To aid my approach to ethical research, the form we had to complete and submit helped me ask important questions as to why I was conducting this research and how to ensure my participants were at the centre are of what I do.
To start with, I reviewed the British Educational Research Associations guidelines for educational research and UAL’s Code of practice on research ethics.
The principles that underline the guidelines, outline that research should be conducted with integrity so that researchers’ actions and activities can be seen to be ethical, justifiable and sound. (Important Documents – the BERA Handbook, no date)
Some of the guiding principles require researchers to employ the most appropriate method of research that embeds and maintains integrity. To consider and respect the privacy, autonomy, diversity, values and dignity of individuals groups and communities. (BERA, 2024)
The guiding principles within UAL’s Code of Practice on Research Ethics, are respect for persons, justice and beneficence. The ethics form we completed helped me to consider and aim to deliver on these principles.
Through my research I am hoping to extend my knowledge and understanding of student placement activities from the perspective of my student group (learners) and academic colleagues (educators) through my research activities.
Key amendments to ethics approach and responses to 1st draft of submitted ethics form:
Q1.1 How will you ensure your sample is representative of the cohort as a whole? Representativeness is important in your case as you are getting information from a small group and hoping to extrapolate from it.
I amended this approach and decided to use current student timetabled and pre-designed/arranged DPS lectures as a means for conducting group observations and data gathering. This was because existing lectures were already designed around the themes of placements and placement experiences and delivered to the whole cohort.
Q,2.1 Check… do you already know the answers to some of these questions? (if so, why are you asking them, etc).
I reduced the scope of my research and decided not to include interviews of external placement providers. This was in order to simplify the research process, to focus on the student experience and tutor feedback, for feasibility of time management and availability of participants.
To account for my decision to use current lectures as part of my research, I had to review the method of gaining verbal consent from the large number of participants that would attend two separate DPS lectures.
After consulting with my tutors and after much deliberation on the most ethical way to proceed, I decided on the following approach based on these considerations:
- To protect students right to refuse participation.
- Ensure students do not feel put on the spot or pressured into giving consent by devising a way for refusal of consent to be given discreetly.
- For lecture 1. Devise a feasible way of pausing the recording if students did not wish to be recorded during their participation in Q&A.
- For lecture 2. Devise a method for all students to participate in mind mapping activity which allowed for only consenting participants to submit their maps for research.
- Ensure ALL students were able to fully participate in the lecture, regardless of if they had given consent or not.
At the start of the lecture I shared a presentation slide with information about the research I was conducting and outlining the basic scope of the research. The slide asked for their consent and advised of their right to refuse to participate and withdrawal of participation after the event..
Lecture 1 (140 attendees). Gaining verbal consent to use activity sheets that were part of the lecture for research.
Students were given details on activities to be conducted in lecture. Students were advised to not write their names on sheets, and only hand in their completed activity sheets if they gave consent for it to be used as part of the research. This allowed for discrete non-participation from students who did not give consent.
Lecture 2 (121 attendees) . Gaining verbal consent for the final years feedback Q&A session to be audio recorded as part of research.
Students were advised at the start of the lecture that it would be recorded. All final year students participating on the panel agreed to be recorded. Student audience members who wish to ask a question during the Q&A section of lecture were advised to raise their hands if they wished to ask a question and either give a thumbs up to agree for their question to be recorded or a thumbs down to indicate they did not wish to be recorded. This allowed for discrete non-participation from students who did not give consent.
Thankfully all Q&A participants agreed to have their questions recorded.
References
Important Documents – the BERA Handbook (no date) www.bera.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk/about/bera-handbook.
BERA (2024) Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research, Fifth Edition (2024), www.bera.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-fifth-edition-2024.
UAL (no date) University of the Arts London Code of Practice on Research Ethics, arts.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/43328/UAL-Code-of-Practice-on-Research-Ethics-October-2020.pdf.