Whose ethics is it anyway?
New Divergent History of Research Ethics in
Transnational Education
BESA CONFERENCE
CARDIFF 2015
CHRIS GRANT
Overview
Context
History of Research Ethics
The study
Context
For students of British universities operating in Sub-Saharan Africa
there is a dichotomy between the requirements of the University
(based on ethical rationalism (Tikly and Bond, 2013)), and the
Post-Colonial cultural context in which they operate.
Context
Africa is…
chaotic
frenetic
messy
poor
Context 2
African students are…
resourceful
passionate
innovative
Context 2
African students are…
resourceful
passionate
innovative
community driven
But they have…
Ethics:
Field of study or set of principles?
Or code of conduct?
Reynolds (1979) focussed on moral dilemmas faced by researchers to
focus on the principles not the process
Hammersley and Traianou (2012:34) argue that “it is rarely if ever a
matter of simply
applying
a rule,
calculating
what is best, or knowing
directly what a situation requires.
History of Research Ethics
(Israel, 2015)
1947 Nuremburg Code
1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights
1966 First institutional research committee – Wits University South Africa
1975 Helsinki Declaration
1979 Belmont Report
2005 EUREC Declaration to establish European Network or Research Ethics
Committees
History of Research Ethics
(Israel, 2015)
1947 Nuremburg Code
1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights
1966 First institutional research committee – Wits University South Africa
1975 Helsinki Declaration
1979 Belmont Report
2005 EUREC Declaration to establish European Network or Research Ethics
Committees
History of Research Ethics
Time
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Social Science
Hammersley and Traianou (2012:36) in considering research ethics a
form of occupational ethics note that rather than emphasising the
importance of “pursue[ing] the occupational task effectively”(ie good
behaviours, which includes only doing research where the benefits
outweigh the costs) should be the focus), “the main, if not exclusive
focus, has been on how researchers should treat … people”
Africa
A different ethical context?
◦
Ubuntu – importance of community
◦
Ma’at – truth and justice
Africa – Research Ethics
Committees
Most research on Research Ethics comes from wealthier countries (Kass
et al, 2007)
Most countries do not have national guidelines for research ethics,
where they do exist they are focussed on biomedical research; questions
arise about their ability to the job required (Tindana and Boateng, 2008)
Kass et al (2008) found the majority of committees had no non-scientist
members (but note sample size and selection)
Kirigia et al (2005:1) argue all countries should protect citizens
Research Study
Literature Review
Focus Groups
In-depth Interviews
Alternative tool
Test tool
In-depth interviews
- Critical Incident
Research Study
Literature Review
Focus Groups
In-depth Interviews
Alternative tool
Test tool
In-depth interviews
- Critical Incident
technique
Research Study
Literature Review
Focus Groups
In-depth Interviews
Alternative tool
Test tool
In-depth interviews
- Critical Incident
technique
To develop understanding of students understanding and
application of research ethics
Research Study
Literature Review
Focus Groups
In-depth Interviews
Alternative tool
Test tool
In-depth interviews
- Critical Incident
technique
Research Study
Literature Review
Focus Groups
In-depth Interviews
Alternative tool
Test tool
In-depth interviews
- Critical Incident
technique
To test the ability of the tool to demonstrate ethical
compliance in research
Student perspective
Supervisor perspective
Research Study
Literature Review
Focus Groups
In-depth Interviews
Alternative tool
Test tool
In-depth interviews
- Critical Incident
technique
To evaluate the tool to demonstrate ethical compliance in
research
Student perspective
Supervisor perspective
Thoughts so far…
Bio-medical ethics is the “gold standard”
Yet recent Ebola outbreak and the abandonment of due process
(MRC, 2014) in medical research ethics indicates a flexible approach
Situational Ethics
One size does not fit all…
“Ethical judgement is primarily about which compromises are and are not
legitimate in the relevant context” Hammersley and Traianou (2012: 135)
Consequentialism
◦
“The ends justify the means” (Bentham, 1789)
◦
Rules are not absolute when violation leads to more undesirable consequences (Sen, 1979)
Israel (2015)
◦
conduct or compliance?
◦
Evasion
New Divergent History of
Research Ethics
Time
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
New Approach
Final thoughts…
“we have a stark choice: follow what we think is right, or
comply passively with regulatory edict” (Israel, 2015:189)
“we need therefore to generate a regulatory space where
researchers are given equal weight with ethical deliberators
rather than being reduced to acting out a set of sanctioned
behaviours.” (Israel, 2015:188)
References
Bentham, J [1789] 1907, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Available from http://www.econlib.org/library/Bentham/bnthPML.html
accessed 23/4/2015
Hammersley, M and Traianou, A, 2012 Ethics in Qualitative Research: Controversies and Contexts, London: Sage Israel, M, 2015, Research Ethics and Integrity for Social Scientists, London: Sage.
Kass, N, Hyder, AA, Ajuwon, A, Appiah-Poku, J, Barsdorf, N, Elsayed, DE, Mokhachane, M, Mupenda, B, Ndebele, P, Ndossi, G, Sikateyo, B, Tangwa, G and Tindana, P, 2007, The Structure and Function of Research Ethics Committees in Africa: A Case Study, in PLosS Medicine 4 (1):e3 available from
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040003&representation=PDF accessed 21/6/2015
Kirigia, J , Wambebe, C and Baba-Moussa, A, 2005, Status of national research bioethics committees in the WHO African region, in BMC Medical Ethics 2005, 6:10 available from
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/6/10, accessed 21/6/2016
Medical Research Council, 2014, Ebola vaccine trials fast-tracked by international consortium, available from
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/news-events/news/ebola-vaccine-trials-fast-tracked-by-international-consortium/, accessed 19/6/2015 NASA, 2015, Earth’s Visible Lights, available from http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=55167, accessed 21/6/2015
Reynolds, P, 1979, Ethical Dilemmas and Social Science Research, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Sen, AK, 1979, Collective Choice and Social Welfare. New York: North-Holland
Tikly, LP and Bond, TN, 2013, Towards a postcolonial research ethics in comparative and international education, in Compare: a Journal of Comparative Education, 43: 422-442 Tindana,P and Boateng, O, 2008, The Ghana Experience, in Journal of Academic Ethics, 6: 277-281
Transparency International, 2015, Corruption Perceptions Index 2014, available from http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014 accessed 18/6/2015