’s permission

Students demonstrate fairness by:

 treating others equally without self-interest or prejudice

 following the University’s rules and not trying to gain unfair advantages in assessments, mid-
terms or tests (e.g., copying someone else’s answers, using their phone to look up information
during an exam etc.)

Students demonstrate responsibility by:

 completing their individual and group work to the best of their abilities and being accountable to
themselves, their instructors, their classmates, and the University
 Seeking help If they are struggling or are not sure of expectations

Students demonstrate courage by:

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 being brave and standing up for what is right, even in challenging situations. If they think
someone has committed an academic offense or is violating a rule - they alert their instructor,
Associate Dean, or a staff member

5 Ways to Increase Student Integrity

1. Infuse integrity into the classroom culture.

Teachers make integrity the norm in their classrooms in several important ways. They clearly
articulate expectations about academic integrity and the consequences of cheating. But they go
beyond the issue of cheating to create a culture that rewards success beyond grades. If students
have only grades to measure themselves, then cheating is often a justifiable strategy to beat the
system. If students are also rewarded for their courage, hard work, determination, and respect for
classmates, they see and understand that the process of learning comes first. This kind of culture
fosters integrity.

2. Develop a moral vocabulary.

According to the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI), the five fundamental values of
academic integrity are: Responsibility, Respect, Fairness, Trustworthiness, Honesty.
Incorporate the teaching of these five values into the curriculum and help students use the
vocabulary to discuss a variety of historical topics and current events. While dishonesty and
disrespect flourish in civil society, ask students to find examples of how individuals stood up for their
beliefs and values in ways that made a difference for themselves or for the world.

3. Respond appropriately when cheating occurs.

While teachers cannot control student behavior, they can respond with consistency when enforcing
school and classroom policies. In a classroom culture that places learning first, dishonest behavior is
a teachable moment. To help internalize learning, ensure that students reflect on and glean meaning
from their behavior. Listen and show respect for their thinking, and then restate your expectations
that dishonesty is never acceptable in your classroom.

4. Use quotes to ignite meaningful conversations.

Famous quotes can be used as conversation starters, prompting students to reflect on topics related
to integrity, moral development, and other attitudes that help them develop positive work habits
and respectful relationships. Elementary school teacher Steve Reifman uses a "quote of the day" as a
positive morning exercise in his third and fourth grade classes. In his book Changing Kids' Lives One
Quote at a Time, Reifman provides helpful facilitation tips and prompts for teachers to engage
students in reflective conversations.
Quotes can be used with students at almost any age. For older students, they are often used as
starters for journal or essay-writing projects. See a superb collection of quotes related to the five
values of academic integrity (PDF) written by students at American University in Dubai. Also view
famous quotes on the same five values, compiled by the ICAI.
5. Help students believe in themselves.

Students who stand up for principles in which they believe have high degrees of self-efficacy. In my
study of students who developed integrity and a desire to become civically engaged, young people
reported that their teachers helped them believe in themselves through their:
Passion for teaching and giving back to the next generation
Modeling a clear set of values and acting in ways that supported those values
Commitment to giving freely of their time and talents
Selflessness and acceptance of people different from themselves

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Ability to overcome obstacles and show students that success is possible

When young people learn to believe in themselves, dishonesty and disrespect no longer make much
sense. Living with integrity becomes a way of life.
Examples Of Integrity
1. Keeping Promises
2. Keeping Secrets
3. Not Letting Someone Else Take The Blame
4. Not Gossiping
5. Doing The Right Thing Without Expecting A Reward
6. Being Polite Even When Someone Is Rude To You
7. consistently and accurately citing the work of others in their assignments( Avoiding Plagarism).
8. Telling The Truth
9. Admitting You Made A Mistake
10. Working Hard At School Or Work
11. Not Cheating In A Test
12. Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
13. Apologizing For Your Mistakes
14. Following The Spirit Of The Rules
15. Standing Up For What’s Right (Even When It’s Tough)

Research Integrity

Research integrity means conducting research in a way which allows others to have trust and
confidence in the methods used and the findings that result from this. It relates both to the scientific
integrity of conducted research and to the professional integrity of researchers. Within the
University, conducting research with integrity also means meeting the professional standards
expected of our researchers.

 The use of honest and verifiable methods in proposing, performing, and evaluating research
 Reporting research results with particular attention to adherence to rules, regulations,
guidelines, and
 Following commonly accepted professional codes or norms.

