10. Module sections

10.2. Section 2: ethical considerations in participative research

Aim: Participatory approaches to research demand a heightened level of attention given to ethical issues. This section prepares for the dilemmas that have to be faced in this line of research and for the required competences in addressing power issues.

Theme Topic Guiding questions
Ethics and law

Legal obligations and constraints on research approaches
- Participation as a right (e.g.
international Conventions regarding children and people with disabilities)
- Privacy and confidentiality in research
- Role and function of ethical research and review committees and approval procedures
- Prevention of harm in national
legislation and Codes of Ethics

In which areas does my research project touch on
- International rights conventions
- National legal frameworks
- Professional codes of ethics
- Agency regulations?

How am I prepared for dealing with possible discrepancies and conflicts between these frameworks?

Ethics and
perspectivity

Ethics and interests: Research is not limited to “recording” existing conditions of reality but has the purpose of questioning their
origins and legitimacy.

Participative research is therefore likely to encounter conflicts regarding
- Ideological / political frameworks
- Ownership of information and data
- Academic interest positions (disciplinary rivalry, schools of thought, university politics, journal review and publication policies…)

What interests does my proposed research project imply / express?

On “whose side” do I stand with
regard to conflicting interest groups concerning my research project?

Benefits of upholding ethical
standards for service users

Knowledge production value in different contexts and their interrelationship:
- Academic contexts of “increasing knowledge” for innovative understanding
- Professional contexts of “improving effectiveness of practice”
- Lived experience context (service users) of “gaining in agency” (coping)

What are the declared, what are the hidden outcome objectives of my research project?

Which conflicts may arise from the incompatibility of objectives in the different context scenarios?

What are my primary value objectives?

Resources:

Banks, S., Armstrong, A., Carter, K., Graham, H., Hayward, P., Henry, A., Holland, T., Holmes, C., Lee,
A., McNulty, A., Moore, N., Nayling, N., Stokoe, A., & Strachan, A. (2013). Everyday ethics in community-based participatory research. Contemporary Social Science, 8(3), 263–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2013.769618

Biesta, G. (2011). The ignorant citizen: Mouffe, Rancière, and the subject of democratic education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 30 (2), 141–153.

Forbat, L. and Hubbard, G. (2015) ‘Service user involvement in research may lead to contrary rather than collaborative accounts: findings from a qualitative palliative care study’, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(4): 759–69.

Goldstein, L.S. (2000) ‘Ethical dilemmas in designing collaborative research: lessons learned the hard way’, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 13(5): 517–30.

Iphofen, R. (2011). Ethical decision making in social research: A practical guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Minkler, M., Fadem, P., Perry, M., Blum, K., Moore, L., & Rogers, J. (2002). Ethical dilemmas in participatory action research: A case study from the disability community. Health Education and Behaviour, 29(1), 14–29.

Rowan, D., Richardson, S. & Long, D. D. (2018). Practice-informed research: Contemporary challenges and ethical decision-making. Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics, 15(2), 15-22