
Unit 4: Ethics
Research ethics: Informing participants
Giving potential participants enough information about the
research in an understandable form needs careful drafting of the
information sheet. You should carry out at least one pilot test of
the processes for informing and debriefing participants with a naïve person having a literacy level at the lower end of the
range expected in the planned research sample.
In certain circumstances the aims of the research may be
compromised by giving full information prior to data collection. In
such cases, it should be made clear that this is the case in the
information sheet and the means by which the withheld information
will be given at the conclusion of data collection should be specified.
The amount of information withheld and the delay in disclosing the
withheld information should be kept to the absolute minimum necessary.
The information sheet given to potential participants for them to
keep should normally give a clear statement of all those aspects of
the research that are relevant for their decision about whether or not
to agree to participation. Here are some headings
for consideration.
- The aim(s) of the project
- The type(s) of data to be collected
- The method(s) of collecting data
- Confidentiality and anonymity conditions associated with the data including any exceptions to confidentiality, for example, with
respect to potential disclosures
- Compliance with the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information Act
SMILE - Ethics by The BPS code of human research ethics, The HPC guidance on conduct and ethics for students, modified by Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://www.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/code_of_human_research_ethics.pdf, http://www.hpc-uk.org/assets/documents/10002D1BGuidanceonconductandethicsforstudents.pdf, http://www.gcal.ac.uk/hr/policies/general/code_of_good_practice_in_research.doc, http://www.gcu.ac.uk/registry/secretariat/documents/EthicsBookletMarch2011asonwebsite.doc. .