Ethical considerations when carrying out research in one’s own academic institution

This particular kind of research brings about a series of ethical considerations that may be quite unique to this scenario. One needs to mention the dual role of employee and researcher held by the person carrying out the research. There will certainly be ethical issues that one needs to consider when carrying out research on the institution where one’s colleagues, superiors, students, administration, and support staff, etc are found as they will form part of the research itself. This may ultimately lead the researcher to face conflicting values and beliefs that may affect the objectivity of the researcher and ultimately the validity of the research process itself.peer-reviewe

Ethical review and reflexivity in research of children's sexuality

Research in the area of children's sexuality is largely based on observational and retrospective studies. Childhood studies literature increasingly calls upon the inclusion of children's voices, yet with sensitive topics ethical positions often close research possibilities in the territories of children's worlds. Children are perceived as a vulnerable group, especially when the investigation focuses on their sexual development and activity – and it is perceived that this research area is too sensitive and potentially harmful to children. Within the context of beginning a qualitative study on children's sexuality in New Zealand (including interviews with children), this paper reviews a number of studies of childhood research. These studies provide a glimpse at how research focusing on children has been conducted, and explores ethical issues arising in such research. The significance of researcher reflexivity is acknowledged for ethical research practice. The paper concludes that in research on children's sexuality a process of ethical review is limited, and that researcher competence in sensitive investigations is required. Among other difficulties for this researcher (with a professional background in child and family therapy) is the vulnerability of being a man choosing to research children

Ethics in educational research: review boards, ethical issues and researcher development

Educational research, and research in the Social Sciences more generally, has experienced a growth in the introduction of ethical review boards since the 1990s. Increasingly, universities have set up ethics review procedures that require researchers to submit applications seeking approval to conduct research. Review boards and the rules and conditions under which they operate have been criticised as obstructive, unnecessarily bureaucratic, and even unethical. At the same time, review boards and their procedures have been acknowledged as contributing to consideration of the ethical conduct of research. This paper explores the issues related to ethical review and examines the wider ethical considerations that may arise during the research process. The paper concludes that a purely administrative process of review is inadequate to ensure the ethical conduct of research, especially qualitative research. Rather, it is argued that ethical research entails the resolution of a potential series of ethical dilemmas as they arise during research. As such, the ethical conduct of research is a matter of researcher formation and development

Ethical Research Primer for the Novice Researcher

As the research process is embarked upon, it is important that a novice researcher become well versed in ethical standards. Maintaining the highest level of ethical conduct is of paramount importance at all stages of the endeavor. Unethical behavior compromises research quality, slows the advancement of knowledge, and undermines societal trust. Thus, development of familiarity and expertise surrounding ethical complexities will enhance the chances of a successful and worthwhile research project. The purpose of this article is to create awareness of the ethical dilemmas novice researchers are faced with in maintaining the academic integrity of published works. The article explores the literature related to ethics in research, and provides a discussion of a number of ethical issues which threaten research quality

Critique [of Ethical Problems in Evaluation Research]

“Ethical Problems in Evaluation Research” by Elisabeth J. Johnson summarizes some of the salient ethical concerns in social science research such as the relative positions of power between researcher and subject, confidentiality and privacy, and “political interests” or the use of research findings by sponsors. The author concludes with proposals and cautions; of special relevance to readers of this journal is Kelman’s “participatory research” which enables people being studied to participate in the research design and implementation

The different grades students’ understanding levels of the concept of religion in turkish elementary education

The aim of this study is to examine the different grades students’ understanding levels of the concept of religion in elementary education. A total of 107 different grades students taken from elementary schools were asked the concept in using open ended question developed by the researcher. Obtained data showed that students couldn’t understand the concept correctly and scientifically and the majority of the students had a misconception about the concept such as worshipping, worships, being ethical, ethical behaviours and obligatory behaviours. Furthermore, some students had specific conceptual confusions about the concept

'You Don't Know How Lucky You Are to Be Here!': Reflections on Covert Practices in an Overt Participant Observation Study

There has been a tendency in sociology to see covert and overt roles of social researchers in participant observation studies as opposites. This is both in terms of the researcher role and the surrounding ethics, with the overt researcher role being seen as fundamentally more ethical than the covert participant observer. However, Calvey (2008) alleged that covert practices often remain unreported in overt accounts. The purpose of this paper is therefore to address this issue through reflections on my own research experience. Drawing on my research with the contemporary spiritual milieu in Scotland, I will argue that the covert and overt roles are far from opposites and should be seen as part of a continuum. The moral high ground attributed to overt research is often questionable and most overt studies will employ covert practices. It will therefore be argued that decisions regarding the role of the participant observer should be grounded in the intellectual contemplation of specific research situations, including ethical considerations, rather than condemning sound social enquiry on the misguided basis that overt research is always superior to covert studies because of its ethical standards. In conclusion it will be argued that all researchers have a responsibility to reflect honestly upon their research experience as part of wider reflexive turn in social research.Participant Observation; Ethics; Covert Research; Overt Research; Informed Consent; Researcher Role; Field Relations; Reflexivity

Ethical dilemmas of a clinician/researcher interviewing women who have grown up in a family where there was domestic violence

This article attempts to illuminate some of the ethical dilemmas of a clinician/researcher interviewing women about a sensitive topic- their experience of having witnessed domestic violence in the family they grew up in, as part of a grounded theory study. Vignettes are presented to illustrate the self-reflexive process of the researcher and how she understood the effects of the interview process on her and the participants. The authors argue that doing in-depth qualitative research interviewing is an intervention in the life of the participants, especially, but not only, when the researchers are clinically-trained. However, this clinical training may also be an important resource from which to draw from, to act ethically and understand some of the complexity of the interaction between researcher and participants.peer-reviewe

The ethics of sociocultural risk research

In socio-cultural risk research, an epistemological tension often follows if real hazards in the world are juxtaposed against the essentially socially constructed nature of all risk. In this editorial, we consider how this paradox is manifest at a practical level in a number of ethical dilemmas for the risk researcher. (1) In terms of strategies for seeking informed consent, and for addressing the power inequalities involved in interpretative and analytical work, researchers can find themselves pushing at the boundaries of standard understandings of ethical practices and ways of engaging informants in their studies. (2) Impact on participants is another key area of concern, since the subject matter on which data are collected in risk research may be a source of uncertainty, anxiety or unwanted self knowledge. (3) Risk researchers also face the possibility of institutional repercussions of raising risk issues with people who usually normalize the risks, thereby stimulating distrust in the institutions or organizations with formal responsibilities for risk management. There are no simple formulae to guide the researcher in dealing with such ethical issues and paradoxes. It is important, though, to recognize their specificity in risk studies, including the ambiguous status of questions about vulnerability since judgements about 'who is vulnerable' and 'in what ways' are themselves influenced by the situational framings and understandings of participants and researchers