RES 500 Academic Writing and Research Skills Week 5 Research Ethics

Research Ethics What are research ethics? Ethical Treatment of Participants Benefits, Informed Consent, Deception, Debriefing Participates, Rights to Privacy, Data Collection Ethics and the Sponsor Confidentiality, Sponsor-Researcher relationship, Sponsor’s ethics Researchers and Team Members Safety, Ethical behavior of Assistants, Protection of Anonymity Professional Ethical Codes of Conduct Resources for Ethical Awareness Ethical Research in Practice: An Example Further Readings, Keywords, References

Research Ethics  Learning Objectives Understand . . . What issues are covered in research ethics. The goal of “no harm” for all research activities and what constitutes no harm for participant, researcher, and research sponsor. Differing ethical dilemmas and responsibilities of researchers, sponsors, and research assistants. Role of ethical codes of conduct in professional associations.

Research Ethics  What are research ethics? Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about our behavior and our relationships with others. The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activities. Unethical activities are pervasive and include many types of activities. For some researchers, ethical and legal norms are the same. Legal constraints are the minimum standard but not the ideal.

Research Ethics  What are Research Ethics  Fact $944 The amount, in millions employers lost in 2011 due to employee fraud.

Research Ethics  What are Research Ethics  Ethical Issues at All Stages of Research

Research Ethics  Ethical Treatment of Participants Explain study benefits Explain participant rights and protections Obtain informed consent Research must be designed so that a participant does not suffer physical harm, discomfort, pain, embarrassment, or loss of privacy. This slide lists the three guidelines researchers should follow to protect participants. When discussing benefits, the researcher should be careful not to overstate or understate the benefits. Informed consent means that the participant has given full consent to participation after receiving full disclosure of the procedures of the proposed study.

Informed consent means parental approval. Research Ethics  Ethical Treatment of Participants  Ethical Responsibility Special guidelines apply to children! Informed consent means parental approval. Special consideration is necessary when researching the behavior and attitudes of children. Besides providing informed consent, parents are often interviewed during the selection process to ensure that the child is mature enough and has the verbal and physical capabilities necessary.

Research Ethics  Ethical Treatment of Participants  Deception & Debriefing Disguising non-research activities Camouflaging true research objectives Debriefing Explain any deception Describe purpose Share results Provide follow-up In situations where participants are intentionally or accidentally deceived, they should be debriefed once the research is complete. Debriefing describes the goals of the research, as well as the truth and reasons for any deception. Results are shared after the study is complete. Participants who require any medical or psychological follow-up attention will receive it during the debriefing process.

Research Ethics  Ethical Treatment of Participants  Components of Informed Consent Identify researchers Describe survey topic Describe target sample Identify sponsor Describe purpose of research Promise anonymity and confidentiality Give “good-faith” estimate of required time commitment State participation is voluntary State item-non response is acceptable Ask for permission

Competence Knowledge Voluntary Informed Research Ethics  Ethical Treatment of Participants  Characteristics of Informed Consent Competence Elements Knowledge Voluntary Informed

Research Ethics  Ethical Treatment of Participants  Participant Confidentiality Obtain signed nondisclosure Restrict access to ID Reveal only with written consent Minimize instruments requiring ID Non-disclosure of data subsets All individuals have a right to privacy, and researchers must respect that right. Once a guarantee of confidentiality is given, protecting that confidentiality is essential. Researchers protect participant confidentiality in several ways. Obtaining signed nondisclosure documents – only researchers who have signed nondisclosure forms should be allowed access to the data. Restricting access to participant identification. Revealing participant information only with written consent. Restricting access to data instruments where the participant is identified. Nondisclosure of data subsets. Methods 2-5 deal with minimizing the chance for a participant to identified and matched with his or her responses. Links between data and identifying information must be minimized. Interview response sheets should be inaccessible to everyone except the editors and data entry personnel. Data collection instruments may be destroyed once data are in a data file. For very small groups, data should not be made available if it would be easy to pinpoint a person in the group.

