Research Ethics

Andy Hobson & Andy Townsend

School of Education
University of Nottingham

I have never known an interviewer to be

completely honest with his respondents
Neither does any researcher ever have
adequate insight for a perfect
representation of his identity; it is always a
matter of greater or lesser
misrepresentation
The researcher must also keep in mind
that no method can ever be completely
safe for himself or his respondents The
ethics of social science are situation
ethics (Humphreys, 1970).

Outline
1. Introduction to research ethics and the PGR ethical
review process

What do we mean by research ethics?

Why be concerned with research ethics?
An overview of PGR ethical review in the School of Education
The ethical guidelines of the British Educational Research
Association (BERA)
Standard ethical principles and obligations to (prospective)
research participants
Problems with codes of ethical conduct

2. Ethical issues in practitioner and action research

3. Considering ethical issues and dilemmas in research

1. Introduction to research ethics and the

PGR ethical review process

What do we mean by research ethics?

An ethic is a moral principle or a code of
conduct which governs what people do.
It is concerned with the way people act or
behave. The term ethics usually refers to
the moral principles, guiding conduct,
which are held by a group or even a
profession (though there is no logical
reason why individuals should not have
their own ethical code) (Wellington, 2000:
54)

When are research ethics a concern?

Not just something that occurs at the
beginning of a research project / prior to
fieldwork (Lewis, 2004).
Ethical concerns should be at the
forefront of any research project and
should continue through to the write-up
and dissemination stages (Wellington,
2000: 3)

Why be concerned with research

ethics in the School of Education?

Professional responsibility avoidance of exploitation of research

participants
Research can be harmful:

to research participants
to individual researchers
to the School / University
to our relations with schools
to the research community

Ethical malpractice exists

BERA (2004) Revised Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research

ESRC (2005) Research Ethics Framework

We live in a more litigious society.

www.bera.ac.uk/publications/guides.php

www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities/research_ethics
_framework/

An overview of the PGR ethics review

procedure in the School of Education, U of N.
The Research Ethics folder on the student intranet
includes information on:
Research ethics review procedure for PGR students
(including MA Research Methods / ERM)
Research ethics review procedure for postgraduate
taught course (PGT) students
Research ethics reading list
The Data Protection legislation
A generic research participant information sheet
A generic participant consent form
Relevant forms

Research ethics review

procedure for PGR students
In advance of undertaking fieldwork, students are asked to:

Read about ethical issues

Discuss ethical implications of their research with supervisors
Submit a research ethics proposal to the PGR office for review
and this should include:

a completed Statement of Research Ethics

a brief statement of how they propose to gain access to

research participants

a draft participant information sheet

a draft participant consent form

signatures of student and supervisor

The proposal is either approved or student is asked to (rethink,)
revise and resubmit
Comments on the proposal are given back to the student and
copied to supervisor(s) and Director of PGR
Research students undertaking research involving children or
vulnerable adults must obtain CRB clearance

The Revised Ethical Guidelines of the

British Educational Research
Association (BERA, 2004)
Underpinning Principles
The Association considers that all educational research
should be conducted within an ethic of respect for:

The Person
Knowledge
Democratic Values
The Quality of Educational Research
Academic Freedom

The underpinning aim of the guidelines is to enable

educational researchers to weigh up all aspects of the
process of conducting educational research within any
given context (from student research projects to largescale funded projects) and to reach an ethically
acceptable position in which their actions are considered
justifiable and sound. (BERA 2004, p.3)

BERA (2004) Ethical Guidelines

(cont.)
In guiding researchers on their conduct
within this framework the Association sets
out its guidelines under the following
headings:
Responsibilities to Participants
Responsibilities to Sponsors of Research
Responsibilities to the Community of
Educational Researchers

Standard ethical principles / obligations

to (prospective) research participants
Fully informed consent of prospective participants & (for
minors) responsible others. Researcher should provide
information about:

the aims and nature of the research

identity and contact details of researchers
likely duration of research & their involvement
who will have access to data
how data will be stored
possible consequences of participation and of the research
whether participants would have right to see/amend transcripts,
comment on provisional data analyses etc.
how results are likely to be disseminated
the extent to which confidentiality and anonymity will be
protected

Standard ethical principles / obligations

to (prospective) research participants
(cont.)
Participants right to withdraw from study
Confidentiality whilst researchers know who has
provided data, they should not make this known to
others
Anonymity
Non-traceability
Protection of participants welfare attempt to ensure
that participants are not harmed or detrimentally affected
by the research
Respect for participants right to privacy
Respect for knowledge pursuit of truth
Sensitivity to differences relating (for example) to age,
culture, disability, race, sex, religion, sexual orientation.

