ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The researcher gave ample consideration to ethical issues in the planning and implementation of this investigation (see appendix N). In planning this research, the researcher took into account the sensitivity of the research topic and the vulnerability of the research subjects. The researcher ensured that the participants‟ rights and feelings were given paramount consideration, as stipulated in Greig and Taylor (1999).

The research design and procedures advocated were carefully deliberated upon, and it is anticipated that most of the ethical issues that surround this investigation have been explored. Close consultation was

maintained in the course of this inquiry with the Ethics Committee in the Computer Science School in order to resolve the ethical issues related to the investigation.

Informed consent and confidentiality were upheld in this investigation (see appendix A). Proper consent procedures were followed and obtained from both the parents and the school. The confidentiality of the

information obtained in this research was respected, and the personal information was kept private and used only within the context of the investigation.

Precautions were taken to ensure that the rights of the children/participants were not violated or compromised. The children were not coerced in any way. The tests was paused or cancelled altogether if the participant displayed any signs of unwillingness to take part in any of the activities. The issues related to the participants‟ wellbeing raised questions of how to conduct and manage the investigation without disturbing the routine and tranquillity of these children, since many of them had problems with changes to their routine.

Bias

To minimise bias and the misjudgement of the actions and disposition of the participants, some of the investigation was video-recorded. The researcher‟s experience of ASD provided a means of cross-checking the actions and dispositions of the participants. This was done with a great deal of caution in order to avoid contaminating the results with prejudice, misgivings, misinterpretations or misrepresentations.

The problem of how to apply subjectivity without bias in this research was neither easy nor clear-cut, as might have been anticipated; for example, in the interviews, the information obtained from the facilitators (classroom assistants and HCI professionals) of the subjects about the effectiveness of the computer programs employed in the investigation may have been completely free of bias. The implication of this process, in practice, is that, although the data collected was protected from being clouded with bias, this may not be the case. It must be stressed that the interviewees tried to answer the questions as honestly as possible. The interview results were reported in a fashion that reflected the participants‟ views and perspectives. Ample steps were taken to present the views and opinions of the interviewees in a fair, true manner.

Validity

The issue of validity is a pertinent aspect of any research, which needs to be given serious deliberation when considering the underpinning theory that a piece of research will advocate. In this investigation, close

consideration was given to the epistemological perspective that best reflects the type of knowledge advocated in this inquiry (to validate the position adopted here). Questions, such as will the results expected from the research be validated by advocating the objective or subjective approach to knowledge, or by advocating both perspectives, were seriously considered.

There is also the question of whether the slight change or altering the seating arrangement to suit the needs of the children could have affected the results (for example in the pre- and post-tests). This is unlikely as the changes were applied only to the arrangement and not to the test content.

Attempts to promote validity in this investigation through extensive investigatory tasks were undertaken. For example, after the participants had completed the attitude questionnaires, they were interviewed in order to obtain a clearer understanding of the attitude questionnaire scores.

The use of facilitators was essential, due to the fact that the main participants in this inquiry were children with ASD and severe learning disabilities who were non-verbal. Teaching assistants were, therefore, used as facilitators. Their views and opinions were sought in order to facilitate communication and to give explanatory clarity to incidents, and the dispositions and actions of the children were noted whilst conducting this

investigation.

Using facilitators created the ethical dilemma that the participants‟ views and opinions may be clouded by the facilitators‟ bias. Similarly, the facilitators may influence the test results, as they may use their pre-existing knowledge of the participants to determine the actions and dispositions of the participant, which may be wrong or misjudged. Nonetheless, the use of facilitators is essential to this inquiry as, without them, there would be little or no means of determining the children‟s actions and the interpretation of the factors that may influence the test results.

Generalisation

The essence of any research is to benefit people in society, so the issue of the generalisation of an

investigation needs to be considered and applied where appropriate. Generalisation deals with the degree to which the findings of a research may be used beyond the specific situation in which they occur. It refers to the extent to which the findings of an inquiry are more generally applicable to other situations or times (Robson, 2002). The findings of this investigation can be applied to other children with ASD. However, generalising the findings of this inquiry has to be done with some discretion. Since ASD is a spectrum in which each person is affected differently by the disorder, not all of the aspects of the findings and recommendations of this

investigation will apply to all children with ASD.

3.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter discussed the methodology employed in this investigation. There was a lot to consider and a lot to examine, in order to achieve the best methodology possible to research this topic. This research converged theories from various domains, as it was found that no one theory will fulfil the expertise necessary to do justice to this subject area. The key theories that link all of the aspects employed include learning theories (investigating how children with ASD learn), HCI, and investigating the interaction between the child and the computer program and software engineering, which investigates the systematic design and development of the software. The chapter began by examining the underlying theoretical assumptions that should direct this inquiry; articulating the methodological issues that needed to be considered in order to optimise the methods and techniques employed in the planning and implementing of the investigation. The chapter ends by

highlighting the problems associated with the methodology advocated and the methods employed, and ethical issues and other issues of bias and validity were also discussed.