UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
Integrated Masters Programme (Education)
Ethics Guidelines
Procedures for ensuring compliance with the University’s statement of
ethical principles for research involving human participants
The Faculty of Education is committed to the principle of ensuring that
research involving participants is subject to appropriate safeguards with
regard to ethical considerations. IMP (Education) students, in consultation
with their tutor, are expected to build strategies for meeting the guidelines on
ethical principles into the normal business of research design and practice,
providing a written ethics protocol as appropriate.
The University of Plymouth’s research ethics policy is available at
http://intranet.plymouth.ac.uk/research/papers/
You are also advised to access the British Educational Research
Association’s Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research at www.bera.ac.uk
.
Students are required to meet the University Ethics Guidelines and to
conform to any others that apply in their circumstance - for example,
relevant professional body or national ethical guidelines.
In every case you are ultimately responsible for conforming to the
guidelines and you must ensure that you seek and obtain advice about
ethics.
Ethical principles for research involving human participants
1.
Informed consent
The researcher should, where possible, inform potential participants in advance of
any features of the research that might reasonably be expected to influence their
willingness to take part in the study.
Where the research topic is sensitive, the ethical protocol should include verbatim
instructions for the informed consent procedure and consent should be obtained in
writing.
Where children are concerned, informed consent may be obtained from parents or
teachers acting in loco parentis, or from the children themselves if they are of
sufficient understanding. However, where the topic of research is sensitive, written
informed consent should be obtained from individual parents.
2.
Openness and honesty
So far as possible, researchers should be open and honest about the research, its
purpose and application.
Some types of research appear to require deception in order to achieve their
scientific purpose. Deception will be approved in experimental procedures only if the
following conditions are met:
a.
b.
c.
Deception is completely unavoidable if the purpose of the research is to be
achieved.
The research objective has strong scientific merit.
Any potential harm arising from the proposed deception can be effectively
neutralised or reversed by the proposed debriefing procedures (see section
5).
Failing to inform participants of the specific purpose of the study at the outset is not
normally considered to be deception, provided that adequate informed consent and
debriefing procedures are proposed.
Covert observation should be resorted to only where it is impossible to use other
methods to obtain essential data. Ideally, where informed consent has not been
obtained prior to the research it should be obtained post hoc.
3.
Right to withdraw
Where possible, participants should be informed at the outset of the study that they
have the right to withdraw at any time without penalty.
In the case of children, those acting in loco parentis or the children themselves if of
sufficient understanding, shall be informed of the right to withdraw from participation
in the study.
4.
Protection from Harm
Researchers must endeavour to protect participants from physical and psychological
harm at all times during the investigation.
Note that where stressful or hazardous procedures are concerned, obtaining
informed consent (1) whilst essential, does not absolve the researcher from
responsibility for protecting the participant. In such cases, the ethical protocol must
specify the means by which the participant will be protected, e.g. by the availability of
qualified medical assistance.
Where physical or mental harm nevertheless does result from research procedure,
investigators are obliged to take action to remedy the problems created.
5.
Debriefing
Researchers should, where possible, provide an account of the purpose of the study
as well as its procedures. If this is not possible at the outset, then ideally it should be
provided on completion of the study.
6.
Confidentiality
Except with the consent of the participant, researchers are required to ensure
confidentiality of the participant's identity and data throughout the conduct and
reporting of the research.
Ethical protocols may need to specify procedures for how this will be achieved. For
example, transcriptions of the interviews may be encoded by the secretary so that no
written record of the participant's name and data exist side by side. Where records
are held on computer, the Data Protection Act also applies.
7.
Ethical principles of professional bodies
This set of principles is generic and not exhaustive of considerations which apply in
all disciplines. Where relevant professional bodies have published their own
guidelines and principles, these must be followed and the current principles
interpreted and extended as necessary in this context.
EXAMPLE ETHICS PROTOCOL
The development of individual target setting processes in inclusive
settings: the sustainability and generalisability of good practice.
Hazel Lawson, Sue Waite and Carolyn Bromfield
University of Plymouth
University of West of England
ETHICS PROTOCOL
National government priorities detailed in the Green Paper ‘Excellence for All’
(DfEE, October 1997) and ‘A Programme of Action’ (1998) have brought
about greater inclusion of students with Special Educational Needs in
mainstream schools. The development of good practice and effective
monitoring of these students' progress are crucial.
This study aims
 To build on the relationship developed through the inclusion
evaluation project in monitoring the sustainability of some of the
good practice developed.
 To explore the theory that models of good practice can be
transferred between particular contexts.
 To conduct a case study in an inclusive setting in order to
examine individual target setting processes between specialist
and mainstream provision and within the mainstream school.
This should also provide a means of developing indicators of
successful inclusion.
What it will entail
 Interviews with the students, staff, parents and governors
 Observations of the students at work
 Collection of individual target setting and other assessment and
monitoring material
 Collection of support programme guidelines and policies
 Student Records of achievements
Informed Consent
Permission to include an individual in the project will be sought through the
inclusion co-ordinator in the Community College from the student, staff
member and parents as appropriate. Care will be taken to ensure that they
are fully informed of the purposes and nature of the research. Participants will
be given a copy of the ethics protocol and any questions about the study will
be answered.
Right to Withdraw
All participants will be offered the option not to answer questions or to
withdraw from the study at any time. Students will be reminded of this right
before interview.
Feedback
A summary of the research findings will be available for all participants at the
conclusion of the study by contacting a member of the research team, and
several copies given to the Principal for distribution. Efforts will be made to
include the ‘voice’ of the participants in the report.
Anonymity and Confidentiality
Transcripts of interviews and all other collected data will be kept confidential
and only used for research purposes. Names of teachers, students and
parents will not be included. Since the study is located in a single institution, it
is not possible to guarantee its anonymity. However, the name of the
community college will only be used in publications with the Principal's
consent. Drafts of written papers and articles will be checked with him or a
member of his staff for factual accuracy prior to publication. Responsibility for
the interpretation of data remains with the research team.
Thank you very much for taking part in this research.
If you wish to discuss this study, please contact: