Governance and Research Ethics
Workshop Leader
DR JOHN GIBBINS
john.gibbins@ncl.ac.uk
Workshop aims
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To raise your awareness of the ethical problems that
can arise in research
To encourage you to own these problems and the
responsibility to deal with them
To enable you to deploy ethical theories and
principles to solving ethical dilemmas in a wide
variety of fields
To help you deploy group working in identifying and
solving ethical problems in their research
Intended knowledge outcomes: To
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know about the ethical problems that can arise in
research
To know how to own these problems and gain the
responsibility to deal with them
To know how to deploy ethical theories and
principles to solving ethical dilemmas in a wide
variety of fields
Intended skills outcomes
On successful completion of this workshop you will be
able to :
 Describe a wide range of ethical dilemmas facing
researchers
 Analyse how to deal with these both ethically and
procedurally
 To make judgements on best practice in their
respective field
 To appreciate the demands of governance
regulations in their field of research.
Workshop Texts
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Paul Oliver, (2003) The Students Guide to
Research Ethics, Open University Press
Also useful are: ‘
Michael Davis, (1999) Ethics for the University,
Routledge
Hillary Coombes, (2001) Research Using IT,
Palgrave
Resnik, D. (1986) The Ethics of Science,
Routledge
Additional Texts
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Elliot, D. (ed.) ( 1997) Research Ethics: A Reader, University
Press of New England
Penslar, R. (ed.) (1997) Research Ethics: Cases and
Materials, Open University Press
Punch, M. (1986) The Politics and Ethics of Fieldwork,
Sage, London
Homan, R (1991) The Ethics of Social Research, Longmans
May, T (1997) Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process,
Open U P (Ch 3 Values and Ethics in the Research Process)
House, E and K R (1999) Values in Evaluation and Social
Research, Sage
Bebau, M J (1995) Moral Reasoning in Scientific Research.
Cases for Teaching and Assessment, Indiana University
Texts for non philosophers
For non philosophy specialists some general texts on
ethics may help
 MacIntyre, A., (1981) After Virtue, Duckworth.
 P Singer Practical Ethics, Oxford University Press
pp 1-13
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R Billington Living Philosophy, Ch. 1.
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C Gowans Moral Dilemma's
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J Glover
Causing Death and Saving Lives,
Pelican, Ch. 1., 20.
Web Resources
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http://www.indiana.edu/-poynter/tre-onln.html
www.ethics-network.org.uk/reading/
Guide/SectionC/printC/AppendixC1.pdf
www.kcl.ac.uk/research/ethics
Exercises for Workshop
In groups discuss and report on the following:
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Exercise 1 – Auditing your own project ethics (1)
By yourself list five areas where ethical and political issues exist for your project (5
minutes)
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Exercise 2 - Good and bad practice
In small groups identify five benefits and five costs to the University of developing a
research ethics procedure (10 minutes)
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Exercise 3 – Governance and Ethics
As a whole group – How can we make governance and ethics compatible in the field of
research?
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Exercise 4 – Auditing your own ethics (2)
By yourself revisit your projects and identify new areas where issues arise for your project
(7 minutes)
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Exercise 5 – Procedures and support
In small groups - What procedures should you follow in making your research project
ethical during the coming year? Who could you consult and from whom should you get
clearance?
10 minutes)
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Exercise 6 – Case studies
Take on case study and discuss with your small group
The Role of professional Bodies – one view
Source - Michael Foucault (1926-1995)
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Knowledge
is
Power
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Knowledge - Professions - Power
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Professional bodies are allowed
autonomy to generate and deploy
knowledge for those in power e.g.
Corporations, the State
The Roles of Professions
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to generate and maintain legitimacy of
knowledge and autonomy of power
to regulate entry, training, promotion, exit
to regulate conduct and culture
to regulate discipline
to reproduce itself via information and
training
to negotiate with external bodies
Role of Professional Codes
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To detail the rules for the above
To provide procedures and committees
to implement
Abridge conventional practices in the
form of case law
Questions: Do Codes of Research Ethics
increase or limit academic autonomy?
See exercise 3 below
Stakeholders to Research
Stakeholders – at least 6 - all with rights
 Subjects
 Researchers – self and colleagues
 Sponsors
 Host institution
 Professional Body
 Public
Whose interests trump all the others?
Exercise 1 – Auditing your own project
for ethics
By yourself, list five areas where ethical and
political issues exist for your project
(5 minutes)
Exercise 2
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Good and bad practice
In groups identify five benefits and five costs to
the University of developing a research
ethics procedure
(10 minutes)
Governance
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Governance is focused primarily upon risk management and
reduction. It is a style of management and process for ensuring
that a body regulates itself for these purposes. It involves ‘selforganizing, inter-organizational networks’ (Rhodes 1997, 5253).
Governance, in this sense, is less about ethics and
professionalism and more about effective management.
Governance as a practice has developed because of the
recognised requirement to manage for the safety and well being
of all those involved in a practice. Governance therefore tends
to be more centrally imposed and bureaucratically enforced.
Ethics
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Ethics is both a subject area and a body of
knowledge concerned with the acquisition of moral
awareness and an understanding of the rules and
principles which allow an individual or body to
exercise moral judgement over its’ activities. Ethics
is about the personal and public judgement as to
what is desirable and undesirable, right and wrong
and what we ‘ought’ and ‘ought not’ to do in areas
that a contested. Ethical management therefore
tends to be more devolved with style varied
according to sector and purpose.
Morals and Morality
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Morals are the actual values (ethical preferences) and
norms (rules and principles) that an individual or body
accept as guidance for their practices. A Morality is the
general name for the package of norms and values that are
shared and deployed by a body. Values are seen here as
’the conceptions of the desirable which are not directly
observable but are evident in moral discourse and relevant
to the formulation of attitudes’ (Van Deth & Scarbrough
1995, 46). Moral teaching is the practice of transmitting the
norms and values of a body to its’ members, without the
critical element provided by ethics.
Exercise 3 Governance or Ethics
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Exercise 3 – In small group
How can we ensure that governance and ethics are compatible
in research?
Identify three policies for your workplace that would protect
professional researcher’s rights while promoting obligations to
other stakeholders in research governance.
In your own time Look at any of the following sites and texts or browse for files
on Governance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governance
See also accounts of ‘corporate governance’ and ‘global
governance’.
Are they compatible? Feedback
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Despite tensions and boundary disputes, ethics and governance are
compatible and both should be stressed in policy, codes, training and
implementation. Stakeholders will need to be assured in both rhetoric
and practice that the primary motive for your policy is value based and
that procedures are devised to enhance ethical good practice and
judgement not just enhanced governance.
It is also important to recognise that an institution will include
individuals and bodies with diverse values, morals, moralities and that
there is no consensus amongst ethicists as to the priority of particular
theories, rules and principles. Indeed within your institution there will
be held values, morals, moralities and ethical systems that are
incompatible and incommensurable. In the absence of a moral and
ethical consensus it is a complex task to create an agreed set of
mission statements, procedures, policies and training (Gibbins &
Reimer 1999, 94- 104; 153-160).
Feedback Exercise 3 continued
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Several practices allow governance and professional autonomy to
reside together and promote each others missions:
Research Ethics Training and PDP for all stakeholders to research
promotes ownership
Regular briefings and updating sessions embed good practice and
brief on unfolding agendas
Prioritising negotiation techniques with stakeholders to achieving
Informed Consent
Creating efficient procedures to ensure Ethical Funding and
Sponsorship of Research
Creating and managing procedures to defend Freedom of Information
and Academic Freedom to protect the rights of all stakeholders
Ensuring a balance of rights and duties between all stakeholders in all
Codes, Policies and Procedures.
The Ethical Agenda for Research
Traditional Agenda Principles
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Rights, Obligations and Responsibilities
Privacy and Confidentiality
Impartiality; Neutrality; Discrimination
Fairness and Justice
Freedom and Openness versus
Regulation and Control
Discovery versus Responsibility
Current ethical principles
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Transparency
Trust
Openness
Honesty
Respect
Autonomy
Indemnity
Techniques and Management
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Intellectual Property and Plagiarism
Resources; Fees, Income
Techniques; Equipment; Surveillance
Implementation, Review, Training
Self versus External Regulation
Whistle Blowing; Regulation; Discipline
Risk assessment
Three core tests
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Effect - Does the activity harm a subject
or ethically relevant non subject?
Transparency – do all parties know what,
why, how when?
Fairness – are all parties treated with
respect and not exploited in any way?
Exercise 4 - Auditing Your Own Ethics
(2)
By yourself revisit your projects and identify
new areas where issues arise for your
project
(7 minutes)
Ethical Theories
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Deontic ethics - the theory that denies
consequences as the sole source of moral value and
refers instead to absolute rules or principles of virtue,
right or duty e.g. Immanual Kant, Human Rights
Utilitarian ethics – the theory that claims that the
only legitimate principle upon which to judge an
action as ethical is that it has beneficial
consequences, namely, that it reduces harms and
promotes the greatest happiness of the greatest
number e.g John S Mill
More theories
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Virtue ethics – the theory that ethical conduct
should be directed by ideals of the virtues higher
than conformity to standards set by duty and law.
A useful selection of online subject area glossaries
can be found on the Premia site:
www.premia.ac.uk/view.aspx?id=28
www.ncl.ac.uk/disability.services/postgradresearch/a
ccessresearch.php
Guidance materials
www.ethics-network.org.uk/reading/
Guide/SectionC/printC/AppendixC1.pdf
Exercise 5 – Procedures and Support
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Exercise 5 – Procedures and support
In small groups - What procedures in your
School and University should you follow in
making your research project ethical during
the coming year? Who could you consult and
from whom should you get clearance?
(10 minutes)
University Ethics Committee
Policy and procedures in the process of
establishment – 2006
 To cover all fields including research
 Procedures – ownership and devolution
Possible 2 stage procedure:
1) Ethical Release 2) Ethical Approval
 Training to be deployed widely
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Web Sources
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Useful Sources on Good Practice in Research Ethics
A consolidated list of institutional codes of ethical practice for
research can be found at
www.xinstution.ac.uk/ethics
A series of guidebooks and handbooks for research ethics can
be found at the Kings College address
www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/cmle/
Some useful debates can be found within the Archives of the
Association of Research Ethics Committees
http://www.arec.org.uk/table_archive.htm
International and National
Look at the following illustrative websites and identify the
differences in purpose, audience and application as you move
down from the international agreements at the head of the list
down to local codes at the bottom.
 Helsinki Agreement
http://www.hri.org/docs/Helsinki75.html#H4.32
 Bologna and other International Framework Agreements
http://www.bologna-berlin2003.de/en/main_documents/index.htm
 Council for Industry and Higher Education
http://www.cihe-uk.com/ethicsCONTENTS.php
 Institute for Business Ethics
www.ibe.org.uk/links Ethics Matters: Ethical Issues in HE
Exercise 6 - Case studies (10 minutes)
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Case Study 1 in Social Sciences
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A post-graduate student completes a Research Ethics Approval Form and
identifies the following problems. 1) What issues do you consider this
application raises? 2) If you were a member of the Schools Research Ethics
Sub Committee what action would you recommend?
The student intends doing work on the topic of the provision, personal
experience and effects of sex education in primary and secondary schools in
Newcastle (1945-1997). Under question 11 the student states an intention to
conduct qualitative research involving in-depth interviews with former and
existing pupils; parents; governors and teachers. Under question 12 on
possible damage to the interests of subjects the student queries whether 1)
Past pupils may experience upset when induced to reflect on their past
experiences, 2) whether present pupils ought only be interviewed with their
parents present. Under 13 on consent the student states an intention to get
Governors and parents consent for interviews with present pupils only. Under
item 15 on information to be supplied to subjects, the student states an
intention to supply a one page summary of the aims of the research project,
their name, and institutional address where they can be contacted. 3) The
project involves collecting and storing and conducting semiotic analysis of
representations used for teaching sex education. Offer advice.
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Case Study 2 for IT and Management
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A post-graduate student completes a Research Ethics Approval Form and
identifies the following problems. 1) What issues do you consider this
application raises? 2) If you were a member of the Schools Research Ethics
Sub Committee what action would you recommend?
The student intends doing work on the topic of the identification, tracking and
contacting of visitors to Business Web Sites on the Internet, with the aim of
allowing site providers to identify visitors and to direct sales staff to them. On
question 11 on procedures the student states an intention to experiment on
tracking and identifying random visitors to a variety of web sites taken at
random. Under 13a they state that informed consent will not be sought as this
would invalidate the aims of the research project. Under 12 on damage to
subjects interests the student feels that as the selling companies will only try to
sell products and services of benefit to users that no issues of damage arise.
under question 15 no information will be given to site visitors tracked as this
would invalidate the business application of the project. Under item 20 on
financial support it is indicated that one large Internet Service Provider (Dolop)
is funding the entire project to the tune of £300k. Under item 21 on publication
they seek control of all publication of results and a monopoly and copyright on
usage of all technologies and software emerging form the project
Case Study 3 for the Arts and
Humanities
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A first year student is planning their research design for a project on
‘Picturing the Family’. The primary question is how the popular camera
effected family identity between 1910 and 1980? The theoretical
framework is feminist postmodernism and argues that as time passes
females gain more space behind the camera and that family identify
becomes feminized. The argument will require comparing the
patriarchal picturing to 1940 with the matriarchal picturing from 19411980. The methodological approach is essential discourse analysis of
family photograph albums and the sample is to be gained using
snowball methods, personal contacts and advertisements in the press.
Where possible interviews will be made with family members involved
and oral history records filed in the University Library. The aim is to
publish the results and to use selected images.
If you were a member of the Supervisory Team what advice would you
give to the student? What ethical issues would you highlight as of
concern and what protocols would you advise?
Case study 4 – Sciences and
Agriculture
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A student wishes to study the effects of weed
control methods in a number of different
environments both urban and rural.
What are the ethical and governance issues
involved and how would you go about
designing the proposal to be ethical?