1. Research Ethics Dr Natasha Whiteman
School of Media, Communication and Sociology
University of Leicester

2. Today Why do we care about research ethics?
Key ethical principles in research
Ethics of online research.
Implications of ethics for your own work.

3. What do we mean by research ethics?
Ethics – ethical principles as applied to the activity of research
Risk – i.e. risks of research activity – to safeguard the safety of yourself and others
“a risk assessment must be completed before research is commenced” (UCL Code of Conduct for Research)
Legal frameworks and codes of practice
Relevant to ALL researchers – across the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

4. Why behave ethically?
As researchers we have a responsibility to behave ethically
To protect the rights of individuals, communities and environments involved in research
To assure favourable climate of public trust for continued research
To meet public demands for accountability and legal codes of responsible behaviour

5. Ethics in a changing academic context…
Contemporary codes of research ethics emerge from ethical frameworks developed to protect human subjects in biomedical research.
Increasing bureaucratisation and institutionalisation of research ethics
Move away from the expert authority of individual researcher
Introduction of ethics committees in UK higher education institutions
Increasing surveillance of research activity

6. “perverse consequences” of ethical regulation (Dingwall, 2008, 5)

7. What this means for you…
“At the Institute, all research projects by staff, students or visitors which collect or use data from human participants including secondary data analysis, systematic reviews and pilot studies, are required to gain ethical approval before data collection begins.”

8. Ethics and the Process of Research
Data analysis
Designing Sampling
Strategy
Research question
Dissemination
Data collection
Literature reviewing
Data Management
“Writing-Up”
APPLYING
FOR ETHICS
APPROVAL

9. To whom are we ethically responsible as researchers?
Our participants
Our sponsors
The University
The general public
Ourselves

10. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

11. Key terminology relating to research ethics
Human Subject
Informed consent
Right to Withdraw
Privacy: Confidentiality and Anonymity
Disclosure

12. “The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential
“The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, over-reaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved, as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. This latter element requires that, before the acceptance of an affirmative decision by the experimental subject, there should be made known to him the nature, duration, and purpose of the experiment; the method and means by which it is to be conducted; all inconveniences and hazards reasonably to be expected; and the effects upon his health or person, which may possibly come from his participation in the experiment.
The duty and responsibility for ascertaining the quality of the consent rests upon each individual who initiates, directs or engages in the experiment. It is a personal duty and responsibility which may not be delegated to another with impunity.” (1947 Nuremberg Code.)

13. What is the difference between a “subject” and an “object”
What is the difference between a “subject” and an “object”? What is a “human subject”?

14. “Human Subjects”
“a living individual about whom an investigator conducting research obtains
data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or
Identifiable private information” (US Department of Health and Human services)
“‘Human participants’ (or subjects) are defined as including living human beings, human beings who have recently died (cadavers, human remains and body parts), embryos and foetuses, human tissue and bodily fluids, and human data and records (such as, but not restricted to medical, genetic, financial, personnel, criminal or administrative records and test results including scholastic achievements). (ESRC, 2005, 7)

15. “Human participants”

16. Informed Consent
“Informed consent” refers to the idea that research participants should always be provided with enough information to make an informed decision about whether or not they want to take part in your study.
Consent to take part in a research project should be voluntary, informed and obtained without duress

17. Voluntary Informed Consent
The Right to Withdraw
Participants have the right to withdraw from the project including after the data has been collected
They should be informed of this right
Any attempt to convince a participant not to withdraw should be carefully considered to ensure that no coercion or duress is being used
The possibility of a withdrawal after data collection should be considered in the planning stage to ensure that such an occurrence would not have a serious detrimental effect on the project

18. Informed consent guidance
It is expected that informed consent will be gained from all participants in research. The IOE REC will request to see information sheets and consent forms when you submit your application. If you do not intend to use these documents then this will need to be addressed in your ethics application.

21. Voluntary Informed Consent
Questions to consider:
Is the participant competent to make their own decision regarding participation?
Are the participants free to choose to participate or not to participate?
Have the participants sufficient information to make this decision?
Do the participants fully understand this information?

22. Working with Children Legal aspects:
Children defined as anyone under 18 years of age
One key question:
From Whom do we obtain consent?
Child consent?
Parental consent?
Gatekeeper consent?

23. Consent from Children
“In line with article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires that children who are capable of forming their own views should be granted the right to express them freely in all matters affecting them, commensurate with their age and maturity, it is expected that efforts should be made to obtain informed consent from children involved in any research”
“Research Concerning Children and Young People,”

24. When Might Informed Consent Not Be Appropriate?
Observation in public places
Research necessitating deception
Covert research
Using data in the public domain

25. Rights, Interests, Dignity and Safety of Participants and Related Persons
Participants’ rights need to be considered throughout the research – not just at the beginning.
This includes the dissemination stage, when you are writing up your research.
Participants should be protected from undue risk
Participants should be protected from physical and psychological harm

26. Confidentiality and Anonymity
Confidentiality exists when only the researchers are aware of the participants’ identities and have promised not to reveal those identities to anyone else
Anonymity means that there is no way individual participants can be identified from any of the data or information collected from them in the research

27. Vidich and Bensman’s “ Springdale , New York” (1958)
Sociological study of social/political life in a small town “Springdale” (pseudonym)
Researchers ensured participants that their anonymity/privacy would be maintained.
Publication of Small Town in Mass Society (1958) resulted in anger/hostility because:
it was easy for those living in “Springdale” to identify “anonymised” participants
inhabitants were insulted by the researchers’ characterisations of the town and its people
RESULT: Refusal to co-operate with any social scientists in the future, no possibility of follow-up.

