Ethical Guidelines and Considerations in Research

Vocabulary flashcards covering ethical guidelines, principles, and considerations in research based on the lecture text.

Ethics (Denscombe, 2002)

The system of moral principles by which individuals can judge their actions as right or wrong, good or bad.

Non-maleficence

An ethical principle stating that researchers should avoid harming participants.

Beneficence

An ethical principle stating that research on human subjects should produce some positive and identifiable benefit rather than simply be carried out for its own sake.

Autonomy or self-determination

An ethical principle stating that research participants' values and decisions should be respected.

Justice

An ethical principle stating that all people should be treated equally.

Informed consent

A fundamental human rights principle requiring voluntary consent from a participant who has legal capacity, free choice, and sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the research.

In loco parentis

A concept meaning acting in lieu of parents or in place of parents, such as teacher-advisers taking responsibility for the welfare and consent of child participants.

Privacy (Hamersley and Traianou, 2012)

The protection of individual citizens against intrusions by others into their lives and against demands for the disclosure of information, involving control over physical and virtual territory.

Confidentiality

The practice of safeguarding data provided by participants so that it is not disclosed in any way that allows information to be traced back to the individual.

Limitations to confidentiality

Situations where a legal duty to disclose information to protect lives (such as physical or sexual abuse, or threats to safety) overrides ethical commitments to confidentiality.

Anonymity

The protection of participant identities in research reports, often accomplished by using codes (such as Student 1 or Teacher A) instead of real names.