What are ethics?
Ethics are concerned with how we should decide what is right and what
is wrong.
In educational research teachers and researchers often look to their
professional association for guidance. In the UK this is the British
Educational Research Association (BERA).
BERA publish ethical guidelines framed around a researcher’s
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responsibilities to participants
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responsibilities to sponsors of research
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responsibilities to the community of educational researchers
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responsibilities to educational professionals, policy makers and
the general public
GSoE ethics procedures
The GSoE ethics procedures are based on published guidelines such
as the BERA ones and largely centre on a researcher’s responsibilities
to their participants.
More information about each ethical issue mentioned on the GSoE form
is given on the following slides.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Researcher access/ exit
Information given to participants
Participants right of withdrawal
Informed consent
Complaints procedure
Safety and well-being of
participants/ researchers
7. Anonymity/ confidentiality
8. Data collection
9. Data analysis
10. Data storage
11. Data Protection Act
12. Feedback
13. Responsibilities to colleagues/
academic community
14. Reporting of research
1.
Researcher access/ exit
Think through how you will approach your participants. How will you do this
sensitively, mindful of their day job, their preferred methods of communication and/or
state of health. Some questions to ask yourself are:
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•
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Will you need to rely on previous contacts?
Will you need to seek permission from a gatekeeper first (n.b. this is always the
case for a school)
How old are any children or young people to be involved; does this mean
engaging with parents or students first?
Then plan for what you will do when you have finished collecting data to ensure that
participants are thanked, any questions they may have are dealt with and any
youngsters are suitably cared for.
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2.
Information given to participants
You need to consider what will participants need to know and when will they
need to know it. Think through your proposed data collection(s) from the point of
view of the participant. How would you react to your requests if you were in their
shoes?
Planning ahead well will help avoid surprises like key participants taking up their
right to withdraw. The information you give participants needs to be carefully
designed so as it is appropriate to their age and ability to understand it.
There may be a need for a combined information and consent form or perhaps it
could be incorporated at the start of a survey. In that case, how will you know
they have read it?
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3.
Participants’ right of withdrawal
Participation in educational research is voluntary and participants and/or their
parents/carer as appropriate should have been fully informed about the project
before it starts. However, it is possible that someone becomes uncomfortable
about being observed or completing an interview or questionnaire survey and
expresses a wish to stop participating. This must be accepted at face value
and any appropriate exit procedures such as debriefing offered to ensure
participants leave the research without any detriment.
This can be difficult if the researcher is a teacher or a school based colleague
researching their own practice and the participants their students, you wouldn’t
allow a student to leave a lesson in school, for instance. In this case the
research must have been cleared with line management, and parents if
appropriate. Having a complaints procedure will also help.
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4.
Informed consent
Participants need to be fully informed so that they can give their consent to
participating in a research project in the full knowledge of what will be involved.
Where participants are young, unwell, have learning difficulties or are unpractised
in the language you are using particular care should be taken to give out
information in an accessible form.
Where knowing about the research may impact upon the results and you wish to
explore a situation without first giving out full details you must clear this with both
your supervisor and the senior management of the institution where you are
conducting the research. Please contact the a member of the GSoE ethics
committee to discuss any more complex situations like this.
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5.
Complaints procedure
Participants should be clearly informed as to how they may make a complaint
about the conduct of the research. If you have planned it well it is unlikely that
this will happen however, a means of contact for someone other than you as the
principal investigator should be made available to all participants. Again this can
be a challenge if you are a professional working in education and investigating
your own practice, please discuss how to proceed with your line manager.
If you are a current student with GSoE then please include your supervisor’s
email details in any information or informed consent forms in case any
participant wishes to pass on a comment on the project or a complaint.
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6. Safety and well-being of participants/
researchers
As in any situation people’s safety is paramount. Think through where and
how you are going to collect data and any possible hazards. This might be as
obvious as keeping the cable for the video camera coiled neatly in a corner
or as unclear as how to deal with a distressed parent or uncommunicative
child. These kind of events are, of course, very unlikely, if you have planned
well with your participants’ well-being in mind.
Also don’t forget to think about yourself, there is the issue of the well-being of
the researcher and his or her own safety - both physically and emotionally.
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7.
Anonymity/ confidentiality
Participants, even when they are large institutions such as schools or
colleges, should not be identifiable in any report of a research project
nor in any of the data stored for it. This can be a challenge at times
and requires carefully checking that all names are erased, any
pictures are suitably pixellated and that alternative identifiers are
added to the data set so as an individual’s different contributions can
be matched.
Information gained during the research should be held in confidence
and used only for the purposes agreed with the participants however,
that said, if relevant, you should be mindful of your duty of care and
discuss any concerns with an appropriate professional. If, given your
proposed methods, this may be a possibility, please discuss further
with your supervisor.
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8. Data collection and 9. Data analysis
How will data be collected and could this cause either the participants or anyone
working alongside them concerns? Using video or photographs needs
permission from anyone who might be caught on film and, in the case of minors,
their parents too. Also will the proposed method for data collection be both
inclusive of and accessible to all the proposed participants who may well have
varying abilities or additional needs?
Member checking, when the researcher returns the draft data to the participant to
check they have recorded their views accurately can be helpful to check both
accuracy of, say, transcription of an interview and validity of your analysis of its
content. Another way of improving reliability of data analysis especially where
you feel your views may affect what you see in the results is to involve a second
researcher.
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10. Data storage and 11. Data Protection Act
Data needs to be stored safely – this means on the University network which is
encrypted and, if you use your own laptop, with password protection. This is one
of the provisions of the UK Data Protection Act which states data must be held
under secure conditions.
It also states data must be collected and processed fairly and lawfully with the
purpose for which it was collected made clear to the data subject. Data should be
obtained only for the purposes agreed and data held for one purpose should not
be used for another e.g. contact data from one project should not be used for
recruiting to a different one.
Collected data should be relevant to the purpose for which it was collected, and
not excessive. If you are creating an interview schedule or questionnaire survey,
ask yourself, how does including that question help me answer the research
question. If it doesn't, think again.
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12.
Feedback and
14. Reporting
Many participants are pleased to have the opportunity to participate in research
and are keen to know the outcomes. They may also want to know the results of
any tests they took as part of your project. How can you supply them with this
information in an accessible form and, if giving out test results, what kind of
debriefing may well need to be organised?
Also participants need to know how and where the results of any research project
will be reported and who to. They may even wish to waive their right to anonymity
and you will need to discuss with key professionals such as their head teacher and
your supervisor as to whether that is appropriate.
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13. Responsibilities to colleagues/
academic community
As a student or staff member with GSoE you are a key member of the
educational research community and expected to work in a way that brings
credit to the educational profession. Getting involved with research nearly
always means engaging with the public (though they may be in school at the
time) and needs to be thought of as an opportunity to showcase education
and the role of academic research.
Your research project should be planned with sensitivity towards your
participants’ needs and expectations and accurate reporting of their
contribution. Also don’t even think about activities such as fabricating results
or plagiarising other colleagues’ work.
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Other sources for guidance on ethics
Depending on your proposed research topic and participants another
professional association’s guidelines may be more relevant. Try, for
example,
BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy);
BPS (British Psychological Society)
SRA (Social Research Association)
SPA (Social Policy Association)
BPS Ethics Guidelines for Internet-mediated Research
More links at the GSoE Ethics page.