Ethical Issues

Before I was permitted to undertake this research I had to go through a very

stringent process which included the research proposal being assessed by the UEL tutors before it being deemed satisfactory. Afterwards the University of East

London’s Ethics Committee had to sanction the research proposal. After the Research Committee had sanctioned the proposal the same process had to be followed with the Local Authority’s Ethics Committee (see Appendix 1). It took both Ethics Committees eight months between them to sanction the proposal. It was not that the intended research was considered contentious in any way but the fact that further information was required from me even though what was required was clearly stated in the proposal. In the proposal it was clearly stated that that pupils from selected primary schools would be interviewed. UEL Ethics Committee asked if by ‘schools’ I meant ‘the School of Psychology’. The local authority on the other hand asked if I intended to pay the parents who had agreed to become participants in my study, even though no such arrangement had been highlighted in the proposal. Inevitably this caused a considerable delay in searching for suitable participants. This research set out to strictly adhere to the guidelines and standards of the BPS’s Code of Ethics (BPS, 2006). Before interviewing the participants they were all informed that they were free to withdraw from the interview process at any time without fear of recrimination. This was stressed quite strongly with the children. In selecting the participants, I stressed to the parents and the head teachers/SENCo that only the children they felt were robust enough to be interviewed should be put forward. I was open and transparent about the fact that I would be asking the children to talk about the difficulties they had experienced at home and in school. After each interview the children were debriefed and thanked for their participation.

128 All the participants were informed that their identities would remain confidential. The participants were also informed that within the interview transcripts their real names would not be revealed. This level of transparency was needed in order for the researcher’s professional integrity to be maintained. This issue is stressed by Hitchcock and Hughes (1989) who add that an ethical researcher should always be very clear about the aims and objectives of the research to be undertaken.

In order to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and more specifically the management of audio files, the following steps were taken to ensure that that the recordings of the participants remained confidential:

 Following transcription all the audio files on my computer were deleted  The names of the participants were changed

 Other names mentioned in the interviews were deleted

Despite having had clearance from two Ethics Committees my research faced opposition from the TaMHS therapists to the extent that I had to cease collecting data for two months. The TaMHS therapists had a number of concerns about me becoming involved in TaMHS, these concerns were focused mainly on the grounds that I had not obtained ethical clearance from their ethical committee and the fact that they were unsure as to how effectively I could respond to children who became distressed during the interviews (see Appendix 7).

In response to the therapists’ objections to my research, the University of East London’s Educational and Child Psychology Programme Director and my Academic Tutor sent the local authority’s Principal Educational Psychologist (JM) a letter detailing the ethical processes that I had gone through thereby making my proposed research valid (Appendix 7).

129 All the issues raised by the TaMHS therapists were responded to by JM, the local authority’s Principal Educational Psychologist (PEP) who confirmed that it was the local authority who had ‘commissioned’ me to undertake the TaMHS research and that I had obtained the necessary ethical clearance from the local authority. My original plan was to undertake research in the area of drugs and alcohol misuse among teenagers, the PEP, however, decided that TaMHS research would be more beneficial to the EPS. Before I was allowed to re-start my research two meetings were held between the EPS and representatives from Onside6 who were also TaMHS therapists.The issues highlighted within these meetings revealed the potential professional tensions between EPs and the therapists, the latter believing that the former are not sufficiently/specifically trained enough to offer therapeutic interventions. At the end of the last meeting attended by representatives from the university the TaMHS therapists were satisfied that due process had been followed

3.11 Conclusion

When undertaking research especially one of a qualitative nature it should not be assumed that the process will be linear and with no interruptions. From the delay by the various Ethical Committees to the temporary cessation of my research, a high level of patience, fortitude and resilience was needed on my part. At times it felt that the research in itself was no longer worthwhile due to the level of opposition faced. Another perspective would be to suggest that such an experience enables the researcher to be both reflective and reflexive and perhaps this is the reason why the research was eventually completed. Opting to undertaken qualitative research was based on the understanding that I would be able to gather rich data relating to participants’ views, perspectives and constructs. In doing so the views, perspectives

130 and constructs of therapists regarding the role of the EP unexpectedly formed part of my research which in retrospect added to the quality of the research.

These are not the only ethical issues to be considered. On reflection, the letters I wrote to the parents and the explanation of my research to the pupils including the subject of confidentiality could have been made clearer. These issues are dealt with in greater detail in the following chapter under ‘Reflective Analysis’.

Other learning points derived from my experience of planning research relate to the fact that I could have involved more professionals in the study. It could be argued that had I included the TaMHS therapist from the onset I may not have faced such stringent opposition to it. Including the TaMHS therapists would have engendered a better understanding between their roles and the role of the EP.

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Chapter 4