A topic in research methodology
An aspect of research ethics is that those who participate in our research should offer voluntary informed consent. Although there may be exceptions under some specific circumstances (e.g., some context-directed practitioner-research may be considered exempt), we would normally not consider research to be ethical unless voluntary informed consent was given.
Read about research ethics
Our values as researchers and educators suggest that we respect our participants as people, and that we act in a way which is democratic. This means that people should only partake in our research from a position of positively choosing to do so, in the light of what is involved.
Consent means that people involved in our research have agreed to take part.
Such consent is only considered meaningful when it is informed consent – that is when people understand what is involved, and can judge whether the research has sufficient intrinsic value/interest for them to offer the gift of participation. (This means there is a responsibility on the researcher to inform.)
Voluntary consent is given freely. This obviously mean not under duress (e.g., subject to threats) but also positively assured that non-participation will not have unwelcome consequence. There is a potential issue therefore when a researcher has an existing role as someone who might, for example, mark and grade academic work completed by the participant, or who might make recommendations or give references regarding the participant. That is, it is not enough that there is no implied threat of showing favour to participants over non-participants – potential participants should be confident that non-participation would not lead to repercussions.
There therefore need to be special considerations when potential participants are, for example, students of the researchers.
Conditions of consent
Seeking informed consent involves offering a kind of contract of what is expected and what will de done with data after research.
For example, researchers are often intending or hoping to disseminate research in publications of various kinds, and this should be made clear to potential participants. If a researcher only asks for consent to collect data for use in a thesis, then strictly they should not use that data in subsequent publications or presentations. it may seem to the researcher that such other use is implied in writing a thesis, but this may not be something participants appreciate.
As well as assuring potential participants that data will be kept secure during the research, and will not be shared (so if there is a research team, or thesis supervisors/advisors who might be shown the data, this should be stated) it is often the case that any data used in a publication or presentation will be used anonymously. There may be times when this would be impossible or even when the researcher and participant would agree anonymity is not appropriate, but the sensible default is to offer anonymity unless there are very good reasons not to. (A person in a position of some power, such as a government minister interviewed on a matter of public policy would probably neither need nor want anonymity).
This creates particular issues when researchers enquire into contexts with which they have a public association (such as a teacher working in a school). There is no point reporting that the research was carried out in a secondary school in the East of England and assuming that therefore references to the head of science do not identify anyone, if the same report acknowledges that the researcher is a teacher at the school as this in effect identifies both the school and those with specific roles or recognisable characteristics even if they are not named.
Purposes of enquiry and use of data
Informed consent means telling potential participants what the research is about and how data will be used. However the requirement to inform must be balanced against other considerations.
Can we offer too much information?
We also have a commitment to research quality, and sometimes giving very specific information to participants might undermine the research. (Imagine asking science teachers if you could observe their lessons to see if they make references to the nature of science, or if they invite learners to share their ideas, or if there is a gender bias in their interactions with boys and girls in a class: might this shift their observed behaviour?)
Can we foresee the future?
Our commitment to research quality means that in some types of research (in studies in 'discovery/exploratory' mode, but not in 'confirmatory' research) we may sensibly adjust the research design as we proceed in response to the information we are collecting. (Indeed, in one research strategy, grounded theory, we are expected to do this.)
Read about confirmatory research
Read about discovery research
In the same way our ethical considerations ask us to consider the consequences of our work on various stakeholders, and this means we should minimise how much we inconvenience others and maximise the value of our research to others. One way of doing this is by analysing existing data sets to answer research questions, when suitable data already exists, rather than going through the process of collecting new data. This is sometimes called 'secondary data analysis'.
Read about secondary use of data
However, if we value the principle of voluntary informed consent we cannot analyse existing data for purposes which are not covered by the consent originally obtained. (At least, not without tracking down original participants and making a new request from them – which is usually impracticable if not impossible.) This is another reason why being very specific in informing potential study participants could make our research less ethical because it makes the data less useful and informative.
The researcher therefore has quite a delicate balance to achieve, to both ensure potential participants know what they are volunteering for, and what will happen with their data, but maintaining enough vagueness to both avoid modifying participant behaviour and to ensure sufficient flexibility to optimise research design and use of data.
Source cited:
- Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
My introduction to educational research:
Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
