Applying Ethics to Research

An Ethical Research Project?

An Ethical Research Project?

Ethics and Research Aims

What is the overall ethical justification of your

research?
To add to the sum of human knowledge? To inform better policy-making? To make companies more profitable? To improve the efficiency of a manufacturing process? To get a PhD?

To identify ways of enabling long-term unemployed

back into the job market

Social Science Research Principles

Most social science research involves collecting data

directly or indirectly from human beings Some principles:

Should not involve physical or mental cruelty

Should respect others privacy

Should not interfere with the others freedom of action Should be honest and open about the aims and methods

of the research so that respondents can give full informed consent No harm should occur to others as a result of the research

Responsibilities to the academic community

Telling the truth
Reporting findings accurately Making results understandable to various groups of

stakeholders Acknowledging the failings and limitations of a project Acknowledging the contributions of others Supervisor/supervisee relations (joint publications) Responsibilities to funding bodies

Ethical issues at different stages of the research

Before research begins
Data collection Data storage and writing up findings

Publication

Before Research Begins

Selection of Respondents Is there pressure on respondents to take part? Are they representative? Are respondents able to give informed consent? Anticipating potential harm The emotional impact of participation Seeking formal permissions
Proving you have gained consent

During Data Gathering

Interviews
Ethnography Questionnaires and Surveys

Covert data collection

After Data Collection

When does data become the property of the researcher

rather than the respondent? How much access/influence should respondents have on the editing and presentation of data? How will data be stored, when should it be destroyed? Who will have access to it? Withdrawal of researcher and respondents from the research

Presenting Findings
How does one represent others ethically in texts?
The issue of reflexivity Is fictionalisation ethical and to what extent?

How does one continue to preserve confidentiality and

anonymity? What are the impacts of the final text?

Ethical Issues with Quantitative Research

The taint of positivism Contributing to technocratic control and elite interests Reductionism and objectification
Lack of awareness of the effects of power or the

position of the researcher in relation to power Lack of explanatory power (we know what but not why) Individuals and the richness of the context are erased and depersonalised

Summary
Ethical Issues are both philosophical (the values you

bring to your research) and practical (compliance with ethical codes and professional expectations) Consistency, awareness and plausible justification are the key attributes of good research There is no consensus about ethics and so no escape from personal choice and responsibility Thinking about ethics is part of what it means to be a researcher