Ethics

Hey and welcome back to my blog!

This blog is going to focus on ethics and submitting an ethics application form.

As stated in a previous blog, there were gaps found in existing research surrounding mobile phone use. Research found focused on the statistical side of mobile phone use, rather than the psychological 'need' that is apparent. In order to fill in the gaps, primary research must be undertaken to gain a better understanding of why there may be a psychological need when it comes to mobile phones.

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Figures 1-14: Ethics Application Form (O'Connor, 2022).

Prior to conducting the research, the student must attain a completed and approved ethics application form. The completed ethics application form can be seen in figures 1-14 (O'Connor, 2022. Ethics Application Form).

It is essential that the student follows ethical principles directed by those set out in the York College ethics guidance. The ethics must follow the requirements of the British Educational Research Association (BERA, 2018), which is a set of ethical guidelines that must be complied with when creating educational research. These guidelines will be taken seriously throughout this research project.

The BERA (2018) guidelines are:

1. Primary research is fundamental to a democratic society, and should be inclusive of different interests, values, funders, methods and perspectives (BERA, 2018).

2. All researchers should respect the privacy, autonomy, diversity, values and dignity of individuals, groups and communities (BERA, 2018).

3. All primary research should be conducted with integrity throughout, employing the most appropriate methods for the research purpose (BERA, 2018).

4. All researchers should act with regard to their social responsibilities in conducting and disseminating their research (BERA, 2018)

5. All primary research should aim to maximise benefit and minimise harm (BERA, 2018).

Following ethics guidelines allows for full transparency within the studies, ensuring all participants are comfortable with proceeding and taking part. Going through the ethics board will certify that research attained will not cause unnecessary physical or emotional harm to any participant taking part. The ethics application will ensure that any research undertaken will be ethically sourced and will comply with legal legislations such as The Data Protection Act (2018) and GDPR (2018).

The rules and regulations of the Data Protection Act (2018) and GDPR (2018) will be followed within the primary research. Only information that is relevant to the topic will be taken from the relevant questions asked. Any information taken from the research will be stored safely within a secured folder online as well as any other information obtained - this will also be password protected and kept confidential to conserve confidentiality. Due to the nature of focus groups, participants will not be able to access their information, like you can in interviews, because it has other people’s information on and this would be a breach of the Data Protection Act (2018) and GDPR (2018). The focus group will take place in a private space to prevent any personal information being presented to the public. It will be ensured that data will be handled with extreme care and safety precaution to prevent any mishaps. It will be clear to any participants that once the project is complete, all personal information, data and evidence will be destroyed 2-3 months after graduation to prevent publicity or mishandling.

Thank you for reading this blog!

Working ethically is essential to avoid offending or causing unnecessary harm.

See you next time!

Alysha:)

Reference List

BERA. (2018) Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research [Online]. Available at https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-2018-online#intro (Accessed 6December 2022).

O'Connor, A. (2022) Ethics Application Form [Images].