Problems with codes of ethical

conduct
Codes of ethical or professional conduct are only ever
relatively finished products (Small, Codes are Not
Enough, 2002)
The principles listed in such codes are not always:
desirable e.g. anonymity
achievable e.g. fully informed consent; avoidance of harm
compatible e.g. pursuit of knowledge versus fully informed
consent / avoidance of deception.

Individual researchers must therefore make choices

weigh up competing ethical and other methodological
considerations
produce ethically and methodologically defensible position.

Contrasting solutions /
positions:
Ethics of research not priority:
it is always a matter of greater or lesser
misrepresentation The ethics of social science are
situation ethics (Humphreys, 1970).

Research ethics priority:

My own view is that the MAIN CRITERION for
educational research is that it should be ethical
[E]very researcher [should] place it foremost in the
planning, conduct and presentation of his / her
research. Ethical considerations override all others
(Wellington, 2000: 54; original emphasis).

Research student and supervisor may not agree

on where balance should lie.

2. Ethical issues in practitioner

and action research

Ethical issues in practitioner and

action research
Introduction
The preamble to BERA (2004) Ethical
Guidelines states that:
This revision of the Associations Ethical Guidelines (for
Educational Research) builds on the 1992 statement
in two significant ways. First it seeks more fully to
recognize the academic tensions that a multidisciplinary community generates when dealing with
the complex research issues that characterize
education contexts. Secondly it seeks to include the
field of action research (BERA 2004, p.3; emphasis
added).

BUT.

beyond that not a great deal is said about

practitioner research in general or action research in
particular:
Researchers must take the steps necessary to ensure that all
participants in the research understand the process in which they are
to be engaged, including why their participation is necessary, how it
will be used and how and to whom it will be reported. Researchers
engaged in action research must consider the extent to which their
own reflective research impinges on others, for example in the case of
the dual role of teacher and researcher and the impact on students
and colleagues. Dual roles may also introduce explicit tensions in
areas such as confidentiality and must be addressed accordingly.
(BERA 2004, p. 5)
a group of teachers engaging in a process of action research as part
of curriculum renewal should inform the school management of their
intentions. (BERA 2004, p. 9)

Some considerations regarding the

ethics of practitioner research

Issues relating to the nature of research

Varying forms of researching practice
Differing forms of participation in: practitioner research; action research
Communities of action researchers (is action research sufficiently
unique)

The knowledge that research can offer us is not for its own sake, but
to help us to improve educational experiences for learners; to
address issues of social and educational injustice in our schools and
collegesWe also hope that new knowledge can be created that
helps us to work for a more humane, caring and selfactualising life
for those we educate
The ethical focus of practitioner research is, thus, on improvement
for the other (Noddings, 1994)
(Dadds, M., 2002, Taking Curiosity Seriously: the role of awe and
Wanda in research-based professionalism, Educational Action
Research, 10, pp9-26).

When does practice become

research?
Practice as a product of research
Practice to be evaluated through research
Practice as part of (integrated within) the
research process
Power relations in educational settings
Researcherpupils
Researchercolleagues
Researchersupervisor

3. Considering ethical issues and

dilemmas in research

Considering ethical issues and

dilemmas:

The next two slides provide eleven

questions you might consider in relation
to your own position.
The slides that follow cover issues that
relate to some of these questions.

Considering ethical issues and

dilemmas: Questions part one
1.
2.

3.
4.
5.
6.

Where pupils will be involved as participants in a doctoral study,

how (if at all) ought the informed consent of those pupils be
secured?
Can we justify the use of reasonably fully informed consent
(Cohen et al, 2000: 51) i.e. the deliberate withholding of some
information about the research to prospective participants? If so,
under what circumstances?
What does the researcher do if s/he discovers that research
participants are engaged in illegal activities and/or behaviour
which is likely to cause harm to themselves or others?
Should research participants be given the option of not having
data relating to them anonymised? If so, under what
circumstances?
(a) Can we ever justify the use of covert techniques such as
covert participant observation? (b)If so, must researchers seek to
gain participants consent on a post hoc basis?
How much and what kinds of harm, if any, should be tolerated in
relation to the conduct of educational research?

Considering ethical issues and

dilemmas: Questions part two
7.
8.
9.

