Nurrr Education Today (1988) 8, W-186 @ Longman Group UK Ltd 1988

EDITORIAL

Ethical issues in teaching research

‘Doing Social Research is not, according to the introduction, a textbook on research methods but ‘a practical guide for pupils on how to do their own research’ (Langley 1987) It covers topics you might expect in such a volume. There are chapters on starting research, primary and secondary sources of data, choosing research methods, presenting data explaining results, writing a research project and so on. It includes practical help on using the main tools of data collection and is presented simply with a number of illustrations and cartoons.

The publication attracted my attention for two reasons. One was the intended readership; it is designed to provide guidance for school chil- dren on the course work component of GCSE Sociology and Social Science courses. The other reason was that these children are not learning about research but they were doing it. Many people now learn to do research while at school and not necessarily in the laboratory; they are using social research methods to carry out their own projects.

Research methods have been included in the nursing curriculum particularly in post-basic courses for a number of years, yet we still have problems in what and how we teach this subject. During the 1970’s any nurses who knew some- thing about research, senior nurses, librarians and medical consultants became accustomed to receiving letters from nurses saying (in effect) ‘I’m doing a course and have to do a research project. . . Please send me all available informa- tion on X’. As one Head of Department said ‘I just tell them now that I cannot do their project for them’. This approach was at one time so common that it was clear that students on many post-basic nursing courses were not taught basic library skills and were required to carry out projects without adequate supervision. Fortu- nately the situation has improved considerably since that time and most nurse tutors have access

to good library resources and draw on available research literature as a basis for teaching. However, for many, nursing research means carrying out a survey and some people are now receiving a ‘fairly constant barrage of ques- tionnaires from students’ on post-basic nursing courses. (Nursing Times 1988).

There are several reasons why students on short courses should not carry out fieldwork of this type. Questionnaires should only be used if the information cannot be obtained in any other way and is of sufficient importance to merit the use of this approach. Busy professionals should not be subjected to such encroachments on their time for a student project. (RCN 1975) One may argue that they do not need to, they could just ignore such requests. However if this happens frequently the recipients are likely to ignore all questionnaires even within a major research programme.

Thus even if the questionnaire itself is a valid instrument of a well conceived and executed project it may still be considered unethical (RCN 1975) However many are of doubtful quality. Some of those I have seen are no more than forms for collecting information; they do not form part of a research design nor are they analysed appropriately and the authors may use research terms in ways that show a lack of understanding. Adequate supervision might enable these students to learn from the experi- ence but it is doubtful whether this happens. It seems more likely that they will either believe that they have learned to do research or dis- illusioned, decide to avoid research activity in the future.

The best way to learn to do research is by experience as one of the Nursing Times corres- pondents pointed out (Nursing Times 1988) Researchers learn their trade by doing it - usually as a student assistant to a more experi- enced researcher in the discipline; a research

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degree is the usual training qualification. The were considered desirable. While we may agree student is normally working under supervision that all nurses should have some knowledge of and does not embark upon fieldwork without research, questions remain about how much, for the advice and support of the more experienced what purpose and how it should be taught person. (Mander 1988).

What these two groups, the children for whom Langley has written (above) and the research students have in common is that neither is studying research for its own sake; it is not a subject in itself but a means to increase know- ledge and understanding of a particular area or field of study. The children who use Langley’s book are learning about the society in which they live; the research students are learning how to advance knowledge in their chosen field of study.

However before learning to do research most people have learned to use it and understand it in the process of learning their subject. Whether in biological or social sciences, medical or nursing students should be reading and evaluat- ing research if they are to reach the frontiers of knowledge in their discipline. Practitioners must learn to keep up with knowledge in their field and this means reading research reports intelli- gently, but they can do this without having experience of doing fieldwork. Students of physical sciences may well be able to do labora- tory work as part of their studies but in the social sciences students may do little fieldwork for ethical as well as practical reasons. In order to read and evaluate research reports much has to be learned about the research process, including the development of theories and concepts and statistical analysis. The requirements for disser- tation work even at Master’s level include a critical analysis of the literature and perhaps a research proposal. Even this is difficult to achieve in the short time available (for example 3 months for a dissertation at the end of a taught course) and there may be too few experienced people available to supervise the number of students even if more involvement in fieldwork

Those who attend post-basic courses are there to advance their knowledge and skills in some aspect of nursing, midwifery or health visiting and other subjects relating to their work; their learning objectives may include using research rather than doing it. As teachers we need to keep this in mind in planning such courses. Certainly learning by doing is more interesting and effective and there are many exercises of value in learning about research in nursing. These include carrying out a literature search and making critical analysis of published research - both essential for professional practice as well as research. Students can also learn about descrip- tive and inferential statistics or write a research proposal; indeed there are many interesting learning exercises which could be developed where time and resources permit. Langley gives many examples for doing research each exercise is very carefully thought out. If, for example, the children write away for information it is to a pressure group who wish to dispense it for example to Headteachers! There are sources of data for collection and analysis which could be used; for example, analysis of documentary and statistical - and surely there are opportunities for students to learn to do small experiments in college whether in testing equipment or evaluat- ing aseptic procedures. At least they would learn that there is more to research than doing a survey!

References

JEAN F. WALKER

Langley P 1987 Doing social research - a guide to coursework. Causeway Books

Mander R 1988 ‘Encouiaging students to be research minded’ Nurse Education Todav 8. 1: 30-35

Nursing Times 1988 Letters May ’