K)+Ethics

Ethical Considerations DO NO HARM!  Any research which involves other people in some way has ethical implications. Action research in education is deeply embedded in the social world of the educational setting within which it takes place. Education is a social activity thus data gathering and analysis within action research will inevitably impact on the lives of others within these communities including students, colleagues, and other community members. All participants, regardless of age or social status, receive the same consideration. That is to say, following ethical protocols ensures individual rights are not infringed and promotes fairness in the interpretation of data. __GUIDELINES FOR THE ETHICAL CONDUCT AND REVIEW OF ACTION RESEARCH__ **Preamble**: The Challenges Associated with Action Research Action research is a form of self-inquiry designed to improve the understanding and conduct of one’s practice in a human service profession such as education, social work, nursing, and the like. Although the goal of such research is often to enhance moral and ethical practice, there are some unique ethical challenges for [those reviewing applications using] this form of research. Specifically, researchers are typically in a power relationship with the prospective participants, and are in the position of requesting data from individuals who may not feel entirely free to refuse permission given this unequal relationship. Thus, the TCPS (Tri Council Policy Statement) principle of free and voluntary consent is somewhat difficult to achieve in this situation. Secondly, action research is necessarily fluid, typically beginning with identification of a problem to solve, rather than a research question. Thus, both practice and research procedures evolve over the course of the project. This creates challenges for the TCPS principle of fully informed consent, as participants cannot be fully informed about the complete requirements of their participation at the beginning of a research project. A third issue is that, given the personally situated nature of action research, the identity of participants is generally easy to deduce due to their relationship with the researcher, creating challenges for the TCPS principle of confidentiality. Finally, given that action research, widely defined, should be a component of all professional practice, some guideline is needed for determining which such professional improvement projects require REB (Research Ethics Board) approval. **Guideline 1**: Projects requiring REB approval Action research projects that are intended for use beyond self-improvement will require REB approval. If a researcher intends to use the information obtained in an action research project for some purpose external to the study situation itself, such as for a graduate thesis, funded research, publication, or conference presentation, ethics review is required. Conversely, if the goal is solely improvement of practice, with no identified secondary use of the data, no REB review is required. [Should we also include a statement regarding REB approval if a request to use data emerges at a later date? e.g. addressing secondary use] **Guideline 2**: On-going informed consent & participant consultation Given the fluid, changing nature of action research projects, informed consent procedures should be an on-going part of the process. Specifically, consent should be renewed at each transition in the project. For vulnerable participants, such as children, parental consent also needs to be sought at each transition in the project requirements. **Guideline 3**: On-going monitoring & reporting to the REB Given the increased ethical challenge of action research caused by the on-going power relationship between researcher and participants, and the fluid nature of the research, additional reports must be submitted to the REB either by the researcher or by a third party familiar with the research. Specifically, status reports, similar to those used for yearly monitoring, must be filed at key transition points in the project. For example, reports would be filed between implementation and evaluation; and between evaluation and modification of practice. Status reports can be prepared by the researcher, or by a supervisory third party such as a thesis supervisor, or the __project’s__ [applicant’s] “critical friend”.

Available at: http://www.uregina.ca/research/REB/action_research.shtml

[|U of R action research ethics]