Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the need to educate and encourage students to seek an ethical realm in which the researcher not only accurately analyses and documents a problem, but also actually advocates involvement to mitigate negative impacts. Design/methodology/approach: Geographic information systems (GIS) applications are used in the paper to demonstrate that data from a stream of diverse sources can be manipulated by selectively stressing certain information, by deliberately excluding pertinent information, or by interlacing statements taken out of context to concoct an entirely different meaning. Findings: The paper finds that, in response to an escalation of academic misconduct among students and researchers competing for jobs and grants, numerous disciplines have established codes of ethics. Practical implications: Understanding that formal curricula designed to raise an awareness of moral issues and affect ethical reasoning have proven to be successful, a GIS code of ethics and an ethics workshop outline are presented. Originality/value: The validity of a GIS, or any other depiction of data, should be carefully examined, as data classification schemes can be problematic. This paper emphasises the need for students and researchers to be well versed in the scientific method, which involves self-awareness combined with honesty, scepticism, and integrity. (Contains 2 figures.)