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458 PART 4 PLANNING AND WRITING UP QUALlTATIVE RESEARCH
i
Does qualitative research need ethics?
I
I
their research in primarily ethical terrns almost as if achieving ethical goals was
the purpose of research. The doser re!ationship berween research participants
and researchers in qualitative research mal' be more rewarding on ahuman
leve! but this makes certain ethical issues more pertinent and more problema tic
as we shall see.The relationship berween rhe qualitative researcher and their
participants is distinctive perhaps largely as a consequence of rhe qualira-
tive researcher's search for rich and detailed data. Such data often demands
substantial commitment on the part of participants and a doser, cooperative
and supportive relationship between researcher and participant. Ethical codes
which govern quanritative research are, to some extent, insufficient to deal
with the special characteristics and, hence, requirements of qualitative research.
Psychologists, like many other professions, conduct themselves according to
moral principies known as 'ethics'. The American Psychological Association
probably has the most extensive ethical code but others, such as the British
Psychological Society, have their own versions. The ethical issues for qualitative
researchers can be very different from those facing the quantitative researcher
despite some obvious areas of overlap. While a sirnplistic perspective on ethics
is to regard them as sets or rules or regulations for the activities of psychologi-
cal practitioners and researchers, this is somewhat inadequate. No system of
rules is self-interpreting and so even where we think that we ha ve a good rule
then 'we still need to know when and how to apply the rule' (Brinkmann &
Kvale, 2005, p. 159). Interpretarion regulady faces researchers beca use of the
ty much detail of the research setting and the importance of the research topic, for
iologisrs instance, can significantly affect the application of research ethics. Put another
. people. way, using an old chestnut, ir is a moral principIe that one shouldn't kill but
rants in what if by killing an extreme dictator one could save rnany thousands of lives?
ioratorv What then? Does the principie about not killing still apply or does some other
~rything principie begin to take precedence? Much the same is true for research ethics -
tour (no that is, whether an ethical principle should prevail in a particular situation
:arefulty may depend as much on details about the situation as the nature of the erhical
10 coin- principie itself. For example, the confidenriality of inforrnation supplied ro a
term is researcher by a participant is a universal in ethical guidelines. But what if dur-
Ir - it is ing the course of an inrerview the participant makes threars to kill a neighbour
.he sub- with whom he has a dispute? Should rhis information be confidential? And
s whole suppose the man goes on to kill his neighbour: is the researcher blame!ess and
.al fie!d beyond reproach beca use they maintained confidentiality?
m is to Psychological researchers sometimes identify similar dilemmas in their
iinking. work. Jusr how should they go about resolving them? \X1e 11, the ethical princi-
essence ples of psychologists by and large give the responsibiliry for monitoring ethical
~ quan- standards to the researcher(s) carrying out the research and the psychological
hers, in community in general. This might include (a) the researcher(s) seeking the
nd seek advice and assistance of other psychologists when there are potentially any
ethical issues and (b) the entire psychology community monitoring at an infor-
esearch mal leve! the ethical standards ernployed in the different fields of psychology .
. quali- Ethica! guidelines sometimes make exceptions where the Iaw or a specific
titative organisation allows certain sorts of research activity which otherwise would
.litative seem to be erhically dubious. This clearly is a situation in which rhere is a
hers to conflict between the ethics and the law which some might see as a reason to
al than question the law rather than a reason to disregard the ethics. Ethics are not
thicism simply organisational matters but individual rnatters too , One's personal ethics
regard may mean that one does not do what is otherwise permissible - the researchers
460 PART 4 PLANNING AND WRITING UP OUALlTATlVE RESEARCH
who employed deception in their research chose to do so, they did not have to
do so. There are areas, of course, where the law is less restrictive than ethical
principies. For example, the law general1y does not punish psychologisrs who
have sex with their adulr clients even though ir is againsr ethical principles,
The ever-widening context in which qualitative psychological research oper-
ates dernands thar researchers are sensitive to a substantial variety of erhical
issues. There has been substantial growth in qualitative research in areas such
as health psychology, clinieal psychology, counselling and psychotherapy,
educarional psychology, work and organisational psychology, and community
psychology (Willig & Stainton-Rogers, 2008). All of these are extrernely sensi-
tive areas of research by their very narure. Consequently, qualitative research-
ers face a complex and demanding ethical environment.
