05 RESEARCH IN ETHICS IN

FIELD METHODS

“Ethics” in simple terms is defined as

“norms for conduct” that distinguishes
between acceptable and unacceptable
behavior.

Milgram Experiment

ETHICS
pertains to doing good and avoiding
harm.
Harm can be prevented or reduced Little Albert
through the application of
appropriate ethical principles.
Thus, the protection of human
subjects or participants in any
research study is imperative

ETHICS- the study of good and bad,

MINIMIZE HARM, MAXIMIZE BENEFITS

Stanford Experiment
Kvale (1996) considered an interview to
Benefits of the research to society and
be a moral endeavour, claiming that the
possibly to the individual human
participant’s response is affected by the
subject.
interview, and that the knowledge gained
through the interview affects our Length of time the subject is expected to
understanding of the human experience participate.
Person to contact for answers to
questions or in the event of injury or
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS emergency.
Subjects' right to confidentiality and the
01. Research participants should not be
right to withdraw from the study at any
subjected to harm in any ways whatsoever.
time without any consequences.
02. Respect for the dignity of research
participants should be prioritized. INFORMED ASSENT

03. Full consent should be obtained from Please write in lay language suited to the
the participants prior to the study. age and educational level of the
participants, use a font size large enough
04. Adequate level of confidentiality of the to enable the participants to read the form
research data should be ensured. easily, and avoid the use of jargon and
technical terms.
05. Anonymity of individuals and
organizations participating in the research Confidentiality means that any identifying
has to be ensured. information is not made available to, or
accessed by anyone else.
06. Any type of communication in relation
to the research should be done with Anonymity is a stricter form of privacy
honesty and transparency. than confidentiality, as the identity of the
participant remains unknown to the
Participants need to be made aware of research team
purpose of the project,
who or what group is funding it,
how the findings will be used, if there
are any potential adverse impacts of
their participation and who will have
access to the findings.
A statement that participation is
voluntary and that refusal to
participate will not result in any
consequences or any loss of benefits that
the person is otherwise entitled to
receive.
Purpose of the research.
All foreseeable risks and discomforts to
the participant (if there are any). These
include not only physical injury but also
possible psychological.
Procedures involved in the research.
 Reporting of results and data (1) gently probe for the precise nature of
falsification any participant suspicions,
(2) explain the nature and purpose of any
when the researcher fails to collect any deception employed, and to do so in a
data and manufactures it. gradual and considerate manner, and
altering or omitting some of the data (3) to explain the true purpose of the
study, and the relationship
collected, in order for the results to fit a
preconceived biased trend.
guessing or creating missing data, in Practical Steps for for DEBRIEFING:
order to generate a complete data set
Allocate extra Time: Allow for additional
time in interviews to accommodate
emotional expressions and deviations
PLAGIARISM from the discussion guide without feeling
rushed.
(a) failure to double-check a source, or from
the failure to use quotations when relevant. Explain Right to Withdraw: Clearly
explain to participants that they can
(b)Failure to acknowledge secondary withdraw or skip questions at any time,
sources can also result in plagiarism. reinforcing their control over the
interview process.
(c)It is important that you always cite a
secondary source as such, Implement Participant-Led Check-Ins:
Regularly check in with participants to
(d) it is unethical to report information or assess their comfort level and willingness
points of view in a way that implies that to continue, especially if they become
you read the original work. emotional. This aligns with trauma-
informed practices and respects their
copying or close paraphrasing of someone autonomy, ensuring they are not
else’s work, and is considered a violation of pressured to continue if they are
the principle of integrity. uncomfortable.

Manage Expectations: Ensure participants

DEBRIEFING
are fully informed about the topics to be
A process debriefing procedure achieves covered, so they are never caught off
several goals: guard.

(1) ensures that participants are informed Provide Support Resources : offer access
of all deceptive to emotional support resources, i.e Office
elements of the study, of Psychological Wellness

(2) ensures that participants understand Ensure that participants leave with a
the positive feeling about research
occasional need for deception in some
research, and Assess the participants’ state of mind before
they leave, they should feel no worse than
(3) ensures that participants leave the they did before the study (if they do, be sure
study with to refer them to Counseling Services and
a better understanding of social you should complete an Adverse Events
psychological Form)
research and a positive regard for
research participation.
 HETEROSEXIST BIAS is defined as
conceptualizing human experience in
strictly heterosexual terms and
consequently ignoring, invalidating, or
derogating homosexual behaviors and
sexual orientation, and lesbian, gay male,
and bisexual relationships and lifestyles.

Formulating the Research Question:

1.Does the research question ignore or
deny the existence of lesbians, gay men
and bisexual people?
2.Does the research question devalue or
stigmatize gay and bisexual people?
3.Does the research question reflect the
cultural stereotypes of lesbians, gay men,
and bisexual people?
4.Does the research question implicitly
Interview tips,* a refresher assume that observed characteristics are
caused by the subject’s sexual orientation?
Adhere to ethical principles
Ask for consent.
Ensure privacy throughout the
interview or focus group discussion.
Convey in your actions and your
questions that you respect the
respondent’s autonomy. Remove any
mystery about the recorder/recording
device
Put the recorder within reach of the
respondent.
Tell the respondent they can turn it off
at will and show them how to do this. REMEMBER!
Assure the respondent that only In case of research with vulnerable groups
researchers will listen to the (e.g. Indigenous Peoples, First Nations,
recording. ethnic minorities):

TIPS FOR PEER DEBRIEFING

What was an interesting point that
arose in the interviews today?
Does this suggest an additional set of
questions to ask in future interviews? What
surprised you most about the questions?

Did anything particularly challenging

or difficult or unpleasant come up
during the interviews today? Should
we think of ways to mitigate these
challenges in the future?

Are there any questions that don’t

seem to be yielding useful
information? Should we update or
remove these questions?
 Researchers must not photograph the 2. Researchers from a European university
participants and publish their images flew to a Sub-Saharan country to do a
without the consent of the participant, study on childcare in one of the local
or in the case of children, without the communities. They did not ask the
consent of their parent or legal community for consent to participate in the
guardian, as well as the consent of the research. The researchers recorded the
child (children have the right to community’s daily life with a photo and
express their opinion). Even with adult
video camera. After the study, they returned
consent, every time we are going to
to their university and published the results
take a photograph of a child, we must
in one of European languages in an
ask the child for permission.
academic journal. The research results
were not translated into the language of the
Do not publish uncoded images of
participants that show them in a researched community, nor were they made
negative light, exposing their available to them.
emotional state (sadness, crying,
anger, fear) or when they are
unclothed (any undertones of
sexuality)

Let us summarize key rights of

participants involved in a social science
qualitative research (these apply for
quantitative research as well) that ensure
their ethical treatment:

the right to reflect before deciding to

participate in the study,

the right to refuse to participate in the

study without suffering any
consequences,

the right to refuse to answer certain

questions (e.g. in an interview),

the right to withdraw from the study at

any time,

the right to receive a guarantee of the

security of data obtained in the research
(recordings, notes),

the right to be anonymous (respondents’

names will not be collected and if, in
some case they are required, they will be
coded, so that they cannot be identified.
The general rule is not to collect names).