research methods and ethics
TRANSCRIPT
RESEARCH METHODS AND ETHICS
Nottingham University Business School-ChinaPeter LambJoon ParkXiaolan Zheng
Quantitative research Measurement of social variables Common research designs: surveys and experiments Numerical and statistical data Deductive theory testing Positivist epistemology Objectivist view of reality as external to social actors
Qualitative research Understanding the subjective meanings held by actors
(interpretivist epistemology) Common methods: interviews, ethnography Data are words, texts and stories Inductive approach: theory emerges from data Social constructionist (subjective) ontology
Mixed methods research Both quantitative and qualitative research
Ethical issues Conducting experiments (interviews, survey… etc.)
How should we treat the people on whom we conduct research? Are there activities in which we should – or should not – engage in our
relations with those people?
Writing up the research
Why is it important? Prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting
research data promote the truth and avoid error.
Ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness
Many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable to the public Ethical norms in research also help to build public support for research.
Many of the norms of research promote a variety of other important moral and social values, such as social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, compliance with the law, and health and safety
What is “ethical” research? Based on Diener and Chandall (1978) we can say that
behaving ethically means:
No harm should come to research participants,
They should agree to participate and know what the research is about,
Their privacy should not be invaded,
They should not be lied to or cheated.
How could you harm research participants? Physically By damaging their development or self-esteem By causing stress By hurting their career prospects or employment
opportunities By breaking confidentiality By revealing their identity
Informed consent / information sheet Research participants must know that is what they are and
what the research process is.
Invasion of privacy Privacy is very much linked to the notion of informed consent
The research participant does not abrogate the right to privacy entirely by providing informed consent
Covert methods are usually deemed to be violations of the privacy principle
The issue of privacy is invariably linked to issues of anonymity and confidentiality in the research process
Deception Deception usually means we represent our research as
something other than it is, so that participants will respond more naturally.
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. American Psychological Association, 2013. Principle A states that psychologists must take care of those they work with
and thus cause them no harm.
Principle B states that psychologists must uphold professional standards of conduct.
Principle C: Integrity
Principle D states that psychologists must recognize that fairness and justice entitle all persons to access to and benefit from the contributions of psychology and to equal quality in the processes, procedures and services conducted by psychologists.
Principle E states that psychologists respect the dignity and worth of all people and allow the individuals to have privacy and confidentiality.
Writing up the research Plagiarism Fabrication and falsification Nonpublication of data Faulty data-gathering procedures Poor data storage and retention Misleading authorship Sneaky publication practices
It applies to who? The UNNC system for ethics approval and notification
applies to all research involving human participants, animals and datasets relating to people.
It applies all staff, students and visiting researchers –including class projects that involve data collection as well as researchers who are collecting data for their own research purposes.
Failing to complete and submit at ethics form will result in a charge of academic misconduct !!!
You must not… YOU MUST NOT BEGIN ANY DATA COLLECTION
INVOLVING HUMAN BEINGS OR ANIMALS UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED ETHICS APPROVAL FOR YOUR RESEARCH.
UG students & PGT students:Submit to module convenor or
supervisor
Minimal risk application?
Module convenor or supervisorsends it to the
Research Ethics Office
Module convenor or supervisor
approves
Yes
No
Module convenor or supervisor
discusses with students for
revision
Minimal risk revised
application?
Yes
No
Module convenor or supervisorsends it to the School Ethics
Reps
UG and PGT (master degree) students
UG & PGT Students If your research involves human participants, animals,
datasets relating to people (e.g., questionnaires, surveys, interviews)…
You need to fill out the ethical approval form when you are using secondary data from data provider, such as CSMAR and COMPUSTAT.
