學術倫理、信度、效度被認為是評估研究品質的重要指標，學界一般也多主張三者的關係乃三足鼎立的鐵三角，相互之間不可化約，重要性亦不分軒輊。本文旨在挑戰此傳統理解，並提出學術倫理、信度、效度間層疊關係的看法。我們認為，衡諸當前國際學術脈動，以人權保障為出發點的倫理規範顯然最獲歐美學界重視。對此等國家而言，遵守學術倫理要求早已不再是不甚具約束力的道德勸說，而是一種強化專業素養、鞏固研究根基與確保學術品質的必要條件。此一動向亦可從各國際學術組織紛紛開始擘劃倫理規約的潮流中看出端倪。爲闡明以上思潮，本文以一實證研究為例，剖析學術倫理意識的興起對傳統信度、效度觀點的衝擊。除了文本與法理的分析，文中亦參酌歐洲重要學者的訪談資料，藉以釐清倫理規範如何與專業素養連結，以及此連結建立後隨之而來的可能誤區。在例示並解析倫理規約條文之後，本文重構了學術倫理、信度、效度間的關聯，並指出在捕捉三者關係時，我們不該視它們為鞏固學術品質的金三角，而應該看到層層相疊的金字塔關係。 This paper presents a different viewpoint over research ethics and academic integrity. The role of ethics is undoubtedly crucial in the process of conducting social science research. Indeed, ethics has been the highest priority in all strands of social studies conducted within the European research framework. For some academics, keeping ethical issues in mind is not only the best research conduct, sometimes it is the only conduct considered to be legitimate. Yet, a renewed role of ethics in research is demanded to achieve utmost professional attitude and commitment to academic development. Beyond the traditional focus of ethics on human rights, this paper argues that there is a need to reconceptualize the role of ethics in research and to renegotiate relationships among ethics, reliability and validity.
