Lesson 2 Ethics in Research: The objectives of this lesson are:

• To foster ethical behavior,

• A Humanistic Approach to Research.
protecting the rights of research participants,
• Research on Human Participants Institutional maintaining research integrity, and
Research Review Boards (IRBs). preparing doctoral students to conduct
• Guiding Ethical Principles responsible and trustworthy research
throughout their careers.

Why This Lesson

Ethics in research is essential for protecting participants, maintaining trust, ensuring scientific integrity, and
promoting the positive impact of research on society. Researchers have a responsibility to uphold high ethical
standards to ensure that their work contributes to the advancement of knowledge while respecting the rights
and well-being of those involved in their studies.

A Humanistic Approach to Research

Respecting your audience and employing non-discriminatory language are ethical considerations that a
researcher must uphold. Educational researchers must remain vigilant about ethical matters in their research
endeavors. This vigilance arises from the dark chapters in research history, such as the mistreatment of individuals
in Nazi Germany and the unethical Tuskegee syphilis studies (Mark & Gamble, 2009).

As a response to these and other breaches in participant treatment, federal guidelines were formulated for
research practices, as articulated in the 1978 National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects on
Biomedical and Behavioral Research and its Belmont Report (Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,
1978). The Belmont Report revolves around three fundamental principles: the principle of beneficence
(maximizing benefits and minimizing risks for participants), the principle of respect for participants (protecting their
autonomy and ensuring their well-informed, voluntary involvement), and the principle of justice (ensuring a fair
distribution of risks and benefits).

Institutional Review Boards

• Campus departments were established to oversee the adherence to these three principles, and the concept
of institutional review boards (IRBs) came into existence. If research carried out on these campuses failed to
safeguard the well-being of participants, federal funding to those institutions could be withheld.

• Consequently, educational researchers at institutions receiving federal funds must familiarize themselves with
the processes of seeking approval from their institutional review board offices. They should also adhere to the
guidelines when preparing approval applications and crafting consent forms for participants to fill out,
ensuring the participants' protection.

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Ethical Practices throughout the Research Process

• In all research process steps, you need to engage in ethical practices. Practicing ethics is a complex matter
that involves much more than merely following a set of static guidelines such as those from professional
associations or conforming to guidelines from campus institutional review boards.

• Ethics has become a more pervasive idea stretching from the origins of a research study to its final completion
and distribution. Ethics should be a primary consideration rather than an afterthought, and it should be at the
forefront of the researcher’s agenda (Hesse-Bieber & Leavy, 2006).

• Of all of the steps in the research process, it does tend to relate more closely to the data collection and
reporting and distribution of reports than any of the other phases of research. A few of these issues will be
mentioned here.

Some Ethical Issues in Data Collection

• It is important to respect the site in which the research takes place. This respect should be shown by gaining
permission before entering a site, by disturbing the site as little as possible during a study, and by viewing
oneself as a “guest” at the place of study.

• Another strategy for respecting the research site with minimal disruption is to gain access through
gatekeepers (or officials). Researchers may need to consult with different gatekeepers at multiple levels in
an organization.

• For example, in a study in one high school classroom, the researcher sought permission from several
individuals, including the school board responsible for ensuring that the rights of human participants were
protected, the research official in the school district, the principal of the school, the teacher in a government
class, and the actual students who participated in the study and their parents.

• Additional ethical concerns emerge during the data collection phase and are linked to specific research
methodologies. It is crucial not to intentionally withhold beneficial treatments from some participants,
selectively publish only positive outcomes, or conceal the true purpose of the study from those involved.

• It is advisable to engage stakeholders in evaluating potential risks to participants and to refrain from coercing
participants into signing consent forms (S. Levy, personal communication, May 3, 2010). Researchers should
avoid practices that lead to power imbalances and should honor the customs and values of indigenous
cultures (Lincoln, 2009).

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 Guiding Ethical Principles

The Ethics of Research And Development (R&D)

Human participants
▪ Consent
▪ In consenting to participate in research, the process must be voluntary and based on a provision
of sufficient information and an adequate understanding of the purpose, aims, and risks of the
research, as well as what is required from participants.
▪ This includes: Has consent been provided to link these data to other data (including personal
data)?
▪ Privacy and confidentiality
▪ Privacy: the control that individuals have over who can access and manage their personal
information.
▪ Confidentiality: the process of keeping information gathered in research secure and ensuring that
access will be restricted to authorised users (data governance).
▪ Ownership of data and data governance
▪ This becomes an issue, particularly in relation to data sharing and data management, in projects
where data are being re-used or shared.
▪ Who is responsible for long-term maintenance of this data?
Ethical principles and the ethical rationale for and development of each principle
Table 1
Ethical principle Ethical rationale
Integrity, fairness and The quality of research depends in part on the integrity, fairness and
openmindedness of the openmindedness of the researcher.
researcher
Respect for others A researcher’s position is based on the development of trust and respect.
Avoidance of harm Any harm to participants must be avoided.
(nonmaleficence)
Privacy of those taking part Privacy is a key principle that links to or underpins several other principles
considered here.
Voluntary nature of The right not to participate in a research project is unchallengeable.
participation and right to
withdraw
Informed consent of those The principle of informed consent involves researchers providing sufficient
taking part information and assurances about taking part to allow individuals to
understand the implications of participation and to reach a fully
informed, considered and freely given decision about whether or not to
do so, without the exercise of any pressure or coercion
Ensuring confidentiality of Research is designed to answer ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘how’
data and maintenance of and ‘why’ questions, not to focus on those who provided the data to
anonymity of those taking answer these.
part
Responsibility in the analysis Assurances about privacy, anonymity and confidentiality must be upheld
of data and when analysing and reporting data.
reporting of findings
Compliance in the Research is likely to involve the collection of personal data.
management of data

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Notes and Sources: The ethical codes and guidelines listed in Table 1.0 helped inform the contents of this table.
Table 1.0 seeks to synthesise key points from many different approaches to writing ethical © UNITAR International
University Page 21 of 35 principles. It should not be interpreted as providing completely comprehensive guidance.
You are advised to consult the code of ethics defined as being appropriate for your research project. References
to legislation in Table 1.0 and elsewhere provide only general indications and should not be interpreted as
providing legal advice, or the existence of such types of law in all countries.

Questions to evaluate potential ethical concerns

▪ What is the purpose of asking this question?
▪ What will be the implications of asking it?
▪ What type(s) of data will you need to collect to answer it?
▪ How will you collect these data?
▪ What are the implications for those whom you ask to participate in this research?
▪ How might the research be used and with what consequences?

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 Figure 1.0 Sample of consent form

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