Raising standards in research ethics
This case study was written by independent researcher Dr Helen Kara.
Background
Although this is a case study of impact from 2020 onwards, the story starts in 2015 when I became a Visiting Fellow at NCRM. At the time, I was thinking about a book on research ethics. I was frustrated by the way existing research ethics books treated the topic as if it exists in isolation. It seemed clear to me that research ethics are linked with political ethics (primarily through research funding), institutional ethics, professional ethics, social ethics, individual ethics, and so on. I could see a kind of intersectionality of ethics affecting people’s ethical decisions.
I was also frustrated by universities’ standard systems of research governance. This is ostensibly to ensure high-quality research, but is really to protect institutions. The system is implemented through research ethics committees (RECs), which are primarily concerned with participant well-being and data storage. While undeniably important, these are also the areas most likely to lead to disaffected individuals suing universities. Some RECs try harder than others to support researchers in their work. Even so, evidence shows that RECs rarely – if ever – ask for confirmation that researchers will act ethically other than when collecting and managing data. This system leads some researchers to conclude that getting formal approval from a REC means they have ‘done ethics’ and so don’t need to give research ethics any further thought, which has the potential to lead to unethical, harmful practices. I wanted to dispel both myths.
Involvement with NCRM
I was making good progress on the book by mid-2016 when I went to the NCRM Research Methods Festival. One Festival session was run by three Indigenous researchers: Bagele Chilisa, Helen Moewaka Barnes, and Deborah McGregor. They taught me that the Indigenous research paradigm is separate from, and pre-dates, the Euro-Western paradigm, and that it is highly ethical.
This completely changed the direction of my work on research ethics, and its influence is particularly evident in my writing and training. I stopped writing to read as much Indigenous research literature as I could lay hands on. Then I revised my book plan to include a third factor: I set the Indigenous paradigm side-by-side with the Euro-Western paradigm to see what could be learned from the comparison. Research Ethics in the Real World: Euro-Western and Indigenous Perspectives was published in late 2018.
Since 2020 the impact of this book has shown itself through citations, work for the European Commission, and training. Before 2020 the book only had five citations, since then it has had over 50. Current citations encompass research from Brazil, Canada, Finland, Guatemala, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, the UK and Vietnam. As well as being cited in literature written in English, the book has also been cited in scholarly work written in Spanish and Norwegian.
Working with the European Union
As a result of the book, I was invited to join the Academy of Social Science’s team leading the EU-funded PRO-RES project to promote ethical evidence. This project has laid the foundation for policymakers and others, throughout the EU and associated countries, to find and value evidence which has been ethically produced.
I was also invited to train as an ethics expert for the European Commission (EC) and have sat on panels assessing the ethical dimensions of proposed EU-funded research, often multi-million Euro projects with partners from many countries. And I have been engaged as an independent expert adviser on ethics for a five-year EU-funded project aiming to find ways to identify and reduce risks to container supply chains worldwide. I have learned that the work of EC ethics experts influences European funding and policy.
Training resarchers
In 2020 I developed a one-day course for NCRM called Radical Research Ethics, based on my book. Most university ethics training is about how to fill in an application form for a REC. I wanted to show students why it is important for researchers to think and act ethically throughout the research process and give some guidance on how this can be done.
The course begins by reviewing the Euro-Western approach to research ethics and questioning the ethics of this approach. Then it reviews the Indigenous approach to research ethics and draws some comparisons with the Euro-Western approach. The practice of ‘research abuse’ (employing unethical research practices) is taught through contemporary examples such as ‘ethics dumping’ (for example, exporting unethical research practices to lower-income countries), some nations’ coercion of census participants, and the illegal holding of Indigenous mortal remains as ‘data’ by US universities and museums. The course teaches researchers how to be mindful of their responsibilities and act ethically throughout the research process, and how to manage ethical dilemmas, trilemmas and quadrilemmas where there is no clear or best way forward.
I ran this course four times in 2021: for NCRM, the White Rose Doctoral Partnership (WRDP – twice) and the University of Edinburgh. I trained over 80 people, mostly doctoral students from a wide range of disciplines, and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Comments from the NCRM course included:
"It has been really interesting and thought-provoking… lots to think about."
"It’s really got me thinking differently."
"This has been really helpful. I really hope there are future sessions soon as I will be recommending to my colleagues."
In 2021 I also ran a half-day workshop on the subject for a small group of staff and postgraduate students at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore. And I ran a webinar for The Third Degree who provide online support for doctoral and other postgraduate researchers, predominantly from the geo-political South. The webinar had over 170 registrations, 90 attendees, and a very lively discussion.
Influence on creative methods training
Since 2020 I have also amended the way that I teach the ethics segment of my course on Creative Research Methods. This course begins with a presentation about research ethics which now includes the Euro-Western and Indigenous paradigms and contemporary research abuses. Since 2020 I have run this course 17 times for NCRM and seven other higher education institutions in the UK, Europe, and Australia.
Altogether in these 17 courses I have taught over 350 people, mostly doctoral students, from all disciplines: art, sociology, geography, law, engineering, maths, and the rest. The second edition of Creative Research Methods: A Practical Guide came out in late 2020 and the material on research ethics has been thoroughly reworked in the light of my learning from writing my ethics book. Creative Research Methods has had over 150 citations since the second edition was published.
Summary
The impact of NCRM’s support for, and influence on, my work in research ethics is growing steadily. I am booked to teach Radical Research Ethics again for NCRM and WRDP in 2021. I expect to see more citations, do more work for the EC, and deliver more training courses year on year.