Ethics are important at all stages of qualitative research as indicated in
Figure 16.1. Ir is a misrake to consider ethics as something to be dealt with solely
at the design stage despite the modern rendency to seek ethical approval from
universities and other institurions at this stage (I. Shaw, 2008). Ethics in qua lita-
tive research, especially, cannot be regarded as a hurdle to be dealt with before
data collection begins. The course of qualitative research is nor predictable in
rnany cases which means that vigilance is continually required in order to deal
with the ethical issues which can emerge at any.stage in qualitative research .
..j'
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@ Consent to take part in research should be entirely voluntary and given only
by people with a legal capacity to give consent. The person should ha ve
enough knowledge of the research to give consent in an informed manner.
i!! The participam in the research has the right to bring the research to an end -
but unlike the modern versions of this only if they are mentally or physically
unable to continue to the end of the research.
Other aspects of rhe cade do not seem to have exact modern equivalents in
ethical codeso For example, the Nuremberg Code indicates that an experiment
should provide findings which are for society's good and that unnecessary
studies should be avoided.
Following the N uremberg Code, the American Psychological Association
developed irs set of ethical principies in 1953 which influenced and guided
not have to ethical thinking beyond just psychology and throughout social scientific
han ethical research (Blodgett, Boyer & Turk, 2005). Concern grew about the ethics of
'ogists who psychological research from this time onwards and becarne especially Eocused
·inciples. on the laboratory experimentation which characterised social psychology
zarch oper- in the 1950s to 1970s. While much of this experimentation was of a high
I of ethical intellectual standard and creative and inventive, to be successful it frequently
areas such required that participants were misled or misinformed about the true nature of
hotherapy, the research (Korn, 1997). Deception dates back to 1897 in psychology when
:ommunity Leon Solomons told participants, some of the time untruthfully, that either one
mely sensi- point or rwo points were touching thern in a study of sensory discriminarion.
e research- \XIhat they were told influenced what they perceived. Korn (1997) found that
the use of deception in social psychological research substantially increased
idicared in in the rhree decades followi ng the Second \1(1orld \XIar. Much of the classic
with solely research of social psychologists used deceit in some form and sometirnes the
roval frorn deception was extreme. Deception studies began to attract considerable criti-
in qualita- cism, especially from the late 19605 onwards - the work of Stanley Milgram
vith before (1933-1984) was a particular focus (e.g. Milgrarn, 1974). In his farnous
.dictable in studies he led participants to believe that they were delivering extremely high
der to deal electric shocks to another person as part of a study of learning. In truth, the
esearch. research was abour the influence of the experirncnter in encouragíng obedience
to the researcher's insrrucrions.
In recent years, considerable ethical scrutiny has been applied to researchers
studying humans (and animals for that matter, rhough this is not an issue fOI
qualitative researchers and hence not covered in this chapter). Institutions such
as universities, health services and the prison service have introduced ethical
1 scientific cornmittees to overview research conducted within theír ambit. This is usually
berg Code rwo-fold:
's medical
le medical ¡¡¡, institutions monitor research by researchers who work for the insritution;
; them was ~ institutions monitor research in their institutions by researchers from out-
f electrical side o the institutions.
í
462 PART <1 PLANNING AND WRITING UP QUAlITATIVE RESEARCH
I\..
~-------------------------------------------------------
The ethical environment of qualltative and other research
In addition to this are the ethical principIes of the researcher's discipline. The
complexity of ethical control is illustrated in Figure 16.2. While the aim is to
pre-empt possible erhica] problems, sanctions can be applied against those who
violate ethical requirements. These may be instigated by the researcher's pro-
fessional body bur also by their home institution. Finally, there is the risk rhat
participants may sue researchers and their employers in court when research
oversteps the mark.
Ethical guidelines help ro protect researchers as well as participanrs in
research. But there is more to it than that. Gross ethical violations by research-
ers risk bringing psychology as a profession, and not just the offending indi-
viduals, into disrepute. The negative consequences of this for all researchers
are potentially serious. Organisations and individuals gain autonomy by the
application of clear and accepted ethical principies. Self-regulation is generally
CHAlOTE"16 ETHICS AND DATA MANAGEMENT IN QUALlTATIVE RESEARCH 463
ubsume ti
I I
ethical spheres given above
I
The American Psychological Association argues that ethics should be based Oil
five different integrating principies (Figure 16.4). These apply just as much to
qualitative as to quantitative research.
~ ...._--_._-----_._----------
í
"1 - ,'" - " ""
Benefi ence an1 onmaleficence ,
[
elity and refPonsibility 11
[ 1
-_1
-
[------
Respect rights and dig ity
'---------------------.--------------------.------------
':;UFE 16A The basic principies of APA ethics
_J
CH;'.?E:R'6 ETHICS AND DATA MANAGEMENT IN QUALlTA TIVE RESEARCH 465
should benefit clients, widely defined. Equally, psychologísts should seek to avoid
I
harm to their clients and research participants. This appears to be a reasonable
principie but there are circumstances where rhere may be some doubt about its
applicability. For example, what if the research involves interviews with prison-
ers and they reveal to the researcher that they have committed crimes which are
I not known to the authorities? Should the principie of beneficence apply and the
researcher refnse to pass on such new inforrnation to rhe authorities? What if
the prison makes such revelation a requirernenr for cooperation in the researeh?
I
Essentially the work of a professional psyehologist involves relationships of
trust with other people. Consequently, they are expected to:
i:¡;, take responsibility for what they do;
I ?5
l.'l
eonduet themselves in aecordance wirh established
J
mous decisions. Children, those who have intellectual limitations and some
elderly people are obvious examples of this category. This principie also
means rhat psychologists need to respect (and be able to recognise) differences
between groups of people in terms of culture and roles. This means that char-
acteristics such as disability, culture, age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity,
language, nationality, race, religion and socio-econornic status are all matters
466 PART 4 PLANNING AND WRITING UP QUAlITATlVE RESEARCH
for consideration and respecto Psychologists not only must try to avoid biases
against such groupings but be critical towards others who fail to reach the
expected standard.
Box 16.8 at rhe end of this chapter indicates so me of the complexity of eth-
ics in a characteristic qualitative study.
Institutional clearance
A large proportíon of psychological research is carried out wíthín organisations
such as schools, hospitals and prisons - and, of course, universities. Many insti-
tutions require formal approval to be granted before they allow research to take
place within the institution and before they allow members of their staff to carry
out research there or elsewhere. Generally, but not always, the responsibility for
granting approvallies with an ethical cornmittee. (Sometimes the authority for
approving the research may rest with a single individual such as the head of a
school.) The procedures can appear to be cumbersome (for example, lengthy
forms to complete) though sometimes the committee has a fast-track proce-
dure which can be used where the research is not at al! ethically problematic.
Qualitative researchers have the same obligations as any other ro obtain ethical
c1earance from the organisation that they work for and any organisation where
they wish to conducr their research. For example, a university researcher wish- ,'"l.',,',
ing to carry out research in a prison might need to follow the procedures of both
organisations. Although it may appear thar qualitative research involves rela-
tively benign methods ot,data collection, this is something that the qualitative I
researcher should not take for granted. Some work characteristic of qualitative'
researchers may not require ethical clearance such as where the study involves
archival material and other forms of documentary material (newspapers and
magazines, for insrance). However, in almost all other cases it is incumbent on
the researcher to obtain the necessary ethical approval.