Key elements of Research Integrity include:

 Honesty
 Rigour
 Transparency and open communication
 The care and respect of all participants
 Accountability
These elements should be present at all stages of research. Research ethics is a key criterion of
research integrity.

Honesty in all aspects of research, including:

 presentation of research goals, intentions and findings

 reporting on research methods and procedures
 gathering data
 using and acknowledging the work of other researchers
 conveying valid interpretations and making justifiable claims based on research findings

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Rigour

Rigor, in qualitative terms, is a way to establish trust or confidence in the findings of a research
study. It allows the researcher to establish consistency in the methods used over time. It also
provides an accurate representation of the population studied.
Transparency and open communication:

 in declaring conflicts of interest

 in the reporting of research data collection methods, including the reuse of data collected
for other purposes
 in the analysis and interpretation of data
 in making research findings widely available, including sharing negative results as
appropriate
 in presenting the work to other researchers and to the general public

Care and respect for:

 all participants in and subjects of research, including humans, animals, the environment and
cultural objects
 the stewardship of research and scholarship for future generations

Accountability: Taking responsibility for your actions as a researcher.

Accountability refers to the obligations the researcher has to the various stakeholders in the
research process such as the research participants, the funding body, and the researcher's
employing organization. The accountability principle requires you to take responsibility for what
you do with personal data and how you comply with the other principles. You must have
appropriate measures and records in place to be able to demonstrate your compliance.

Scrupulous care, thoroughness and excellence in research practice:

 in performing research and using appropriate methods

 in adhering to an agreed protocol where appropriate
 in drawing interpretations and conclusions from the research
 in communicating the results

Bias and Self-deception

Bias is inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to
be unfair.

Self-deception is a process of denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or

importance of opposing evidence and logical argument. Self-deception involves convincing oneself
of a truth (or lack of truth) so that one does not reveal any self-knowledge of the deception.

Three experiments tested the hypothesis self-serving biases are self-deceptive in nature. Consistent
with this hypothesis:

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Experiment 1 revealed that people who rated a task at which they succeeded as more important
than a task at which they failed also cheated on a series of math problems, but only when they could
excuse their cheating as unintentional.

Experiment 2 replicated this finding and demonstrated that a self-report measure of self-deception
did not predict this self-deceptive cheating.

Experiment 3 replicated Experiments 1 and 2 and ruled out several alternative explanations. These
experiments suggest that self-serving biases have a self-deceptive component, and that individual
differences in self-deception can be measured.

Institutions of higher education are under increasing economic pressures that can threaten
professional judgment. Financially strapped universities now eagerly seek commercial ties, and
corporations seek the expertise and prestige of university researchers. This combination can and
often does lead to creative partnerships, but it also poses risks, as the “commercialization of
research” in universities threatens objective judgment by engineers and scientists in several areas:
secrecy, conflicts of interest, and attempts to manipulate research results.

Protecting Research Subjects

Research that involves research subjects raises special requirements regarding respect for the
individual subject.

Researchers must respect the requirement of freely given, informed consent.

When research involves humans as research subjects, researchers must, as a general rule, obtain
freely given, informed consent. General requirements regarding freely given, informed consent
entail researchers ensuring that the person or persons taking part in the research

a) Understand the purpose of the project and the part concerning their participation in the project
b) Can evaluate their own situation
c) Can make an independent decision as to whether they wish to participate, without external
pressure, on the basis of information and their own preferences and values
d) Can freely communicate their decision

Researchers must protect the privacy of their research subjects.

Giving and Claiming Credits

Engineers shall give credit for engineering work to those to whom credit is due, and will recognize
the proprietary interests of others.

 Engineers shall, whenever possible, name the person or persons who may be individually
responsible for designs, inventions, writings or other accomplishments.
 Engineers using designs supplied by a client recognize that the designs remain the property of
the client and may not be duplicated by the Engineer for others without express permission.
 Engineers, before undertaking work for others in connection with which the engineer may make
improvements, plans, designs, inventions or other records that may justify copyrights or patents,
should enter into a positive agreement regarding ownership.
 Engineers’ designs, data, records, and notes referring exclusively to an employer’s work are the
employer’s property.
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One basic element of publication ethics requires that an author give proper credit to those who
contributed to the research. There are two ways to violate this guideline: not giving enough credit
and giving too much credit.

