Quali Research Ethics

Question 1

Research ethics use

Answer 1

• set of moral principles guiding researchers to carry out their work in a way that protects the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of the participants (people and/or animals)
• applied at all stage ps of research process
• risks should not exceed benefits

Question 2

Ethic principles

Answer 2

• voluntariness — right to refuse to participate. right to withdraw and/or refuse to answer any question or engage in any activity
• informed consent — record written, verbal or electronic consent. only collect info from people if they have fully understood purpose of research, what it entails and have agreed to participate. use of secondary data must be consistent with consent originally given. providing participant an information sheet covering: who researcher is, funding, purpose, use, storing and disposing of data, what participating entails, access to data, any risk involved, etc…
• avoidance of harm — reasonable steps taken to ensure psychological, financial and physical well-being of participants is not affected during or after participation. also consider researcher safety and well-being
• confidentiality and anonymity — responsible for preserving confidentiality (ie. No sharing info gained that may disclose participants’ identities to unauthorised parties) and anonymity (ie. Concealing identities by removing identify in info from data and not referring to it in product). ensure privacy in interviews. exceptions for research involving vulnerable groups: but need to disclose protocol for people disclosing that they or someone else is at risk of harm
• avoid use of deception — not representing research as something it is not, or not being candid with participants to achieve more ‘natural’ response. conflict of interest should be disclosed and transparency when reporting methods and negative or null results

Question 3

Do’s and don’t’s

Answer 3

• only collecting data needed to answer research questions
• anonymising data where possible (cannot be linked to individual) and pseudonym used if not possible (can be linked to individual using a ‘key’)
• store all data on secure server
• if using mobile devices ensure they are password protected (and ideally encrypted)
• destroy data securely after research has been fully assessed
• keep physical record in safe place

Question 4

Ethical review

Answer 4

• checks that researchers have considered how ethical principles will be adhered to, identified risks and have a clear plan regarding how risks will be mitigated
• failure to adhere to review processes can be considered academic misconduct