Any application for ethical approval should be open and honest with no
attempt to hide issues. Consequently, the application should:
>$ exhibir transparency in that it accurately and patently represents the true
nature of the research;
~ be accurate in terms of the informaríon provided;
~ be clear in terrns of what it cornmunicates abour the proposed research,
$ avoid misleading in any way such as through lies, partial truths or by omission:
@ act as a templa te or protocol for the research that is actually carried out - if
there are changes then it will probably be necessary to seek further approval.
avoid biases research studies. There may be special procedures for srudent research but nor
o reach the necessarily so. The erhics committee is likely to be a generic committee dealing
with al! research involving human participanrs irrespective of the disciplinary
exity of eth. background of the research. So it would deal with research frorn disciplines
such as sociology, business studies, biology and so forth. One approach
involves a two-tiered process of ethics clearance:
~ The first srage involves unproblematic research which meets basic erhical
standards and raises no ethical difficulties. Such research can be identified
using a basic screening questionnaire.
ists as apply
iI1t The second stage is for research which cannot meet these basic standards
iants, There
to be reviewed in detail by the ethics committee. The research mal' then be
see, as well
approved, approved with provisos or refused ethical clearance, which means
; whichmay
that the research cannot take place.
~ Participants will be fully informed about the study's objectives and derails of
the procedure before the research commences or ar the end if the inf
rion would risk invalidating the study. TRUFjF~~~
<J? Deception is not used in the research either by withholding informario
from participants or by misleading thern in ways which could harm or lea~
to their exploiration. TRUE/FALSE
@ Where the use of deception is proposed, it is unavoidable given the purposes
of the study. TRUE/F ALSE
Ii'! Where deception is used, participants wil! be debriefed about the true pur-
pose of the srudy soon after its cornpletion. TRUE/FALSE
@ Consideratíon has be en given to how participants will reacr on being told thar
information has been withheld or that there has been deliberate deception.
TRUEJFALSE
@ Participanrs will be rold that they may withdraw from the study at any stage
and require that their data (e.g. tapes, notes) are destroyed. TRUEIFALSE
ti Inforrnation about individual participants in the research will be confiden-
tial and not identífiable except with prior agreement. TRUE/FALSE
~¡, Videos and audio-recordings will be kept in a secure place and nor allowed
ro be used by third parties. TRUE/F ALSE
& Video and audio-recordings of participants wil! be destroyed wirhin six
years of the completion of the investigarion. TRUE/FALSE
," The researcher has not been offered inducernents ro do rhe research by a
third party (except for their contractually agreed salaries or for expenses).
TRUEIFALSE
'~' Participants will nor be offered inducements other than basic expenses to
take part in the study. TRUE/FALSE
How do yau decide whether your research is free of ethical problems based
on the above? Well unless you answered TRUE to all of the staternents which
are releva m to your research then there ma}' be erhical problems with your
work. This rneans rhar you would have to subrnir a detailed proposal for
_ approval by the cornrnittee. Of course, ethical requirements can vary from
institution to insritution so you need to check what procedures are in place
where you are working or studying. Nevertheless, the above should give you
the flavour of what mighr be involved. The following sections provide more
informarían about the ethical basis of these screening items.
As you are probably beginning to realise, obtaining ethical clearance for
your research can involve a lot of bureaucracy and a grear deal of form filling.
w should not be placed under pressure to participate in the research (e.g. rhey
should not be coerced and they should not be made to fear the consequences
of not taking part in the research)
§ should understand exacdy what participating in the research will involvc
It would be usual to pro vide the name and contact details of a third party
who may be approached about the bona fides of the researcher as well as
further details about the research and their rights as participanrs. Students
doing research would, for example, give details about the person supervising
their research. If this person works at a university then this in itself would help
confirm that the researcher can probably be trusted.