Too Little Credit: Researchers are often accused of claiming more credit than they deserve for a
notable research result. Claiming a breakthrough without acknowledging previous work leading up
to it is quite common in the history of science and has led to some famous controversies over
priority. In fact, Antoine Lavoisier may not have been the “Father of Chemistry” so much as the
gifted pupil of several other researchers. He definitely built on earlier work in his field but had a way
of writing his results that implied, without quite saying so, that he had come up with all the ideas on
his own. If deliberate, this was unethical.

Isaac Newton, though he modestly spoke of standing on the shoulders of giants, was not always so
generous to living rivals. If he didn’t like a certain researcher, he wouldn’t cite him in an article any
more than was absolutely necessary. This is unethical but is fairly common practice among
researchers even today.

Too Much Credit: Giving unjustified credit is just as unethical as denying credit although it rarely
provokes the affected party in the same way. Giving copious but unnecessary citations to a colleague
(“courtesy citations”) is one example. Including a colleague as a coauthor when he had contributed
nothing to the content of the paper is more egregious, especially if the colleague happens to be a
superior. This sort of author padding was said to be common practice in the Soviet Union. “Their
equivalent of the chairman of the department gets his name on every paper in the department,” a
friend informed me. Different customs and cultural factors make this a grey area.
How much autonomy do the individual researchers have and how does the chairman actually involve
himself in the work? When does an acknowledgement of “helpful discussions” transition to a co-
authorship? A flagrant example of unjustified credit occurred in 1948 when grad student Ralph
Alpher and his adviser George Gamow prepared a paper on “The Origin of Chemical Elements,”
arguing that the Big Bang would have created all the elements found in the early universe. Before
sending it off to Physical Review, Gamow added the name of his friend Hans Bethe as coauthor. His
justification for doing this was nothing more than “It seemed unfair to the Greek alphabet to have
the article signed by Alpher and Gamow only.” Get it? Alpha, beta, gamma—A, B, C. Bethe was
amused. Not Alpher. He thought that having two well-known physicists listed as coauthors on the
paper would minimize his contribution. As much as I like a good joke in science, I have to agree.
In research, it is claiming credit for someone else’s ideas or work without acknowledging it, in
contexts where one is morally required to acknowledge it. Failure to give credit occurs in many
different settings within engineering, for example, a city hires an engineer to design a bridge and the
engineer in turn subcontracts some key design work to a second engineer. Months after the bridge is
completed, the first engineer submits the design to a national design competition where it wins an
award, but he fails to credit the work of the second engineer.

Misrepresenting credentials is a second type to deception. Occasionally researchers forge credential,

creating widely publicized scandals. Fabrications about articles and credentials are relatively easy to
uncover. Misleading listing of authorship, whether of articles or other documents, is another area
where subtle deception occurs. Obviously it is unethical to omit a coauthor who makes a significant
contribution to the research.

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Survey for Academic Research

A Survey is defined as a research method used for collecting data from a pre-defined group of
respondents to gain information and insights on various topics of interest. Surveys have a variety of
purposes and can be carried out in many ways depending on the methodology chosen and the
objectives to be achieved.

An academic survey is a tool designed to obtain more knowledge and data about a chosen subject.
The results are used to answer questions or confirm hypotheses posed by the researchers. Surveys
results can then be the basis of your research report or presentation.

Survey Research is defined as the process of conducting research using surveys that researchers
send to survey respondents. The data collected from surveys is then statistically analyzed to draw
meaningful research conclusions.

The data is usually obtained through the use of standardized procedures whose purpose is to ensure
that each respondent is able to answer the questions at a level playing field to avoid biased opinions
that could influence the outcome of the research or study. A survey involves asking people for
information through a questionnaire, which can be distributed on paper, although with the arrival of
new technologies it is more common to distribute those using digital media such as social networks,
email, QR codes or URLs.

Survey Methods
Survey methodology studies the in-depth sampling of individual units from a population and
administering data collection techniques on that sample. It includes instruments or processes that
ask different question types to a predefined sample, to conduct data-collection and increase the
survey response rate.

The two distinctive member types are in a survey methodology are, professionals in the field that
focus on empirical survey errors and others that work to design surveys and reduce them. It is
therefore both a scientific field and a profession. The primary tasks of a survey methodologist while
administering a survey is to identify and create samples, validate test questions, select the mode to
administer questions and validate methods for data collection, statistical analysis and data reporting.