UG and PGT (master degree) students Step1. Fill in the standard forms for student research:
research ethics approval form, participant consent form, participant information sheet. (http://www.nottingham.edu.cn/en/research/researchethics/ethics-approval-process.aspx)
Step2. Submit them to your supervisor (not the School Ethics Panel)
http://www.nottingham.edu.cn/en/research/researchethics/ethics-approval-process.aspx
SECTION 1: THE RESEARCHER(S)
See the next slide
The consent form / information sheet In some circumstances verbal consent may be appropriate
(without the consent form), but researchers will have to provide justification for this in SECTION 7b: FURTHER INFORMATION & JUSTIFICATION OF METHODOLOGY, which your supervisor (or the ethics committee co-chairs) agree to.
You must use the consent form for all research which involves vulnerable groups, such as but not restricted to students and minors (children aged under 16).
You must use the information sheet for all research
SECTION 2: THE RESEARCH 2.1: Title of project 2.2: Research question(s) or aim(s) 2.3: Summary of Method(s) of data collection 2.4: Proposed site(s) of data collection 2.5: How will access to participants and/or sites be gained?
2.5: How will access to participants and/or sites be gained? *Gatekeeper- a person who controls or facilitates access to
the participants
You need to provide contact information for the gatekeeper who facilitates empirical access for you. The contact information should include the gatekeeper’s name, position, telephone number, and email address.
If the research takes place in potentially sensitive sites or where sites pose potential risks to researchers, a letter from the gatekeeper confirming access is required.
SECTION 3 Please answer each question by ticking the appropriate box.
SECTION 4: RESEARCH INVOLVING ACCESS TO FIELD SITES AND ANIMALS Any research activities outside the university campus are
considered fieldwork for ethical declaration purposes. So if your research activities are outside the university campus, this section must be completed.
SECTION 5 & 6 Please answer each question by ticking the appropriate box.
General questions regarding to the nature of the research Things to follows: B. Before starting data collection C. During the process of data collection D. After collection of data E. After completion of research
SECTION 7: ETHICAL APPROVAL If you did NOT tick any of the shaded boxes in Sections 3, 4,
5 and 6 of this form → PART A
Electronic signature:
SECTION 7: ETHICAL APPROVAL If you ticked any of the shaded boxes in sections 3, 4, 5 or 6
of this form → PART B → SECTION 7b: FURTHER INFORMATION & JUSTIFICATION OF METHODOLOGY
The supervisor or module convenor
After a supervisor receive research ethics approval form, participant consent form, participant information sheet from his/her UG or PGT students…
Step1. If there are no ethical issues with the application and no shaded boxes ticked in the application form, the supervisor or module convenor can approve it as a minimal risk study and send it on to the Research Ethics Office for official approval and registration. Joanna HUANG <[email protected]>
The supervisor or module convenor (cont’d)
Step2. If there are ethical issues with the application and shaded boxes ticked in the application form, submit these to one of your School Ethics Representatives who will discuss the application with the School Ethics Panel.
NUBS Reps: Peter Lamb: [email protected], Joon Park: [email protected]
Xiaolan Zheng: [email protected]
UG students & PGT students:Submit to module convenor or
supervisor
Minimal risk application?
Module convenor or supervisorsends it to the
Research Ethics Office
Module convenor or supervisor
approves
Yes
No
Module convenor or supervisor
discusses with students for
revision
Minimal risk revised
application?
Yes
No
Module convenor or supervisorsends it to the School Ethics
Reps
References http://www.nottingham.edu.cn/en/research/researchethics/researchethics.aspx Chapter 5: ‘Formulating the research design’. In Saunders et al. (2012) Research Methods for Business
Students. (6th Edition). Pearson Education. Chapter 6: ‘Negotiating access and research ethics’. In Saunders et al. (2012) Research Methods for
Business Students. (6th Edition). Pearson Education. Chapter 6: ‘Ethics and politics in social research’. Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. (4th
Edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 27: ‘Mixed methods research: combining quantitative and qualitative research’. Bryman, A.
(2012). Social Research Methods. (4th Edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/ What is Ethics in Research & Why is it
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the Cut, Senior Women Declare a Fashion Emergency. Wall Street Journal (Online). New York, N.Y. PPT (The Stanford Prison Experiment 6/18/13) by Allison Williams, Soraya Underwood, Ryan Tercho,
Ayana Underwood, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cascio