Chapter 2: Literature Review
3.6 Ethical considerations
Ethical consideration is important prior to any research being carried out especially any studies involving human participants and so should be factored into any
research planning and evaluation. Ethical considerations should help
reduce/eliminate the risk of harm, stress and anxiety to participants. Questionable practices that would raise ethical considerations include (Robson, 2011):
• involving people without their knowledge or consent;
• coercing participation;
• deceiving participants;
• exposure to physical or mental stress; and,
• withholding benefits from some participants.
Cozby (2009) identified three basic principles to consider for ethics; beneficence, autonomy and justice. Beneficence refers to maximising benefits to participants and minimising any possible harm, which may include psychological or physical harm. Autonomy refers to respecting human participants, such as insuring that
113 they are treated with confidentiality and allowing participants to make the
deliberate decision to participant in the research study. Justice refers to issues of fairness when participants receive benefits of the research being carried out and also bearing the burden of risks associated with the research (Cozby, 2009).
This doctoral research was carried out in compliance with Loughborough
University’s ethics guidelines. The ethics guidelines ensure that the research would be carried out and managed in an ethical way that would not harm any participants.
To ensure issues from potential risks were considered a risk assessment form was also completed for both phases of this thesis research, which could calculate whether formal approval was needed for the research study. Phase 1 did not require full ethical approval, however full ethical approval was sought from the Loughborough University Ethics Committee for carrying out research relating to Phase 2 of this study as part of the DEFACTO project. Full ethical approval was needed due to the nature of the DEFACTO project’s research involving various monitoring equipment and interactions with households which could have potentially contained vulnerable people. This ethics submission was made by the DEFACTO project team but listed any involvement this thesis work had in addition to the project’s needs. In addition to the ethics submission all research project members had a Criminal Records Bureau check completed and certification
obtained providing evidence that each project member posed no risk to participants in that study.
To reduce any harm to participants or any misinterpretation by participants to what the research involves informed consent was sought by the author for the Phase 1 study and formed part of the information packs given to participants for the Phase 2 study. This involved giving participants information for the research project and the researcher’s name, and getting the participant’s to formally sign saying that they agree to take part. An informed consent form typically includes statements that the participants need to agree to such as, they can ask the researcher any questions
114 they have about the research study prior to consenting, that they know their
participation is voluntary and as such can withdraw from the study at any point, that their data may be used in reports, publications or presentations, and that they have read and understood the information provided about the study. These statements were included in both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 study consent and participant information materials.
To further protect participants within both research studies anonymity was given to those participating in the research. This meant that researchers also avoided disclosing any personal details which could result in a participant’s identity being exposed. To ensure anonymity, any identifiers to participants have been removed when presenting the results of both studies. Due to both studies involving
interviews being carried out in participant’s homes care was taken to avoid any invasion of the participant’s privacy.
On top of ethical issues for participants, researchers must also consider their own safety and any risks to them when carrying out the research. Boynton (2005) provides detailed potential risks to researchers that should be considered and the actions which should be ensured to limit those risks. These risks and actions have been summarised in Table 3.10.
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Table 3.10 Potential risks and implications for researchers (summarised from Boynton, 2005)
Risk Implications
Buildings Ensure access well light, clear paths with no potential safety issues from machinery etc.
Own property
Keep belongings close and in a safe place. Do not take valuables unless absolutely necessary
Well-being Aware of fire exits, emergency contact numbers Equipment Be correctly trained to use any equipment
People Anticipate and know how to respond to potential racist/sexist/homophobic remarks or abuse from participants
Environment Likely to have to work or travel in adverse weather conditions. Have planned routes
Lone working Is risk posed high, medium or low? Is it possible to work in pairs? Record location, route and timings of any visits to participants
Setup Designed study to avoid cold-calling? Have identity badges.
To ensure the safety of the researcher during the Phase 1 study, a Loughborough University risk assessment form was completed. Following this, protocols were put in place where the researcher would attend interviews with a chaperone. This was also further supported by arranging a contact within the University who had access to the interview details (location, time etc.) and was texted prior to the interview and as soon as the interview ended. Should neither the interviewer nor chaperone text the contact person within ten minutes of the scheduled end time of the visit, then the contact person would call to get confirmation everything was ok. Should confirmation fail to be made after numerous attempts then the contact person was instructed to get in touch with the police. The researcher was also aware of how to quickly end the interview should they feel uncomfortable or threatened by any participant during the interviews.
A detailed risk assessment was completed for the DEFACTO project which included the involvement of the Phase 2 study that formed part of this doctoral research.
116 Similar protocols were put in place as to the Phase 1 study where both the first and second household interviews were attended by two team members. As a good rapport had been established with the households by the third interviews, these were attended by only the author. Therefore to ensure the safety of the researcher a contact protocol was put in place where a team member knew all details of the household visits and was texted prior and following any visit to confirm all was ok.
If contact was not made then the chosen team member would get in touch with the researcher, failing this raise the alarm.
3.7 Summary
The research within this thesis takes a constructivism epistemological approach and is interpretive in nature. The research incorporates mixed methods with a primarily inductive design. Various qualitative and quantitative data collections techniques and tools are used including: interviews, physical measurements, a heating diary, focus groups, participant interactive activities and questionnaires/surveys. Detailed information regarding the specific data analysis carried out on this collected data can be found in the relevant chapters, Chapter 4, 5 and 6.
The doctoral research was designed into two different phases, Phase 1 and Phase 2.
Phase 1 of the research used primarily qualitative methods to develop an
understanding of the variation of current heating use in homes, how people heat their homes and the reasons behind why they adopt certain heating behaviours.
Phase 2 of the research used a multi-staged, mixed methods approach where
quantitative methods were used to investigate what people did to heat their homes, how people interacted with new heating controls and how varied the heating
behaviours were within the sample regarding set-point temperatures, heating durations and the heating schedules set. The qualitative methods used within the Phase 2 research investigated why people used their heating a particular way and whether any issues impacted their use of heating within their homes. This doctoral research also investigated the benefit of combining both qualitative and
117 quantitative research methods for investigating heating behaviour in homes. The ethical and safety considerations taken for both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 are described in detail within this chapter ensuring the safety of all participants and researchers.
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