MESHGuides

Below are scenarios from actual research which provide you with opportunities to reflect on potential ethical issues that may arise in practice:

It is important to consider the possible ethical issues that may arise at each stage of your research when you are developing your research plan. It is important to consider both the potential impact on research participants and the context in which the research is taking place:

• during the process of gaining consent;

• at an early stage in the implementation of the research during which methods are being trialled and when your research questions are likely to develop and change;

• during the main data collection phase;

This section of the MESHGuide is designed help you with the practical implementation of ethical principles when designing your research by:

The research process is often associated with a cost for participants, most frequently in the form of the time that they have to give up in order to be involved in the research. Therefore it is important to consider how the research can ‘give back’ in some way to the participants, either directly or indirectly. There are potential difficulties associated with financial incentives for taking part in research, in particular where potential participants are under financial constraints.

Item 19 of the BERA (2011) Guidelines states that all researchers must ensure they comply with legal requirements in relation to working with school children or vulnerable young people and adults. The British Sociological Association Statement of Ethical Practice (2002) further states that ‘Researchers should have regard for issues of child protection and make provision for the potential disclosure of abuse’.

Under the UK Data Protection Act (1998) legal requirements exist which require that the identities and personal information of participants in a research project are protected, which has implications for how information is collected, stored and communicated. Key terms associated with the ethics of research are anonymity and confidentiality. The key difference between anonymity and confidentiality is that anonymity involves protecting the identity of a research participant, whereas confidentiality ensures the personal information of participants is protected.

When designing a research project, it is important for colleagues who are not directly involved in the project to support you in considering the ethical implications associated with your research. If you are being supported in your research by a higher education institution, there will be a Research Ethics Committee consisting of members of staff who are experienced in carrying out ethical reviews of research proposals.

Before you can proceed with data collection it is necessary to go through a process of gaining informed consent from potential participants in the research. A key issue relating to gaining informed is competence (Wiles, Heath, Crow and Charles, 2005), which relates to whether an individual is able to:

Considerations that you need to take into account when planning ethical research:

• respect the rights and dignity of participants in the research

• gain informed consent prior to starting the research

• ensure anonymity and confidentiality at each stage of the research

• carry out analysis of the findings with honesty and integrity

(Cresswell, 2013)

For research in education, professional guidelines are provided by the British Education Research Association:

The fundamental principle underpinning the ethics of research in social sciences is that as a researcher it is your duty to ensure that no harm comes to the participants as a consequence of their involvement in the research.