Oliver book - ethics

 Oliver book - Paul Oliver 2003 - The students guide to ethics

Research involving other humans demands people are treated with respect, in that they are fully informed about what is being done to them, know what they are involved in and what will be done with their input (Oliver, 2003; p.22). It’s therefore important to consider ethical issues throughout a research project. Ethical considerations are apparent before the research commences, during the collection of data and once data collection has been completed. 

Before research commences a central feature of ethics is the principle of informed consent (Refs). This is where participants are illy informed about a research project before they agree to participate (Oliver, 2003).

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Where children are involved, detailed discussions with parents, teachers and other relevant adults need to be had to ensure children as research participants have their interests protected and informed consent understood (p.22).

From a procedural point of view, the key issue is that people should be given sufficient time to make their minds up to participate (p.27).

As a broad definition of ‘informed consent’ it should include any information which a participant might conceivably need in order to make a decision about whether or not to participate (p.28).

People need to be in possession of the relevant facts (p.28)

A way should be found to explain the basics of the research project to the participant, in a manner in which they can understand. But any simplification of ideas should not be so excessive as to distort the ideas themselves (p.28).

The principle of informed consent not only applies to individuals, but also to research on social groups and organisations, businesses and corporate entities, and this includes schools (p.28)

There may be difficulties with informed consent in situations where participants are part of a hierarchical work structure. They may need reassuring about the parameters of issues on which their organisation would approve of their commenting. This may necessitate the researcher engaging in preliminary discussions with the organisation before approaching potential participants (p.29)

In order to make an informed decision about participation they need to understand the attitude of the organisation’s management towards this research. This would be important for most kinds of research in an organisation (p.30).

It is the responsibility of the researcher to anticipate as many issues as possible (over recruitment).

A researcher needs to begin by informing the participant to the best of their ability about the proposed research, and inviting the participant to provide data. If the participant agrees to help, it is on the understanding that should the situation prove to be uncogenial in any way, then the participant can withdraw. Not only that, but also the participant is regarded as the owner of the data which they have provided and hence may reclaim that data should it be felt necessary to withdraw from the research (p.31).

In the case of interviews, it is probably worth making it clear to respondents that they can decline to answer a question, or decline to discuss a particular topic (p.32).

A simple strategy which can be used to set participants minds at rest is to ask them if they would like on reflection to rephrase anything they have said. They can be offered this opportunity either several times in an interview or at the end (p.32).

Research in schools should avoid as much disruption as possible, no doubt the head teacher would have taken this into account before giving permission for the research to go ahead (p.33).

If a more restricted sample were chosen and the purpose of the research carefully explained the impact of the research could be reduced (p.34).

Respondents can be in many ways the centre of the research process. It is their opinions and comments that will form the basis of our data and analysis. They become important people to us and it is worth making sure they understand how much we appreciate and value their views, they should feel valued (p.35).

A fairly obvious category of informed consent is that of children. Depending on their age they may not fully understand the implications of what is being asked of them (p.36).

It is preferable to obtain consent in writing (p.37).

The term ‘gatekeeper’ is often used to describe the person who controls access to a location where it is hoped to carry out research, in this case that would be the head teacher of a school (p.39).

No matter how interesting or potentially useful the research, gatekeepers will inevitably have concerns about the impact of the research on and within organisations, especially if it impacts or disturbs any day to day functions of the organisation (p.39).

The researcher thus has an ethical obligation to fully inform the gatekeeper about the proposed research, particularly in relation to any features which might affect the gatekeeper’s decision (p.39).

A gatekeeper would need to know about any changes to the research direction and if they had any concerns it would be a good idea to agree a procedure to obtain new permissions if required (p.40)

When talking to gatekeepers, having ethical approval through official channels, such as the ethics committee at a university offers some form of safeguard (p.41).

We need to ensure data storage processes and the technology we are using always comply with confidentiality standards (p.51).

Almost any setting can constitute a research field, the important aspect from an ethical point of view is the manner in which the research interacts with that field and with the social members who make up that setting (p.52).

Surveys and questionnaires can be either anonymous, coded for anonymity or have names collected to be able to relate it to other data collected. It needs to be clear how survey data is collected and how identities can be protected (p.57)

Similar to any other type of data, respondents need to be informed about the mechanisms for storing the data, how long it will be kept for and how it will be used (p.58)

GDPR

The researcher is usually grateful for the help because they want to complete the research, while the participants could gain some satisfaction from moulding the data and has some interest in the subject of the study. In other words, this should be a symbiotic relationship which both parties have something constructive to gain (p.58).

Payments or the introduction of inducements has the potential to alter the relationship between the researcher and respondent and the nature of the data provided (p.59).

Researchers could allow showing copies of the data collected to the participant if it was collected for example from a one to one survey or interview. However no individual is entitled to see responses or data collected from other participants (p.62).

Similarly participants could be given access to their interview tapes, but not that of group interviews or focus group recordings (p.62).

A researcher must represent a truthful record of events and must not knowingly misrepresent data or distort findings when interpreting the data (p.63).

All reasonable precautions should be taken to ensure that individuals cannot access to the database by accident (p.65).

If there is an incident that someone managed to gain access to the data, whether authorised or not, it should not be possible to identify individuals within the data set (p.65).

Any representation of disability would need to be representative and free from stereotyping. Free from bias.

Careful that names of other people that may get mentioned are also carefully removed to not be identifiable. For confidentiality at the beginning of any interview or focus group data collection method, the researcher needs to make it clear for confidentiality that the content of the interview or focus group not be discussed afterwards, either between interviewers and interviewees, or with any other person.