Week 4 - Ethics

Question 1

Tri council policy statement

Answer 1

framework for ethical research involving human participants
in canada

Question 2

3 federal agencies

Answer 2

Canadian institues of health research
o Natural sciences and engineering research council of canada
o Social sciences and humanities research council of canada

Question 3

core ethical principles

Answer 3

• Respect for persons
  o Acknowledge intrinsic value and autonomy of individuals
  o Emphasize importance of informed consent and protecting vulnerable
  populations
• Concern for human welfare
  o Overall quality of life
  o Consider health, housing, employment, community involvement
• Justice
  o Fairness and equity in research
  o Benefits and burdens of research are distributed justly

Question 4

Dissemination

Answer 4

openly share results unless it risks participant safety, provide
feedback when possible, acknowledge limitations, avoid data distortion

Question 5

Indigenous research

Answer 5

Researchers and indigenous partners must navigate individual vs collective interests

importance of elders, knowledge keepers, indigenous governance structures

exploitative research practices have led to apprehension in indigenous
communities

Question 6

OCAP principles

Answer 6

ownership, control, access, possession – guides ethical research
practices, highlight need for reflection on academic freedom, engagement with future
generations, spiritual values

Question 7

Open mindset

Answer 7

Enter research without preconceived notions, avoid expecting pariticpants to confirm your assumptions

Question 8

Questioning technique

Answer 8

Favour “how” questions over “why” questions – encourage contextual
discussions

Question 9

Acknowledge constraints

Answer 9

Be aware of factors that may limit a participants autonomy, such as fear of
authority or lack of understanding, recognize social and personal contexts that may influence wilingness to share

Question 10

Contextual approaches

Answer 10

Adapt research methods to a specific community and culture, show respect for participants values and norms

Question 11

Descriptive rather than remedial

Answer 11

Avoid a fix it mentality, focus on observing and understanding

Question 12

Authentic relationships

Answer 12

o Treat participants as partners rather than subjects
o Build genuine relationships to help dispel bias

Question 13

Gaining access to the field

Answer 13

• Community leaders as gatekeepers – getting permission to study the group

o Honestly state research intenti9ons
- Corporate research complexity
o Gaining access to corporations may involve navigating legal departments,
companies may dictate terminology and research focus

Question 14

Spending time in the field

Answer 14

Researcher presence – demeanor and visibility can vary, be aware of how presence impacts the community

Building relationships – familiarity with community can foster openness

Question 15

ethical considerations in the field

Answer 15

Friendships – genuine friendships can complicate ethical responsibilities

Intimate relationships – complex ethical challenges

Question 16

Leaving the field

Answer 16

Done respectfully, maintain integrity of relationships, consider informing
participants of findings to show appreciation

Transition to a frienship role

Question 17

Covert field research

Answer 17

Observing without revealing ones identity

Justified when it aims to protect individuals or groups from harm

expose injustices or
improve conditions

by police, governments, is opposed as it is seen as an intrusion

truly anonymous

Question 18

Interviewing and transcribing

Answer 18

Participants may want to be anonymous, so they don’t want to sign forms
- Verbal consent
o Explains the same details as written consent, does not require a signature

Question 19

Presentism

Answer 19

researchers must avoid judging historical documents by modern standards

Question 20

Collaborative analysis

Answer 20

can be used to help mitigate viewpoints

Question 21

Analyzing data

Answer 21

Remain true to the data, do not force it to fit into preconceived theories

Question 22

Acting ethically in the digital age

Answer 22

Accessibility – information on publicly accessible web pages may be treated like printed
materials in magazines

• Anonymity and informed consent – social media challenges traditional commitments to
  anonymity, need for informed consent is questioned

Question 23

Ethical reflection in writing

Answer 23

Avoid jargon, use the active voice, neutral tone, allow reader interpretation, avoid influencing readers opinions, be consistent

Question 24

Two dimensions of ethics

Answer 24

• Procedural ethics – formal ethical guidelines, typically established through research
  ethics board
• Ethics in practice – day to day ethical decisions that arise as researchers engage in the
  field

Question 25

Reflexivity as an ethical tool

Answer 25

Reflexivity – researchers relfecting on their actions, decisions, and impact throughout the
research process
- Allows researchers to examine their own role, biases, and ethical considerations in
conducting research
- supplements limitations of procedural ethics

Question 26

procedural ethics

Answer 26

seen as a formality
ethics committee may be unfamiliar or antagonistic toward qualitative methods
ethical committees cannot see all unexpected ethical challenges. Researchers may
gloss over potential risks

Question 27

ethics in practice

Answer 27

unanticipated situations arise, demanding quick and thoughtful responses

react to sensitive disclosures or participant vulnerabilities
o breaching confidentiality to avoid harm

Question 28

microethics

Answer 28

address issue between high level bioethical debates and everyday issues faced in clinical practice

ethical complexities in everyday interactions

relationship and interactions between
researchers and participants, for respondng to sensitive disclosures

Question 29

frustration with procedural ethics

Answer 29

biomedical models may not fit research needs, ethics applications are formal and
bureaucratic

Question 30

history of procedural ethics

Answer 30

after WWII with the Nuremberg code, created to protect research participants
after atrocities committed by Nazi doctors

Question 31

value of procedural ethics

Answer 31

protects basic rights and safety of participants

provides a checklist for researchers, prompting them to consider issues like
confidentiality, consent, risks, benefits

Question 32

limitations of procedural ethics

Answer 32

not much guidance in dealing with real life situations faced in qualitative research

Question 33

knowledge construction

Answer 33

research is a collaboration between researchers and participants
o process requires scrutiny, reflection, and interrogation of how data is gathered

Question 34

defining reflexivity

Answer 34

continuously examine their actions, roles, and research process with the same
critical scrutiny as the data itself
o actively construct interpretations and critically question how those interpretations
come about

Question 35

two-step process

Answer 35

process: first, objectively observing the research subject, and second,
reflecting on that observation itself

Question 36

RESEARCH ETHICS

Answer 36

principles - guide interactions w/ research participants & our commitment to safeguard their
rights & interests

Question 37

The Most Basic Ethical Dilemma

Answer 37

• Balancing 2 important & sometimes conflicting responsibilities

Question 38

confidentiality

Answer 38

do not disclose information that identifies any one participant to anyone else

Question 38

Protecting confidentiality

Answer 38

informed consent, confidentiality forms, electronic or handwritten codes, assign pseudonyms

Question 38

Primary obligation

Answer 38

do no harm

Question 39

anonymity

Answer 39

protecting identity of participants
individuals cannot be identified

Question 40

individual conflict of interest

Answer 40

interests of researcher dont coincide with interests of participants

Question 41

institutional conflict of interest

Answer 41

interests of institution conflict with ethical obligations

Question 42

all ethical research requires…

Answer 42

systematic data gathering
transparency and accuracy
collection of original data
fair and accurate data representation