Objectives
The main objective of this chapter is to outline the purpose of research ethics, and how ethical considerations can and should influence how you plan and conduct your research.
Key Points
When the subject of ethical behaviour with respect to research is raised, there are only two certainties. The first is that there are ethical considerations embedded in all research projects. The ethical issues may be very different, and some areas of research require higher levels of ethical assurances than others, but the requirement to observe appropriate ethical behaviour is incumbent on all researchers. It is worth noting here that ethical behaviour is socially constructed, and is not absolute, so it will vary with time and context; e.g. when working with children or vulnerable adults.
The second certainty is that the onus is upon the researcher(s) to demonstrate that their conduct is within the law and will not cause harm to anyone as a result of any actions pertaining to the research. The cardinal principle to be applied is to ensure respect for human dignity.
Video of questions being asked to 3 professors.
Forum Theatre: Participatory ethics through participatory theatre (part of connected communities project).
A detailed handbook on ethical guidelines for biomedical research with useful links to other resources.
Research ethics guidebook; a very useful set of resources for social scientists, packed with useful information and further links.
This one-hour performance offers an opportunity to experience the use of Forum Theatre as a means of reflecting practically on ethical challenges in participatory research. The team depicted a scenario based on a real ethical problem faced in community-university partnership research. Members of the ‘audience’ were invited to change places with some of the ‘actors’ to explore different possibilities for action. Forum Theatre is an enjoyable, creatively challenging way to explore complexity and difficulty, used internationally to explore obstacles, dilemmas and oppressions within many different communities/groupings. It is based on ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ developed by Brazilian director, Augusto Boal (1931-2009), which challenges people to become powerful and active participants in relation to issues that matter to them.
1 hour long
A web page highlighting key issues in community-based participatory research, including links to other resources providing guidelines and examples of research ethics in context.
Durham University project that looked at ethical issues in community-based and participatory research, includes links to documents and videos (including above).