Ethical handling and reporting of data – UGC NET Question

Statements A, C, D and E are correct and align with ethical standards in data management, whereas B is false. Secure storage protects confidentiality, anonymisation or pseudonymisation reduces re-identification risks and selective reporting of only significant results can seriously bias the literature. Pre-registering analysis plans is one strategy to limit data-driven decisions that distort findings. Statement B is wrong because sharing identifiable data without consent violates privacy and ethical norms.

Option A:
Option A includes A, C and D but omits E, overlooking the role of pre-registration in promoting transparency and reducing bias. Because it leaves out a true statement, this option is incomplete.

Option B:
Option B lists C, D and E but omits A, failing to mention the basic requirement of secure data storage, which is fundamental to confidentiality. As a result, it cannot be considered fully correct.

Option C:
Option C is correct as it gathers together all the true statements and excludes B, which endorses unethical public sharing of identifiable data. It presents a comprehensive view of ethical data handling and reporting.

Option D:
Option D includes B, thereby accepting the idea of sharing identifiable data without consent, which is ethically unacceptable. Even though other statements are true, the presence of B invalidates the option.

Option E also contains B and thus repeats the same ethical error, making the entire combination incorrect.