Module+4+Ethical+Issues+in+educational+Research

Topic 1 - The National Statement on Ethical conduct When I first looked at this question, before consulting the national guidelines or any other references, I thought to myself; for anything to be considered ethical, I would expect that it would need to be considerate, respectful and thoughtful of the needs of humans. Humans are not inanimate objects; rather they are beings that have needs and feelings. Any research that dealt with humans would need to take the emotional and social issues into consideration. It would need to ensure that the human was not harmed in any way – socially, emotionally, physically, financially etc. It also occurred to me that it has been shown throughout history, that not all researchers or experimenters have acted with consideration in all these aspects; i.e. The Nazi experiments to name but 1 example, so it would seem to me to be vital to develop a set of guidelines for all to refer to. As Babbie (2011) points out, ‘Part of living successfully in a particular society, is knowing what that society considers ethical and unethical.’ (p67) Burton and Bartlett (2009) remind us that behaving ethically is not always as straightforward as it seems initially (p 31). It stands to reason that there would need to be a standardisation of these ethics, so that everyone involved with social research would know what was acceptable and expected. After reading the National Statement on Ethical Conduct (2007), I would summarise its purpose as: clarifying the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in human research. It covers ethical design of studies, the conduct and dissemination of findings and the running of review bodies. It ‘promotes ethically good human research’ and ‘sets national standards for any researcher.’ p7. Often with research based on or with humans, there can be dilemmas that arise. When does the greater good for example, outweigh affects to the individual? Guidelines such as this National Statement are necessary to help parties involved in these dilemmas, overcome them and reach agreement. As it points out on page 13, The statement is not just a set of rules for all to follow. // ‘Their application should not be mechanical. It always requires, from each individual, deliberation on the values and principles, exercise of judgement, and an appreciation of context.’ //  This area of ethics must hold particular importance for those of us in educational settings as all the observational research and data collection we do, involves children. Children can be very vulnerable and it is important that we ensure the child’s best interests are kept at the forefront of our minds. We need to consider how we set up the research and how we determine involvement. Should it be voluntary or compulsory? I guess this would depend on the purpose of the activity.  Research involving children and young people raises particular ethical concerns about:  · their capacity to understand what the research entails, and therefore whether their consent to participate is sufficient for their participation;  · their possible coercion by parents, peers, researchers or others to participate in research; and  · conflicting values and interests of parents and children. <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> (National Statement, p55) <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">The national Statement looks at the maturity level of the child, dividing them into four different categories and discussing their ability to understand research and give their consent. <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">As classroom teachers we are often conducting a form of research when we trial new ideas and methods in our teaching program. I know that I for one, have never thought of this as research and have never considered the ethics behind it and the need for consent from the child or parent. Do we need to consider gaining the child’s or even the parent’s consent every time we want to see how another classroom approach works? I have to wonder where we draw the line. <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">Much, if not all, of the educational research that is conducted in the 21st century is both governed and funded by recognised institutions. The National Statements states that; ‘Institutions are responsible for establishing procedures for the ethical review of human research.’(P8) <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">This establishment of procedures involves the submission of research proposals to specifically designed institutional review boards (IRB) for approval prior to the commencement of the research, as well as extensive review prior to publishing. If this area is handled efficiently by the institutions, surely this would ensure the guidelines would be followed. <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">References <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">
 * // <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">1. Why do we need ethical guidelines for research with humans? // **
 * // <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">2. What special requirements are needed for working with children under 18? // **
 * // <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">3. How can we insure that ethical guidelines are followed? // **

Babbie, E. (2011). The basics of social research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson.

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Burton, D. And Bartlett, S (2009). // Key issues for education researchers //. Sage Publications, London <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> National Health and Medical Research Council. (2007). National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. Retrieved January 21, 2011, from the website http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/e72syn.htm

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