28. Confidentiality and Anonymity
Questions to think about:
What procedures or practical steps are you taking to ensure the both anonymity and confidentiality are preserved?
Will data be stored electronically in coded form or with participant names attached?
Will hard copies of questionnaires be retained with respondents’ names – if so how securely will they be stored?
Who will have access to the data?

29. Data Protection Act (1998)
Relates to the processing of personal data (information) about individuals
Collecting data – only collect data that there is a legitimate research reason for collecting – “fair and for a specified purpose”
Handling data - Process and store data about individuals only with their consent
“Informed”consent – why collecting data? for what purpose? how will it be stored? who will have access? will it be published?
Disclosure - Do not disclose personal data about identified individuals to other people without their permission
Personal data on individuals should not be stored or archived any longer than is necessary for legitimate research reasons

30. Disclosure
On occasions a researcher may unexpectedly observe illegal behaviour or behaviour that is likely to be harmful to the participants or others
In these cases, the researcher must consider carefully whether to disclose this information to the appropriate authorities
In so far as possible, researchers should inform participants and/or their guardians of their intention to disclose and the reasons for this

31. ETHICAL CODES OF PRACTICE

32. Ethical codes and guidelines
Answering ethical questions can be difficult
There are not always ‘right’ answers
Need to weigh the benefits of our research against negative costs to individual participants
Action is also shaped by professional guidelines on ethical research practice:
concerning privacy, confidentiality and anonymity
Individual principles and rules do not provide the answer but can provide a framework for thinking about ethical dilemmas and defending decisions

33. “Commitment to a Code of Ethics will ensure that all research is conducted according to the following concerns:
To respect the autonomy of individuals
To avoid causing harm
To treat people fairly
To act with integrity
To use resources as beneficially as possible”

34. Ethics guidelines
British Sociological Association “Statement of Ethical Practice” (2017)
British Educational Research Association “Ethical guidelines for educational research” (2018)
What similarities/differences can you identify between these two codes of practice?

35. Internet research

36. The Internet and Ethical Uncertainty
To what extent are ethical principles established in the study of offline environments relevant to the study of online sites?
What is the role/responsibility of researchers in these new environments
What is the status of data sourced from these settings?
Legal/institutional responses.

37. The “Internet” is not one thing
Recognition of the diverse nature of online environments
Variance between environments in respect of:
public/privateness
modes of communication
visibility of participation
durability of content
sensitivity of topic/content
expectations of use/audience
Complexity of individual environments

38. Example: Facebook Potentially sensitive content
Houses personal information
Connection between online profiles and offline subjects
Complex status in terms of public/private distinction
“semi-public” environment: involves membership and requires registration but open to all (Elm 2009)
Access to profiles tailored through privacy settings
Users’ confusion about privacy settings and anticipated audience
Other parties observing/using content (journalists, law enforcement)
Issues relating to the ownership of content
Users grant the site “an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license to use” their personal information.
Environment in process: eg Introduction of “news feed” (2006)

40. Consent should be sought from participants before involving them in research
Obtaining informed consent from participants within online environments may prove disruptive to the researched community.
From whom should we seek consent?
Owners? Moderators? Individual members?
Does our research involve “human subjects”?
“Representations or People?” (White, 2002)
Textual approaches to online activity.
Challenging the “dominance of a spatial paradigm” for understanding the internet (Basset and O’Riordan, 2002, 236).

41. Do we need to obtain consent??
Facebook profiles.
“tweets”
Postings to a publicly accessible forums
Medical support groups?
Football fan sites?

42. Permission should be sought to enter closed spaces for the purpose of research
What counts as a “closed” space online?
Not an either/or issue
Degrees or “layers” of publicness (boyd)
Distinction between “technical” and “perceived” markers of privacy
Technical = focus on access (Passwords? Invitations to enter? Gatekeepers?)
Perceived = focus on expectations of participants

43. Anonymising research subjects is important to protect privacy
Attributing authorship may be as important as protecting privacy
Naming/crediting sources common within humanities research
Evidence that some online participants would expect to be credited if their posts are used.

44. What is our role as researchers?
To protect and/or to educate?
Entering into complex environments
Who else is observing these settings?
Marketing, journalists, law enforcement, bots etc..
Should researchers support misguided expectations of the privacy/publicness of online environments?

45. Implications for your work

46. What ethical issues might arise in your research?
Informed consent
Research relationships
Power dynamics in relationship between researcher and researched
Insider research (including conflict of interest/values)
Research topic/population
Sensitive topics
Vulnerable groups
Research Methods
Negotiating access (gatekeepers)
Covert observation/deception
Intrusive interventions
Risk of harm to participants (including stress, anxiety or humiliation)
Data collection, archiving and management
Confidentiality and data protection
Records of personal or confidential nature.
Dissemination and Publishing

47. To Finish…

48. Things to consider before and during research
Your own motivations
Eg how could your links to sponsors, personal convictions or career aspirations produce conflicts of interest?
Consent
Do you have informed consent?
Necessary elements: information; understanding; voluntariness; competence of potential participants; actual consent.
Confidentiality
Who has access to your data? How will it be stored? What will happen after research is completed? How are you going to inform your informants of confidentiality

49. Things to consider before and during research
Harm
Could your research cause physical, psychological, cultural, financial, legal or environmental damage? How easily can participants withdraw from the research after it begins? Have similar studies been done before?
Dissemination and feedback
Are results available and comprehensible to participants? Could they be misinterpreted or misused? Who ‘owns’ the results? You? Your sponsor?
Cultural awareness
Have you considered the personality, rights, beliefs and ethical views of your researched individuals/communities?
Would you wish to be treated as you are treating your research participants?

50. Dr Natasha Whiteman new9@le.ac.uk
MS7005 Research Methods and Management
Dr Natasha Whiteman