Research Ethics  Ethical Treatment of Participants  Right to Privacy Right to refuse Prior permission to interview Limit time required

Research Ethics  Ethics and the sponsor  Confidentiality Sponsor Nondisclosure Purpose Nondisclosure Findings Nondisclosure

Job Status and Internal Coalition Unneeded or Inappropriate Research Research Ethics  Ethics and the sponsor  The Sponsor-Researcher Relationship Knowledge Gap Job Status and Internal Coalition Unneeded or Inappropriate Research Right to Quality Research

Research Ethics  Ethics and the sponsor  Sponsor’s Ethics Violating Participant Confidentiality Changing data or creating false data to meet a desired objective Changing data presentations or interpretation Interpreting data from a biased perspective Omitting Sections of data analysis and conclusions Making Recommendations beyond the scope of the data collected.

Violating disclosure agreements Misrepresenting results Breaking Research Ethics  Ethics and the sponsor  Sponsor’s Ethics  Types of Ethical Violations Violating disclosure agreements Misrepresenting results Breaking confidentiality Deceiving participants Padded invoices Avoiding legal liability

Emphasize fact-finding role Terminate relationship Research Ethics  Ethics and the sponsor  Sponsor’s Ethics  What To Do If Coerced? Educate on purpose Explain problems Emphasize fact-finding role Terminate relationship Researchers may be asked by sponsors to participate in unethical behavior. What can the researcher do to remain ethical? There are four suggestions the researcher can attempt to educate the sponsor to the purpose of the research, explain the researcher’s role as a fact-finder, explain how distorting the truth or breaking faith will lead to future problems, and if the others fail, terminate the relationship.

Research Ethics  Researchers and Team Members Safety Ethical Behavior of Assistants Protection of Anonymity Researchers may be asked by sponsors to participate in unethical behavior. What can the researcher do to remain ethical? There are four suggestions the researcher can attempt to educate the sponsor to the purpose of the research, explain the researcher’s role as a fact-finder, explain how distorting the truth or breaking faith will lead to future problems, and if the others fail, terminate the relationship.

Research Ethics  Professional Ethical Codes of Conduct Three organizations offering codes specifically for researchers are the Marketing Research Association (MRA), the American Marketing Association (AMA), and the Council for American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO). You can go to the respective organization’s website where you can view the codes of ethics.

Research Ethics  Professional Ethical Codes of Conduct Enforceable Regulate Ethical Research in Practice: An Example Protect Many organizations have codes of ethics. A code of ethics is an organization’s codified set of norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about research behavior. Effective codes are those that: are regulative, protect the public interest and the interests of the profession served by the code, are behavior-specific, and are enforceable. Specify Behavior

Research Ethics  Ethical Research in Practice: An Example (English Teacher) The preparation proceeded on the following lines: Informal discussion with the head teacher to obtain agreement. Refinement of the topic, statement of the objectives of the study and preparation of a project outline. Discussion with tutor and further discussion with the Director of English (head teacher). Minor adjustments made to the project outline and a consideration of the methods to be used. Formal submission of the project outline to the head teacher, together with names of colleagues he wished to interview and certain guarantees and conditions under which the research would be conducted.

Research Ethics  Ethical Research in Practice: An Example (English Teacher) The conditions and guarantees were presented as follows: Participants will be offered the opportunity to remain anonymous. All information will be treated with the strictest confidentiality. Interviewees will have the opportunity to verify statements when the research is in draft form. Participants will receive a copy of the final report. The research is to be assessed by the university for examination purposes only, but should the question of publication arise at a later date, permission will be sought from the participants. The research will attempt to explore educational management in practice. It is hoped the final report may be of benefit to the school and to those who take part.

Research Ethics  Further Reading The Ethics and Integrity in Research checklist [2, PP. 59-60] International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) The U.S. Safe Harbor Agreement

Research Ethics  Key Terms Code of ethics Confidentiality Debriefing Deception Ethics Informed consent Nondisclosure Findings Purpose Sponsor Right to privacy Right to quality Right to safety Ethical Committee Confidentiality Anonymity

References Business Research Methods by Donald R Cooper, 12th Edition. Chapter 2 - Ethics in Business Research, PP 26-47 Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education, Health and Social Science, 5th Edition Chapter 3 - Ethics and Integrity in research, PP 44-62