Regardless of the approach used to conduct research, researchers must ensure that participants receive the following:
Protection from harm
The right to voluntary and informed participation
The right to privacy
Researcher’s honesty with professional colleagues
All research participants must be protected from unnecessary and atypical physical or psychological harm.
Participants have the right to informed consent, which is a combination of informed and voluntary participation; they must provide informed consent to participate.
Informed consent is typically provided by signing a form that describes what participation in the study will entail.
When participants over the age of 18 agree to participate in the study, they are providing their consent.
Minors involved in any research study can provide only assent, because they are not of legal consenting age.
An informed consent form should always include the following:
A brief description of the study
A description of participant activities and duration of involvement
A statement indicating that participation is voluntary and may be terminated at the participant’s discretion
Description of any potential risk as well as potential benefits
A guarantee that all data will remain confidential and anonymous
The researcher’s name and contact information, as well as contact information for an official office
An offer to provide a summary of the findings of the study
A place for participants to sign and date the form
Accurate disclosure is when the researcher informs participants only of the details that will directly impact them as participants in the study.
Privacy can be attained through an assurance of anonymity, where identities are kept hidden from the researcher.
Privacy can also be attained through assurance of confidentiality, where identities are known but not disclosed to people outside of the study.
Regarding privacy, confidentiality is the minimal practice.
Researchers have the important ethical obligation always to report their findings in a complete and honest manner.
Ethical issues may be difficult to identify at the outset of a qualitative study, due to its emerging nature.
Ethical dilemmas may arise during qualitative studies, due to the intimate nature of data collection and the close involvement of the researcher with participants in the setting.
Researchers must ensure that their involvement and investment in the research setting do not jeopardize the quality of the research.
Institutional review boards (IRBs) are committees at colleges, universities, or research institutions that review and approve research studies.
Three categories of IRB review are exempt from review, expedited review, and full board review.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with the process used by the IRB on your campus so you provide all the required information on your application.
Two online courses for formal preparation to conduct research with human participants are offered by the National Institutes of Health and the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative.