Ethical considerations

As with any participants, the students ' role in research leaves them particularly vulnerable because they have the least power in the research process (Gitlin, 1 994; Gitlin & Russell, 1 994). In research involving school-aged participants, ethical considerations are very important. The issues outlined in this section pertain equally to phenomenographic and ethnographic work. The guiding principles for ethical consideration are described by Bogdan and Biklen ( 1 998) as being:

• Subjects enter research projects voluntarily, understanding the nature of the study

and the dangers and obligations that are involved.

• _{Subjects are not exposed to risks that are greater than the gains they might derive} (p. 43).

To ensure the two main points of consideration raised by Bogdan and B iklen were considered, the current study sought and received approval from the Massey University Ethics Committee. However, even when such approval was gained, there was a need for sensitivity and truthfulness throughout the research process, . and therefore clear guidel ines were established in this research to ensure students were familiar with the aims and objectives of the research in order to make informed consent about participating in either Phase One or Phase Two. To ensure the students were protected, informed consent was gained from both the teachers and parents of the participating children.

3.8.1 Informed consent

Informed consent is an ethical issue and an integral and essential principle in any research endeavour (Bogdan & Biklen, 1 998; Cohen & Manion, 1 994; Eisner, 1 99 1 ). As Cohen and Manion ( 1 994) stated, "the principle of informed consent arises from the subject's right to freedom and self-determination" (p. 350).

Within longitudinal fieldwork it is particularly critical to gam informed consent because the participants are exposed to the research process over an extended period of time. Punch ( 1 994) believed that informed consent is "unworkable in some sorts of observational research" (p. 90). Some of these include covert observation, experimental research involving deception, and where participants provided informed consent to take

part but where they were not always aware of what data were being collected (Cohen & Manion, 1 994).

Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias ( 1 996) described four e lements of informed consent: competence, voluntarism, full information and comprehension. Competence refers to how capable the individual is in making the decision whether to take part in the research. Where someone is not considered competent, such as people with intellectual disabilities or very young children, Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias ( 1 996) argued that it is appropriate for parents or guardians to provide the consent if the research is considered in the interests of the participants. Voluntarism refers to the freedom of participants to participate. In this study in particular, which primarily involved a school setting, it was important that neither teachers nor students felt coercion to participate because of higher authorities, such as the principal. It was clearly stated to the principal that both teachers and students needed to volunteer to participate willingly. As this school had been involved in previous research activities, the senior management in the school understood this key principle of voluntarism. Within the present study, all consideration was given to ensuring participants (teachers, students and parents) had full information and understood what the research involved. Therefore, comprehensive information sheets were developed for all participants, which meant information provided through personal meeting or information sheets, or both, included details about the research aims, research questions and the research process, as well as ethical issues such as confidentiality and right to privacy. Finally, comprehens ion is essential for informed consent because it assumes that the participants comprehend the information provided and the subsequent implications for taking part.

Within the present study, after the parent and student consent forms for Phase Two had been returned and signed, an additional need for consent emerged during the early stage of this second phase. During the first few observations, it became evident to the researcher that photographs of students engaged in activities would facilitate discussion with the students at a later stage, and would be an invaluable tool for understanding the data as they emerged. As consent for taking the student's photographs had not been obtained through the formal consent procedures, the parents were contacted by phone and asked for permission to take photographs of the children working. Global consent

was also sought from the students, and every subsequent time that a photograph was taken the student's permission was requested.

Some researchers have raised issues related to whether informed consent (as opposed to consent) can really be gained. For example, Eisner ( 1 99 1 ) questioned the whole area of informed consent in research, particularly in the field of social sciences. Eisner argued that consent can probably never be informed, because the researcher can never really know the outcomes of research or its effect on participants. Furthermore, he argued that:

The notion of informed consent implies that researchers are able to anticipate the events that will emerge in the field about which those to be observed are to be informed. This is hardly a characteristic feature of field research. Researchers usually do not know what will emerge, except perhaps general themes, and therefore are not in a good position to inform those to be observed about what to expect (Eisner, 1 99 1 , p. 2 1 5).

In the present study therefore, procedures were set in place to minimise this issue. These procedures included developing clear information sheets to inform parents and students about the research and ensuring that students felt comfortable enough to ask questions throughout the research process, either during the interviews or during the observations. As this study involved young learners, the notions of confidentiality and informed consent were introduced to the students using children's language and were simplified to facilitate meaning (Gollop, 2000). For example, the use of the word "private" was used to help explain the notion of "confidentiality".

3.8.2 Confidentiality and Right to Privacy

There are ethical and political issues associated with fieldwork (Punch, 1 994). It has been argued that to learn about fieldwork the researcher needs to "get out there and do it" (Punch, 1 994; Woods, 1 992). The impact of the researcher on the context, the participants and the other members of the setting needs to be carefully considered. The ethics of fieldwork primarily involves the issues surrounding the researcher when in the field, and later when using, interpreting and publishing the data collected. These issues include the relationship the researcher has with participants and others, access to information and how this information is used, and associated issues of friendship, betrayal, confidence, trust and discretion. Within this study, a good working

relationship was established with the classroom teacher, and the other teachers within the syndicate. A positive and trusting relationship was developed with the students.

Ethical issues in fieldwork include anonymity, confidentiality and the participants' rights to withdraw from the study at any time (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 1 996; K vale, 1 996). The identity of the participants can be protected in a number of ways. In the present study, the data were stored in a locked and secure location, all participants were given codes for the storage of data, and pseudonyms were used in reporting the results. As this study was longitudinal, the students were continually made aware of their right to withdraw or their right to decline to take part in any portion of the research. This was achieved through always asking student permission before collecting any samples of work, asking students for permission before taking a photograph, and requesting their permission (after receiving teacher permission) before any interview taking place with them during classtime. In addition to this, consistent with K vale's ( 1 996) recommendation, the students were informed that the informal interviewing that took place during fieldwork was confidential.

At no time did the researcher become complacent or assume "rights" over the student involvement in any way. The students themselves became increasingly confident and trusting of the researcher and were able to make comments such as "don 't photograph me on this side as I have a coldsore ". In another example, the student (Peter) notes his right to confidentiality when he was asked by the researcher for a piece of his work. Peter's response was given in a lighthearted manner "they 're confidential, right? 1 1 before handing over the work. Other examples involved a student requesting a portion of his taped interview to be deleted, and another student requested the tape be turned off during his interview for a few minutes while he spoke "off the record". Throughout the observations within the current research, the researcher came to know the students and therefore developed awareness of their needs. For example, during observations that involved groups of students, the researcher became sensitive to when it was appropriate to leave the setting, particularly if a student appeared reluctant to participate because of the researcher's presence.

One ethical issue inherent in ethnographic research, is determining what level of intrusion and influence in the lives of the participants is acceptable. While the obj ective is to be as least intrusive as possible, situations can arise where the researcher could

inadvertently alter the course of a day for a participant. It happened in the present study when the researcher had gone into a student council meeting because one of the target students (John) was a school counsellor. These meetings were held once a week and John had indicated he attended regularly. However, at this particular meeting John was not in attendance and the teacher, who knew John was a target student, suggested that he was collected from his class. However, as this fieldwork took place in the student' s natural school setting, the researcher decided not to have John summoned, a s this would influence the natural flow of John' s day, and would be an example where the researcher influenced the outcomes for John.

When working in a school situation, the ethnographic researcher comes into contact with a number of people on the school staff. These can include l ibrarians, administration staff, teacher-aides, caretakers, art teachers and teachers from other classes . Interactions occur with people during times when the researcher is in the staffroom, hallway, library, playground and when accompanying students from class to class. A variety of ethical issues are raised through the general interchange of ideas and greetings with these people. Are these conversations considered data? Have these people given consent for their thoughts to be used and analysed? Through gaining an insight into how these people think about the school, can these be used to formulate ideas about a school culture? From the early stages of this research undertaking, it became clear that information would be available to the researcher from more avenues than expected. These informal conversations were not used as a data source, but provided a general context to help the researcher understand more about the general school culture. As the fieldwork progressed, the researcher became increasingly known within the school, which had the corresponding effect as the level of trust increased of providing further information or access to data (Neuman, 1 997). As Neuman's Access Ladder indicates, the more time in the field, and the greater level of trust developed between researcher and participants, the greater the access to sensitive information.

While this chapter has explored the theoretical framework for the study, and the ethical considerations of involving students, the following chapter outlines more specifically the methods taken across the two phases.