Knowns and unknowns about research on research

Research is an evolving entity in academic institutions and it is one of the highly influential parametres for global recognition. Though there are variations in the methodologies for the conduct of research between the disciplines, the people involved in the research are endorsed as ‘scientists’ or in general as ‘researchers’. Theoretically, researchers are scholarly people, who are bound to the highest degree of ethical principles and morality in society because they bring about changes in life through their path-breaking, revolutionary inventions, and discoveries. The research output terminologies vary between different fields of study, but the research output measures fall under similar parametres. These measures are not limited to the number of publications, patents, grants, or international collaborations. Currently, the quality of these research output measures is assessed by a newly evolved discipline called ‘bibliometrics’ and ‘scientometrics’. In the recent years, the reputation and ranking of research output measures at national and global level created an aggressive campaign, which many a time derailed the morals and ethics of research. It is a challenge for institutions or stakeholders to monitor the smooth running of ethical practices of research, along with a quality research output. In this article, different aspects of research, research output measures and their quality and ethical issues in research are outlined. In other words, this review is not limited to the knowns and unknowns, but to elaborate the ‘known unknowns’ of research.