ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Ethical consideration can be stated as one of the important parts of research. It is important that the researcher adhere to them throughout the process in order to keep a balance between potential risks and the likely benefits of the research. Ethical consideration is crucial is important in promoting the aims of research such as expansion of knowledge and to support the values required for collaborative work such as fairness and mutual respect.
Informed consent
Gaining consent from the respondents is important when carrying out a qualitative study. It involves providing enough information to the respondent to help them understand the implications of taking part in the study.
In order to give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning faculties and be in possession of all relevant facts at the time consent is given. The researcher should be careful not to give too little or too much information. Informed consent seeks to protect the integrity and the personal liberty of the respondent. Free and informed consent needs to involve an introduction to the study and its purpose as well as the procedure to be followed.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to completely inform participants of different aspects of the research in a language the can easily comprehend.
It is important to describe any harm or discomfort that maybe experienced and how the subjects are to be compensated. The respondent also needs to know if information is being withheld in order to prevent alteration of behavior. Freedom to withdraw from the study without consequence also needs to be discussed.
When highly sensitive issues are concerned, children and other vulnerable individuals should have access to an advocate who is present during data collection sessions.
Participants should be volunteers, taking part without having been coerced or deceived.
Beneficence
Beneficence means to maintain the welfare of human research participants by doing no harm to them. According to the united states based Belmont report drafted in 1978, the beneficence principal includes two specific research aspects. That is, participants’ right to freedom from harm and discomfort and participants’ right to protection from exploitation.
Possible harm includes physical harm as well as emotional and psychological harm. Sometimes, it may be impossible to do absolutely no harm to the participant. The researcher needs to minimize the risk of harm and increase the benefit of participating in the research study. The researcher should stop the interview if a participant appears distressed. They should have measures in place to provide emotional or psychological support.
Researchers must also protect participants from exploitation. Any information provided by participants through their study involvement must be protected. Researchers cannot use any shared information against the participant.
The principles of anonymity, confidentiality, informed consent and honesty all aim at protecting the participant from harm.
Privacy and anonymity
Researchers are required to keep any shared information very secret. They can make participant data to be anonymous by use of codes and pseudonyms. The researcher should not be able to connect any data to any participant. If he or she is able to make any participantdata connection, then the study is no longer anonymous.
It is however difficult to attain absolute anonymity because most human subjects research requires a signed documentation of consent. The researcher can however prevent others from discovering the identities of their respondents.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is taken to mean that information given to another person will not be repeated without his or her permission. In the research context, it means identifiable information about an individual collected during the process of research will not be disclosed and that their identity will be protected. Confidentiality may also mean that specific information provided in the process of research will not be used at all if the participant requests this.
The kinds of information that would be kept confidential can range from relatively mild facts such as a persons name ,to more sensitive information such as a persons religious affiliations. One way of ensuring confidentiality is through anonymization. However, as stated earlier, it is not possible to attain absolute anonymization because in most cases, the researcher already knows the identity of the participants. It is therefore the responsibility of the researcher to ensure that others do not discover the identity of the respondent.
Deception
This is when the participant is not told the truth about the true aims of a study. The researcher should as much as possible avoid deceiving the participant because it may cause them to feel embarrassed and have low self-esteem. Researchers should not use deception to make the individual give their consent.
In some cases, deception is necessary because otherwise, participants might alter their behavior or responses leading to collection of inaccurate data. In such cases, the researchers are required to reveal the deception and explain the true purpose of the study to the participants after the data is gathered. There should be strong scientific or medical justification for deception.
Value Neutrality
Researchers should strive to be impartial and overcome e their biases as they conduct their research. This is value neutrality as described by Max Weber. They must be aware of their own moral judgements and values and avoid incorporating them into their research and conclusions. Researchers are required to remain objective. They should disclose their research findings without omitting or distorting significant data even if it contradicts personal views, predicted outcomes or widely accepted beliefs.
References
Wiles., R. (2013). What are qualitative research ethics. Bloomsbury academic. Print
Sanjari., M., et al.(2014).Ethical challenges of researchers in qualitative studies: the necessity to develop a specific guideline.Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine. Retrieved from:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4263394/#__ffn_sectitle
Bountless sociology.Ethics in sociological research. Retrieved from: https://courses.lumen learning.com