Ethics in research
Every researcher has a duty to make sure that their research respects those who take part. Many of the common research ethical guidelines will seem familiar to school staff. Such guidelines can include ensuring:
- you have gained informed consent from research participants – this means considering carefully how to explain the purpose of your research, particularly to young children
- you have gained parental permission for children/young people to take part in the research and you understand the child protection issues concerning the collection of photos or video footage
- you are not deceiving participants by not fully or accurately explaining the purpose of your research
- you have made sure your participants know that they have the right to withdraw at any stage from the research if they wish, without having to explain their reasons
- your research will not negatively impact on any individual or group – if you are concerned that participating in the research could have a negative impact, you should make this clear and allow participants the right to withdraw
- you respect your participants’ privacy – this usually involves promising confidentiality and anonymity, ensuring your participants cannot be identified and data is stored safely and securely
- you have considered what you would do if your research presents you with a disclosure dilemma, for example, if you were to discover an undesirable or illegal activity
- you can tell participants what will/is likely to occur as a result of your research.
A number of these points pose particular challenges for practitioner researchers. The power relations associated with the teacher-pupil or teacher-parent relationship may mean your participants may not feel able to withdraw or give honest opinions. If you think your data may be affected by this, consider getting someone else to collect it, for example a parent, a governor or pupil.
For further information on research ethics, please refer to:
BERA (2004) Revised Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research www.bera.ac.uk/guidelines.html
The British Psychological Society
www.bps.org.uk/the-society/ethics-rules-charter-code-of-conduct/ethics-rules-charter-code-of-conduct_home.cfm?&redirectCount=0
The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child
www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