10.

11.

Are the ethical considerations of the participation of pupils,

colleagues etc, any different for action research than other forms
of research?
A teacher wants to trial a new teaching method as part of a
practice-based research project. What does the supervisor do if
they feel the new teaching method would not benefit pupils?
If a teacher chooses to do a piece of research on their own
practice, a part of which would be the use of existing school
based data, what processes would need to be in place (if any) to
ensure that the research was ethical?
If participants choose to withdraw from a study (having initially
given their informed consent to take part), should they also have
the right to withdraw any data relating to their earlier involvement
in the research?
What are the ethical implications of the use of visual data (e.g.
photographs, video) in the presentation of ones research
findings?

Q1 Ethical issues and dilemmas

1. Where pupils will be involved as participants in a doctoral study, how (if at all)
ought the informed consent of those pupils be secured? For example:
(i) can teachers consent for pupils?
(ii) can parents consent for pupils?
(iii) can teachers consent for parents?

BERA 2004 (para 5) requires that member researchers comply with Article
12 of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: children who
are capable of forming their own views should be granted the right to
express their views freely in all matters affecting them, commensurate with
their age and maturity. Children should therefore be facilitated to give fully
informed consent.
BERA 2004 (para 7): In the case of participants whose age, intellectual
capability or other vulnerable circumstance may limit the extent to which
they can be expected to understand or agree voluntarily to undertake their
role, researchers must fully explore alternative ways in which they can be
enabled to make authentic responses. In such circumstances, researchers
must also seek the collaboration and approval of those who act in
guardianship (e.g. parents) or as responsible others (i.e. those who have
responsibility for the welfare and well-being of the participants e.g. social
workers) (emphasis added)

Q2 Ethical issues and dilemmas

2. Can we justify the use of reasonably fully informed
consent (Cohen et al, 2000: 51) i.e. the deliberate
withholding of some information about the research? If so,
under what circumstances?
in practice it is often impossible for researchers to
inform subjects [about] everything (Cohen et al, 2000: 51)
I have never known an interviewer to be completely
honest with his respondents Neither does any
researcher ever have adequate insight for a perfect
representation of his identity; it is always a matter of
greater or lesser misrepresentation (Humphreys, 1970).

Q3 Ethical issues and dilemmas

3. What does the researcher do if s/he discovers that
research participants are engaged in illegal activities
and/ or behaviour which is likely to cause harm to
themselves or others?

BERA 2004 (para 18) Researchers who judge that the effect of the
agreements they have made with participants, on confidentiality and
anonymity, will allow the continuation of illegal behaviour, which has
come to light in the course of the research, must carefully consider
making disclosure to the appropriate authorities. If the behaviour is
likely to be harmful to the participants or to others, the researchers
must also consider disclosure. Insofar as it does not undermine or
obviate the disclosure, researchers must apprise the participants or
their guardians or responsible others of their intentions and reasons
for disclosure.
Reference ought to be made to this issue in the information
provided to participants at the outset before they consent to or
decline the invitation to take part in the research.

Q4 Ethical issues and dilemmas

4. Should research participants be given the option of not
having data relating to them anonymised? If so, under
what circumstances?
BERA 2004 (para 14) The confidential and anonymous treatment of
participants data is considered the norm for the conduct of research.
Researchers must recognize the participants entitlement to privacy
and must accord them their rights to confidentiality and anonymity,
unless they or their guardians or responsible others, specifically and
willingly waive that right. In such circumstances it is in the
researchers interests to have such a waiver in writing. Conversely,
researchers must also recognize participants rights to be identified
with any publication of their original works or other inputs, if they so
wish. In some contexts it will be the expectation of participants to be
so identified. (Emphasis added)
But if only some participants wish to waive the right to anonymity,
allowing them to do so might compromise the non-traceability of
others.

Q5a Ethical issues and dilemmas

5(a). Can we ever justify the use of covert techniques such
as covert participant observation?

