The document outlines ethical guidelines for educational research, emphasizing respect for participants, sponsors, and the educational community. Key responsibilities include ensuring voluntary informed consent, maintaining confidentiality, and disseminating findings clearly to stakeholders. Researchers must uphold high standards of integrity and avoid misconduct, such as falsifying data or exploiting participants.

1. Ethical Guidelines for Educational
Research –
Extracts from BERA 2011 Guideline
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/sshp/research/sshp-ethics-committee-
and-procedures/BERA-Ethical-Guidelines-2011.pdf

2. Respect all Stakeholders
All educational research should be conducted
with Respect for:
• The Persons involved
• Knowledge (prior and new)
• Democratic Values
• The Quality of Educational Research
• Academic Freedom

3. I. Responsibilities to Participants
• Should be treated fairly, sensitively, with
dignity, and with respect and freedom from
prejudice of any kind
• Voluntary Informed Consent: participants
understand & agree to their participation
without any duress, a priori
• Action Research: Dual roles may induce
tensions in areas such as confidentiality

4. • Openness and Disclosure: avoid deception
unless their research design specifically
requires it
• Right to Withdraw: recognize the right of any
participant to withdraw from the research for
any or no reason, and at any time
• must not use coercion or duress of any form
to persuade participants to re-engage
Responsibilities to Participants – contd..

5. • Children, Vulnerable Young People and
Vulnerable Adults: Commensurate with their
age and maturity, those who are capable
should have the right to express their views
freely in all matters affecting them.
• participants may experience distress or
discomfort in the research process
• take all necessary steps to reduce the sense of
intrusion and to put them at their ease
Responsibilities to Participants – contd..

6. Responsibilities to Participants – contd..
• Incentives: must be commensurate with good
sense and propriety
• avoid undesirable choices
• Acknowledge the potential to create a bias in
sampling or in participant responses
• Detriment Arising from Participation: make
explicit any predictable detriment arising from
the research process or outcome
• Avoid designs that confer advantage to one
group of participants over the others

7. Responsibilities to Participants – contd..
• Privacy: confidential and anonymous
treatment of participants’ data is the norm
• participants’ permission to disclose personal
information to third parties are required
• However, participants have the right to be
identified with the research, if they so wish
• any publication, (including Internet) shall not
lead to a breach of agreed confidentiality and
anonymity.

8. Responsibilities to Participants –
contd..
• Disclosure: any illegal behaviour, which has
been detected during the research, must be
carefully considered before any disclosure to
the appropriate authorities.
• debrief all the participants at the conclusion
of the research and provide them with copies
of any reports on the outcomes

9. II. Responsibilities to Sponsors of
Research

10. Research Sponsorship
• Who is a sponsor?
– any person or body that funds research (OR)
– facilitates it by allowing and enabling access to
data and participants
• Researcher should ensure that the sponsors
are aware of the Ethical Guidelines
• Written agreement is the norm for funded or
commissioned research
• Researchers must fulfill their responsibilities
to sponsors to the highest possible standards

11. Agreement specifies –
• the purpose of the research,
• the research methods to be used,
• any conditions of access to data/participants,
• ownership of data,
• the researchers’ right to publish,
• requirements for reporting and dissemination,
• deadlines for completion
• accounting process for use of the funds

12. Publication of Sponsored Research
• Researchers have the right to
– independently publish their research findings
under their own names, even for sponsored
research
– avoid agreeing to sponsor’s conditions that could
undermine the integrity of the research by
imposing unjustifiable conditions
– dissociate themselves publicly from reporting of
their research, which they consider misleading or
unduly selective; sponsors too enjoy a similar right

13. III. Responsibilities to the Community
of Educational Researchers
• Includes all those engaged in educational
research
– academics,
– professionals (from private or public bodies),
– teachers and
– students

14. Misconduct
• Researchers must adhere to the highest
research-standards to protect the integrity and
reputation of educational research
• Researchers must therefore, not
– undertake work for which they are not competent
– falsify, ‘Sensationalize’, Distort, findings
– criticize other researchers in an unprofessional way
– exploit the conditions or contract research staff
– work under 'conflict of interest' or for selfish-
interests
– use research for fraudulent or illegal purposes

15. IV. Responsibilities to Educational
Professionals, Policy Makers and the
General Public
• Researchers have a responsibility to
– disseminate their research findings to the
educational professionals, policy makers and
general public for their benefit
– Communicate the practical significance of their
research, in a clear language that is appropriate to
the intended audience

16. Two documents can be downloaded from
British Educational Research Association -
https://www.bera.ac.uk/
• Ethical Guidelines-2011
• and
• Guide to Educational Research Writing