However, the issue of informed consent may be confounded by the pro-
cedures employed by qualitative researchers. The main reason for this lies in
the phrase 'the delusion of alliance' (Stacey, 1988). This refers to the 'closer'
relationship which may be involved in qualitative research. This can encourage
participants to say more and reveal more than they might have in more tradi-
tional psychological research. In this, it is much clearer when the researcher
is actually collecting data and when they are taking a break from the research
task. Because this is relatively poorly demarcated in much qualitative rcscarch
then the risk of involuntary disclosure of inforrnation becomes more serious.
L Shaw (2008) suggests that another way of putting this is to suggest that the
researcher has bccome a covert researcher in this contcxt and such research is
highly problematic ethically.
There are additional issues when considering videoing interaction as dis-
cussed in Box 16.2.
There are circumstances in which it is not necessary to obtain informed con-
sent. Nevertheless, the requirement that the research is not likely to cause the
closed such
qualitative
-quirernents
h hindsight
lf this. The
-ir data col-
iatters quite
:y take their
made clear
eneral view
ded, if they
are several
icipant may
reir motives
-ments may
472 P,c.RT.'< PLANNING ANO WRITING UP OUALITATIVE RESEARCH
,$ What the projeet is about - that is, what the study aims to aehieve.
1 eollec-
@ Whar the partieipanr is required to do in the study togerher with details of
the time commitmenrs that the research places on its participanrs.
eseareh
IIn con- e What the arrangements for confidentiality of the data are.
fá What the arrangements concerning the privacy of personal data are.
ssroom f!# What the arrangements for the security of the data are.
@ Who will have access to the data.
ed con- ~ The purposes for which the data shall be used.
@ The extent to whieh partieipants will be identifiable in publications.
anee in i!} The voluntary nature of participation in the study.
~ The participant has a total right to withdraw from the study (including
.search,
withdrawing their data) without having to give a reason or explanation for
)logical
this. If appropriate, a statement indicating rhat wirhdrawal from the study
ar your
has no eonringent consequences such as the wirhdrawal of medical services.
tain the ~ What benefits mighr the research bring rhe participant.
iforrna- * What risks or potential harm does the research pose for participants.
uls and ~ If you are intending to do further research (e.g. follow-up interviews) at
w from
another time or if there is a possibility of doing so, care is needed. You
Lis. The must obtain permission from the participant to contact thern in future at
nent to
this stage. Failure ro build this in at this stage may mean thar the partici-
: verbal pants cannot be contacted again. The Data Prorecrion Act, in the United
n some
Kingdom, prevenrs such unagreed Iollow-ups. See the later section on the
lar rhey Data Protection Act.
red fea-
;':' Contact details for rhe research team or the supervisor in the case of student
sidered,
research which can be used to obtain further informatÍon.
~ Contact details for the institution's Ethics Committee in case issues anse
.heet or which cannot be appropriately dealt with by the researchers or the supervisor.
partlcl-
The consent form
t form, The typical consent form includes various statements about the project and
-r, your the ethical arrangements which the participant signs to indicate their consent
)Cedure to the study, So the consent form should include things such as the following
irtrnent suitably modified for the particular research project being planned:
consent ~ The title of the research project
restion.
~ Things that need to be included are
btained
e infor- fj 1 (the participant) have been informed about and understand the nature
)r thern of the study.
,,¡ Any quesrions that 1 may have had have been answered to rny satisfaction,
474 PART 4 PLANNING AND WRITING UP OUALlTATlVE RESEARCH
It is suggested that you use the above to guide yourself when writing your
own inforrnation sheet and consent formo This is nor to make life harder for
you unnecessarily but to encourage active consideration of the ethical status of
your qualitative research. The different methods used by qualitative research-
ers to collect data have radically different ethical requirernents. For example,
it is relatively easy to ensure data confidentiality by using anonyrnity, etc.
when conducting an in-depth interview but highly problematic in relarion
to focus group data where the researcher simply cannot guarantee privacy
and confidentialiry given the numbers of participants who cannot be bound
effectively by the erhical principies which apply to researchers. Furthermore,
if a researcher conducrs a participanr observation, then many of these con-
siderations may not always apply. So is generally accepted that observarional
research in publie places may not require the agreernent of rhose observed if
they are going about their usual activities in public places. Yet this is a eomplex
area so it is important ro eheck with your local Research Ethies Committee
which may have a rather different viewpoinr. The point is that a 'one-size-firs-
al!' approach to obtaining consent is probably inappropriate.