1. Survey Methods based on Design: Cross-sectional studies (population), Longitudinal studies

(qualitative or quantitative), Correlational studies,
2. Survey Methods based on Distribution: Email, respondents, Embed survey in website, Post to
social network etc.
Survey Data Collection
Survey is defined as the act of examining a process or questioning a selected sample of individuals to
obtain data about a service, product, or process. Data collection surveys collect information from a
targeted group of people about their opinions, behavior, or knowledge.
Survey data is defined as the resultant data that is collected from a sample of respondents that took
a survey. This data is comprehensive information gathered from a target audience about a specific
topic to conduct research. There are many methods used for survey data collection and statistical
analysis.
Online surveys, Telephone surveys, Face-to-face surveys, Paper surveys, Cross-sectional surveys,
Longitudinal surveys, Retrospective Surveys etc.

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Online surveys are the most cost-effective and can reach the maximum number of people in
comparison to the other mediums. The performance of these surveys is much more widespread than
the other data collection methods. In situations where there is more than one question to be asked
to the target sample, certain researchers prefer conducting online surveys over the traditional face-
to-face or telephone surveys.
Telephone surveys require much lesser investment than face-to-face surveys. Depending on the
required reach, telephone surveys cost as much or a little more than online surveys. Contacting
respondents via the telephonic medium requires less effort and manpower than the face-to-face
survey medium.
Face-to-face Surveys Gaining information from respondents via face-to-face mediums is much more
effective than the other mediums because respondents usually tend to trust the surveyors and
provide honest and clear feedback about the subject in-hand.
Paper Surveys the other commonly used survey method is paper surveys. These surveys can be used
where laptops, computers, and tablets cannot go, and hence they use the age-old method of data
collection; pen and paper. This method helps collect survey data in field research and helps
strengthen the number of responses collected and the validity of these responses.
Cross-sectional surveys are an observational research method that analyzes data of variables
collected at one given point of time across a sample population or a pre-defined subset. The survey
data from this method helps the researcher understand what the respondent is feeling at a certain
point in time. It helps measure opinions in a particular situation.
Longitudinal surveys are those surveys that help researchers to make an observation and collect
data over an extended period of time. This survey data can be qualitative or quantitative in nature,
and the survey creator does not interfere with the survey respondents.
Retrospective Surveys In retrospective surveys, researchers ask respondents to report events from
the past. This survey method offers in-depth survey data but doesn’t take as long to complete. By
deploying this kind of survey, researchers can gather data based on past experiences and beliefs of
people.

Survey Data Analysis

Cross-tabulation, Trend analysis, MaxDiff analysis (best-worst” method), Conjoint Analysis (statistical
analysis), Gap analysis, SWOT analysis etc.
Analyze the feedback in real-time and identify patterns in the responses which might lead to a much-
needed breakthrough for your research.

Cross-tabulation is a two- (or more) dimensional table that records the number (frequency) of
respondents that have the specific characteristics described in the cells of the table. Cross-tabulation
tables provide a wealth of information about the relationship between the variables.
Cross tabulations are data tables that display not only the results of the entire group of respondents,
but also the results from specifically defined subgroups.
Cross-tabulation is a mainframe statistical model that follows similar lines. It helps you make
informed decisions regarding your research by identifying patterns, trends, and the correlation
between your study parameters. When conducting a study, the raw data can usually be daunting.
They will always point to several chaotic possible outcomes. In such a situation, cross-tab helps you
zero in on a single theory beyond doubt by drawing trends, comparisons, and correlations between
mutually inclusive factors within your study.

Trend analysis is a methodology used in research to gather and study data for prediction-making
about future customer behavior based on the analysis of observed and recorded data from past and
ongoing trends.
Trend analysis is the practice that gives us the ability to look at data over time for a long-running
survey.

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MaxDiff analysis is a survey-based research technique used to quantify preferences. MaxDiff

analysis is an analytic methodology used to gauge survey respondents' preference score for different
items that results in a best-worst ranking of those attributes.

Conjoint analysis is the optimal market research approach for measuring the value that consumers
place on features of a product or service.
Conjoint analysis is a form of statistical analysis that firms use in market research to understand how
customers value different components or features of their products or services.
Maximum differential analysis and conjoint analysis (MaxDiff vs conjoint) are both advanced
analytical tools used to obtain deep insights into customer preferences and differences between
preferences score multiple brands/products.

Gap analysis is defined as a method of assessing the differences between the actual performance
and expected performance in a research study.
A research gap is a question or a problem that has not been answered by any of the existing studies
or research within your field. Sometimes, a research gap exists when there is a concept or new idea
that hasn't been studied at all.
SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that is used to assess the Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats involved in an organization, business or a project. A SWOT analysis is
particularly useful in identifying both internal and external factors that are essential in decision-
making.

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