Ethical issues raise important questions when working with participants, Conducting a

survey

 Developing a system for a vulnerable group

 Undertaking action research
 Developing a database to store personal data

you may need to obtain ethical clearance for the project from your department beforehand.

Data Protection:
If your project is going to be involved with handling personal information, you will need to
be aware of the Data Protection Act (DPA) and its restrictions on your project.
Data can include:
 Names
 Addresses
 Exam grades
 Medical data
 Telephone numbers etc.

Recruiting participants
Include:
 What consent will be required from participants to take part (or their
parents/carers/guardians)
 Take careful consideration of any legal, cost, or safety matters when you are deciding
on your topic or question.
 Will participants be able to withdraw at any stage?

Informed consent:
Use an information sheet that you can use to inform potential participants of their role in
your work. Include:
 Information about you
 Purpose of research
 Free to withdraw at any time.
 Guarantee their anonymity
 Explain what happens to the information gathered (what will it be used for, how will
it be stored, and how long will it be stored for)

Vulnerable groups:
Are participants who require special protections
 some people cannot make a truly informed decision about voluntary participation.
  Groups that considered vulnerable are children, people with mental
illness, prisoners, people over 65, people with learning disabilities etc.
 Although you may feel your work will not affect them, ethical clearance will probably
still be needed to ensure they are not being exploited in any way.

Other things to consider:

 Be sensitive to other people’s feelings
 Respect the dignity and worth of all people involved in your research. Be aware of
their age, gender, cultural or language background, disability, or socio-economic
status.
 Acknowledge other people’s words and ideas, and make sure that when you are
 Take careful consideration that your research question or topic is appropriate and
not offensive to the participants.