Ir is important to gíve consideration abour what can be done with the data
obtained in qualitative studies. You need the permission of your participants
to makc it available to orher researchers. Not to do so can be a problem
beca use (a) qualirative research has an ethos which stresses the importance of
making one's data available to orher researchers for verification, etc. bur also
(b) it may be a requirernent of rhe research's funding body that the data are
archived and made available to other researchers. The UK Data Archive (n.d.)
has details of the erhical and practical necessities of sharing data.
from the organisations wil! ha ve institurional and departmental data protection officers.
luences to Their job is to ensure that procedures for data handling comply with national
legislation. They should be consulted if you are in any doubt as to how the
uld poten. legislation should be implemented for your particular research.
Anyone who carries out research which involves the collection or use of per-
sonal information about individuals who can be identified from that data has to
:hers.
comply with the data protection legislation. The sort of data (qualitative or qua mi-
:ion sheet. tative) and whether or not it is stored in a digital, electronic form or in hard copy,
he date of manual form are immaterial. These basic requirements should indicate that the
rich, detailed data rhat qualitative researchers coUeet fall very firmly and decisively
into rhe domain of data prorection legislarion. The only exceptions to this are data
mng your
which already are publicly available such as electoral registers and so forth.
aarde¡ for
Personal information is more or less any inforrnation which can be identi-
1 status of
fied as being about a particular individual. Ir may come as some relief to know
: research-
that once any personal identifiers are removed from data then the data protec-
example,
tion legislation no longer applies. By employing such procedures as not usíng
mity, ete.
participants' real names or rhose of anyone else mentioned in the research
11 relatíon
and removing identifying material about locations and so íorth the legislarion
:e privacy
ceases to apply. However, there are arguments that this is, in some cases, an
be bound
unsatisfactory way of dealing with qualitative material. For example, Nespor
rhermore,
(2000) raises issues to do with rhe anonymisatíon of identífying features for
.hese con-
the place that the research was carried out. If the researcher removes such
ervational
contextual inforrnation then the consequence is rhat useful features of the data
bserved if
are made unavailable to the reader. It makes a bíg dífference to how data are
1 complex
understood if the ful! context is provided. Remove this context and something
.ornmittee
important is lost. Just a final point on this - remember that the digital record-
e-size- firs-
ing stored on your computer counts as data under the Data Protection Act so
you must ensure that the anonymisarion procedure has been carried out on
tl the data
irticipants rhis just as much as ir applies to any transcriptions of the data. (Some issues in
relatíon to anonyrnisation are discussed in Boxes 16.3 and 16.4).
I problem
»rtancc of
., but also
~ data are
aive (n.d.)
;;ist is not
r for data
formation
ich about
e concept
ess of the
countries
ountry. In
ct (1998).
1 research
forms of
and other
476 PART 4 PLANNING ANO WRITING UP QUALlTATIVE RESEARCH
CHAPTEfi!6 ETHICS AND DATA MANAGEMENT IN OUAlITA T1VE RESEARCH 477
478 PARY 4 PLANNING AND WRITING UP QUALlTATIVE RESEARCH
This brings us to the question of what happens if the data from the research
are not turned into an anonymous form and so the Data Protection Act applies.
Quite a number of things follow. One is that the Data Protection Act actually
requires that the data are only kept as long as they are needed for the purposes
explained to those who provided the data. Consequently, the researcher is left
to destroy the data at an appropriate stage ir the data are not anonyrnised once
the research is completed.
