Ethics in social research Kristi Winters. Ethics Ethics – ‘that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the.

Ethics in social research

Kristi Winters

Ethics Ethics – ‘that branch of philosophy dealing with

values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.’

Our challenge: how should we treat the individuals who participate in our research?

Are there activities in which we should not engage?

What are the professional standards of behaviour?

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethics

Ethics Ethical dilemmas are more likely to arise out of

qualitative research, more so than in quantitative survey research.

Because quantitative research relies on data, respondents to quantitative surveys (cross-sectional or longitudinal) and will not be experimented upon, but there are still issues of informed consent and protecting the privacy of participants (UK Data Protection Act).

Study of children, qual or quants, has additional requirements (background checks, etc.)

Ethics Murphy and Dingwall’s (2001, p. 339)

‘ethical theory’ Non-malfeasance – researchers should avoid

harming participants Beneficence – research on human

participants should produce some identifiable, positive benefit, not just be carried out for its own sake

Autonomy/self-determination – participants’ values and decisions should be respected

Justice – all people should be treated equally

Ethics

Ethical issues in social research Harm to participants Lack of informed consent Invasion of privacy Deception

Ethics

No harm to participants – physical harm, mental harm (stress, anguish), embarrassment, resentment at being labelled e.g. ‘early greys’ 50 year olds’.

Is this possible? What about IQ tests?

Ethics Voluntary – research disrupts respondent’s

normal activity, it should be on the basis of informed consent,

Covert observation? How to observer with vulnerable populations

who may not be able to give consent: Children, mentally challenged, elderly, people with

mental health issues Raises the issue of bias.

Is your volunteer sample representative? Can you generalise your results to the wider

population if only volunteers take part?

Ethics

Anonymity – Respondent not identified in any way. Data quality - a later researcher cannot

check whether questionnaires have been completed.

See: ‘The ethics of the secondary analysis and further use of qualitative data.’ http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU56.pdf

Ethics

Confidentiality – Information is confidential. Is this always possible?

UK Data Protection Act. What if immoral or illegal activities are

revealed?

Ethics

Deception – Deceiving respondents and participants about the nature of research.

Why do we use blind tests? Blinding is a basic tool to prevent conscious and subconscious bias in research.

What level of deception is acceptable? Sometimes you may need to be ‘economical

with the truth’ to get interviews. BUT, this is not investigative journalism.

Ethics – new challenges

Ethics in Internet research New area for social science research

Blogs List-serves Discussion groups E-mail Chat rooms Instant messaging Video clips (record events, people, activities)

Ethics – Internet research Exciting area for new research, but ethical and

data quality issues need careful consideration. Ethical decision-making and Internet research

http://www.aoir.org/reports/ethics.pdf Are online postings ‘public’ and therefore informed

consent is not required? Is lurking a form of covert non-participation? How does

that link up with informed consent? How can a researcher protect the confidentiality of an

individual when using what they’ve posted online? Read 3rd ed of Bryman or above link for seminar

discussion.

Ethics

Norms are abstract, but how to apply on the practical level?

Murphy and Dingwall (2001) identify two problems: Ethical codes are not method-sensitive, may

constraint research inappropriately and unnecessarily.

Ritualistic observation of these principles may not give real protection to participants, blunting researcher’s sensitivities to method-specific issues when they arise.

Ethics

Research methods are neutral (statistical analysis, interviewing as a method), but the individuals applying them rarely are.

Do not fudge results to fit with normative or political views – remember your study must be replicable to be valid.

What if your results suggest an undesirable conclusion? Example: Sex and electability – women are less likely to be elected if they run for office.

Best policy: be honest in reporting your methods and results – admit errors and shortcomings in your research design as well as accidental findings.

Ethical Stances Universalism

Ethical precepts should never be broken. To do so is morally wrong and damaging to social research.

Relative Ethics Deception should be considered on a case-

by-case basis Ends justifies the means – deception is

legitimate to gain data which would otherwise not be available.

Ethical Stances

All research is ethically questionable If this is the case (via deception) then

dishonesty is legitimate to gain ‘honest’ data

Ethics are irrelevant Ethics considerations are trivial compared

with the ethical transgressions made by large institutions.

Any deception is legitimate so long as no harm comes to the participant.

Ethical Stances

Ethical pluralism ‘Ethical concerns arise not only when we

encounter apparent conflicts in values and interests– but also when we recognize that there is more than one ethical decision-making framework used to analyze and resolve those conflicts.’ (Ess et al, 2002)

Ethics Another aspect of ethical research considers the

originality of the work (plagiarism) and the legitimacy of the work (fraud, fabrication of data) ‘The scientific research enterprise is built on a

foundation of trust. Scientists trust that the results reported by others are valid. Society trusts that the results of research reflect an honest attempt by scientists to describe the world accurately and without bias. But this trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct.’ National Academy of Sciences, 2009 On Being a Scientist

Ethics

The potential ethical concerns you might encounter in your research and how you may handle them should form one part of your research design

Ethics section in your project essays What ethical issues might you face? How will you ensure your research is

ethically produced?

Six key principles of ethical research Research should be designed, reviewed and undertaken to

ensure integrity and quality Research staff and subjects must be informed fully about the

purpose, methods and intended possible uses of the research, what their participation in the research entails and what risks, if any, are involved.

The confidentiality of information supplied by research subjects and the anonymity of respondents must be respected

Research participants must participate in a voluntary way, free from any coercion

Harm to research participants must be avoided The independence of research must be clear, and any conflicts

of interest or partiality must be explicit

Source: ESRC Research Ethics Framework www.esrc.ac.uk

Ethics

Think about how you would develop a research proposal that explicitly addresses the 6 points of ethical research above.

What might be some key questions the research should explore?

What methods would you use & why? What potential ethical problems could you

identify in planning and undertaking a research project in this area?

How would you build up trust with participants? What would you use the research for?

Legal considerations

Controlling access to computer systems and files

Take the following measures to control access to computer systems and research files: Computers holding data will be lockable by a

password system to prevent unauthorised access Computers holding data will be protected by a firewall

system and security-related upgrades will be carried out regularly

Written forms, such as completed questionnaires, will be kept in a locked cabinet

Legal considerations

Standard practice: ‘The interviewer should inform the interviewee of their

rights under any copyright or data protection laws. ‘...Researchers making audio or video recordings

should obtain appropriate copyright clearances,’ (British Sociological Association’s Statement of Ethical Practice 2002:2).

Compliance: discuss with participants their rights under copyright

laws and explain what signing the copyright form means.

Consent forms

Information sheets to provide details required under informed consent which will include: an overview of the research project (including funding

sources, institutional affiliation and contact details) what is involved in participating participants have a right to withdraw at any time usage of the data strategies to protect confidentiality and anonymity and

copyright.

Consent forms

Consent forms which reviews the above details and is to be co-signed by the participant and the researcher. Participants will be given received separate terms of consent for interviews and focus group data collection. The participant will be given copies of the signed consent form for their records.

Consent form It will affirm:

the participant has read and understood information about the project

s/he has been given the opportunity to ask questions s/he voluntarily agrees to participate in the project the participant understands that he or she can withdraw

at any time without giving reasons and without penalty the procedures regarding confidentiality and anonymity

have been explained to them the use of the data in research, publications, sharing and

archiving has been understood

Schedule

Next two weeks: reading week and workshop week.

Next section will examine methods of data gathering.