Why should covert methods be censured in social and educational research

when their use is sanctioned more readily in other areas of social life?
(Calvey 2004).
NB Covert observation is discouraged but not ruled out by most of the
influential Codes of Conduct of educational and social research
organisations, including AERA (2000), BERA (2004), the American
Sociological Association (ASA, 1999), the British Sociological Association
(BSA, 2002), the American Psychological Association (APA, 2002) and the
British Psychological Society (BPS, 1993)
The securing of participants voluntary informed consent, before research
gets underway, is considered the norm for the conduct of research.
Researchers must therefore avoid deception or subterfuge unless their
research design specifically requires it to ensure that the appropriate data is
collected or that the welfare of the researchers is not put in jeopardy.
Decisions to use deception or subterfuge in research must be the subject of
full deliberation The Association recommends that approval for this
course of action should be obtained from a local or institutional ethics
committee. (BERA 2004, para. 7; emphasis added)

Q5b Ethical issues and dilemmas

5(b). If covert research / deception is considered justifiable
in some circumstances and employed, must researchers
seek to gain participants consent on a post hoc basis?

This (post hoc consent) is recommended

by BERA 2004; AERA 2000; BSA 2002)
BUT

Q6 Ethical issues and dilemmas

Q6. How much and what kinds of harm, if any, should be
tolerated in relation to the conduct of educational
research?

Researchers must recognize that participants may experience distress or

discomfort in the research process and must take all necessary steps to
reduce the sense of intrusion and to put them at their ease. They must
desist immediately from any actions, ensuing from the research process,
that cause emotional or other harm. (BERA 2004, p. 6).
(Australian) National Statement on Ethical Conduct (1999): researchers
have an obligation to maximise potential benefits and minimise possible
harms (emphasis added)
SRA (2003): [s]ocial researchers must strive to protect subjects from undue
harm arising as a consequence of their participation in research (emphasis
added)
APA (2002): [p]sychologists do not deceive prospective participants about
research that is reasonably expected to cause physical pain or severe
emotional distress

Q7&8 Ethical issues and dilemmas

Q7. Are the ethical considerations of the participation of pupils,
colleagues etc, any different for action research than other
forms of research?
Q8. A teacher wants to trial a new teaching method as part of a
practice-based research project. What does the supervisor do
if they feel the new teaching method would not benefit pupils?

The [British Educational Research] Association requires researchers

to comply with Articles 3 and 12 of the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child. Article 3 requires that in all actions
concerning children, the best interests of the child must be the
primary consideration.

Q9&10 Ethical issues and

dilemmas
9. If a teacher chooses to do a piece of research
on their own practice, a part of which would be
the use of existing school based data, what
processes would need to be in place (if any) to
ensure that the research was ethical?
10. If research participants choose to withdraw
from a study (having initially given their informed
consent to take part), should they also have the
right to withdraw any data relating to their earlier
involvement in the research?

Q11 Ethical issues and dilemmas

Q11. What are the ethical implications of the use of visual
data (e.g. photographs, video) in the presentation of
ones research findings?

Consider the scenario of making a documentary film of a school The

hierarchy of the school, on understanding the potential advantages of
making the film, could entice or inveigle the subjects (teachers,
administrators and students) to take part for the schools common good
Moreover the outcomes of filming cannot be preordained and it is only in
editing can the final story be told, which means ultimate control lies with the
film-makers not the subjects [And] since the effects of the film on actors
and audience can rarely be predicted by the film-maker, there can be no
guarantees of negative repercussions on subjects.
These points exemplify how easy it is for ethical ideals to be subverted in
practice.
(Prosser, J., The Moral Maze of Image Research, in H. Simons & R. Usher
[2000], Situated Ethics in Educational Research. London: Routledge.
Emphasis added.)
http://education.leeds.ac.uk/~edu-jdp/image/moral_maze.html

References

BERA , 2004, Revised Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research

www.bera.ac.uk/publications/guides.php
Cohen, L. Lawrence, M. & Morrison, K. , 2000, Research Methods in
Education: 5th Edition. London and New York: Routledge/Falmer
Dadds, M.,2002, Taking Curiosity Seriously: the role of awe and Wanda in
research-based professionalism, Educational Action Research, 10
ESRC (2005) Research Ethics Framework
www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities/research_ethic
s_framework
/

Humphreys, L., 1970, Tearoom Trade. London: Duckworth

Lewis, G. (2004) Developing a Framework for Social Science Research
Ethics, paper delivered at Conference on Ethical Frameworks for Research,
Milton Keynes, 4 November.
Prosser, J., The Moral Maze of Image Research, in H. Simons & R. Usher ,
2000 , Situated Ethics in Educational Research. London: Routledge
Small, R. (2004) Codes are not enough: what philosophy can contribute to
the ethics of educational research, in: M. McNamee & D. Bridges (Eds.) The
Ethics of Educational Research (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing), 89-110.
Wellington, J., 2000, Educational Research: contemporary issues and
practical approaches, London: Continuum