If the data come under the data protection legislation then you must.also
give consideration to their safe keeping. So where are the hard copies to be
sto red - who has access to the data in this form? Equally, where the data are
stored on computer, the question is one of who can gain access to the com-
puter? In other words, procedures ha ve to be decided on to ensure that the
personal data are available only to the persons stipulated in the 'contraer' with
the participant.
the available evidence suggests that the direct experience of deception and
rhe suspicion of deception carry wirh them the potential of provoking sig-
nificant cognitive-emotional as well as behavioral responses. To the extent
CHAPTER16 ETHICS AND DATA MANAGEMENT IN QUALlTATlVE RESEARCH 479
that these responses are bound to introduce systematic error variance in the
data, they impair, and possibly destroy, experimental control. In light of
this danger we conclude that the prohibition of deception is a sensible
convention (Ortmann & Hertwig, 2002, p. 125)
This has implications for the work of qualitative researchers. A more trusting
relationship needs to be built up in qualitative research between the researcher
and participants. Only in this way can the need for rich, in-depth interview
data or participant observation data be meto Bowen summed this up in the
fol!owing way:
iarer] wírh
ler to have
t members
more, one
1 research
:Iationship
it research
rower rhar
lips which
bility thar
= research.
y that they
f the Supe-
is also the
esearch ar
.arch stud-
1 problem,
dirs which
importanj
Box 16.6 discusses some of the practica! derails associated with the use of
inducements in qualitative research.
as
Irrespective of the nature of research, during the final stages debriefing of
the participants should take place. Debriefing ideally should involve both the
researcher and the research participant in a 'mutua!' discussion of the nature of
the research, the results of the research, and the conclusions from the research
as far as possible. Obviously the debriefing may take place long before any
research conclusions are available. One strategy to overcome this is to prepare
a summary of the research and its findings for circulation to the participante
at a later stage. During the debriefing session itself, the researcher shou!d
seek to identify and correct any rnisconceptions that the participant may have
developed about various aspects of the research, There are sornetimes good
scientific, academic or humane reasons for withholding certain information -
or alternatively postponing the main debriefing for a more suitable occasion.
There may be other reasons for a two-stage debriefing process - for exarnple,
rhe research may .involve two or more data-gathering stages separated by a
considerable period of time. Too much iníormation at the end of the first stage
may risk unduly influencing the data whích the participant contributes at rhe
later stages of the research.
CHAPTER 16 ETHICS AND DATA MANAGEMENT IN QUAlITATlVE RESEARCH 483
I
.~
Ethical standards in reportinq research
The fabrication of data is ethically \vrong and this applies to students as well
as professional rescarchers. There will be circumstances in which a researcher
iriefing of
~ both the
: nature of
e research
i realises that there are errors in the data analysis which they have published
journal articles about. These are most likely to be compurational or statistical
errors and where they occur then it ís important to make reasonable efforts
to correct the errors. This can be achieved by printing corrections or retrae-
.efore any tions in the journal where the research was first published. Oceasionally more
:0 prepare malicious circumsrances ar ise. Many years ago, 1 was part of a team which
irticipants employed a particular interviewer. Sornerirne later, a friend of this inrerviewer
er should told me that some of the interviews had been fabricated. Forrunately, the
may have research team had already identified that this interviewer's data were systern-
mes good atically differenr fram those of rhe orher interviewers and excluded ir from the
rmation - analysis, though, of course, we were not able to show that it had been fabri-
JCcaSlOl1. eated. Thus falsification may occur at differenr stages in the researeh process.
'example,
ared by a
Plagiarism
first stage
ues at the Plagiarism occurs when someone takes rhe work of another person without
properly acknowledging its source and gives the impression that it is their own
484 PART 4 PLANNING AND WRITING UP QUALlTATIVE RESEARCH
work. Psychologists should not plagiarise and the same should be true of psy-
chology students. Merely citing the source of the material is not sufficient to
avoid the charge of plagiarism in circumstances where a large chunk of some-
one else's work is reproduced. Material that you have quoted directly should
be identified using quotation marks and, of course, the pages from which the
quotation was taken given in the citation.
In student work, plagiarism may result in firm disciplinary action by their
university which, if it is extreme or persisrent, may cost a srudenr their degree.
Similarly, at the professional level, there may be profound consequences in
cases of plagiarism. A famous TV psychiatrist in the UK, Raj Persaud, was
suspended by the medical profession for undermining public confidence in his
profession through dishonest conduct after he was found guilry of plagiarising
the work of others in his publications (MailonLine, 2008).
:ue of psy. The Internet raises special issues which are dealt with in Box 16.7.
lfficient to
k of some-
.tly should
which the
in by their
eir degree.
:¡uences in
.saud, was
ence in his
lagiarising
themselves
; is not for
1 and pub-
it. Making
.earcher to
sd to meet
ata should
e (i.e. their
ith funded
; if a third
\IVeS more
per which
me should
I the wider
ons
n to which
ion should
m and end
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rant inclu-
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ssertations
loro
KE
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el el
CHAPEf~ 16 ETHICS AND DATA MANAGEMENT IN QUAlITATIVE RESEARCH 487
KEY POINTS
@ Qualitative research differs from quantitative research in its orientation to those who par-
ticipate in a research study. Qualitative research values the person as an entirety. The ethical
problems which arise in qualitative research can, therefore, be very different from those which
arise in quantitative research. So me of these issues are not obvious from standard research
ethics and require the active vigilance of the researcher.
~ The ethical environment in which research takes place is complex and includes bureaucratic
elements. It is no longer the case that researchers simply have to be aware of the ethical
488 PART 4 PLANNING ANO WRITING UP QUALlTATIVE RESEARCH
standards expected from them as members of an academic discipline. Generally, the formal
seeking of ethical approval is a key part of any research project. Ethics are not an afterthought
but integral to effective planning of research.
;19 Psychological ethics are based on broad principies rather than prescribed behaviours. As a con-
sequence, the consideration of the ethical aspects of research is an active part of its planning .
• Ethical issues may have to be revisited in the light of what happens in the course of the research.
Because qualitative methods are extremely variable in nature, the qualitatlve researcher needs
to be extra vigilant and avoid complacency.
. .~--_.-._-..•.
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e;
f
t
i L
~
Brink
Roge
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Anin
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1
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i
CHI\PTE!~ \6 ETHICS AND DATA MANAGEMENT IN QUALlTATIVE RESEARCH 489
-rrnaí
'ught
con-
ninq.
arch.
.eeds
Brinkmann, S., & Kvale, S. (2008). Ethics in qualitative psychological research. In C. Willig & W. Stainton-
Rogers (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology (pp. 263-2~79). London: Saqe.
Brown, L. S. (1997). Ethics in psychology: cui bono? In D. Fox and 1.Preilleltensky (Eds.), Critica! osvctiotoqv:
An introduction (pp. 51-67). London: Sage.
Economic and Social Research Council (n.d.). Research Ethics Framework. tlti:p://w·i;/w,esrG.ac.i.lhf.Jm-
aqes/Fram1:!worv,.Jor_ResearGhj:thícs_tcm8-4586.pdf (accessed 6 April 2012).
This contains a number of case studies useful for qualitative researchers as well as an ethical checklist. It
may be of qreatest interest to PhD students since their work may well be supported by the ESRC.
Mauthner, M., & Birch, M. (2002). Ethics in qualitative research. London: Sage.
Roth, W.-M. (2004). Qualitative research and ethics. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 5(2), Article 7.
hH¡;:! fWW'0ICjU¡;¡Utative-research.nét/indéx,php/h¡sf<uCide/\f¡",w/6¡4t!:~3i (accessed 6 April 2012).
This discusses ethical problems stemming from the close relationship between researcher and participants
in qualitative research.