Ethical research requires honesty in collecting, analyzing and reporting data regardless of whether results are favorable or expected. Unexpected or null findings still contribute to knowledge by challenging assumptions and guiding future inquiries, so they should be reported transparently with discussion of limitations and implications.
Option A:
This option advocates altering data, which is fabrication or falsification and a serious form of scientific misconduct that undermines trust in research.
Option B:
Suppressing unfavourable or null results contributes to publication bias and distorts the evidence base; it is unethical because it hides information that may be important for future studies or policy.
Option C:
This option is correct because it reflects scientific integrity: the researcher reports the actual findings, explores plausible reasons for the discrepancy with expectations, notes limitations and suggests how future work could build on these results.
Option D:
Rewriting the hypothesis after seeing the results without disclosure (HARKing) is misleading. It creates the false impression that the study was designed to test the observed pattern from the outset, which violates honest reporting standards.
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