Ethical reviews of research plans function as a cornerstone of good research practice in order that no harm should come to participants. Ethical concerns have taken on a new salience in a digital world where data can be generated at scale. Big data research has grown rapidly, raising increased ethical concerns. Several intersecting areas of big…

Research in early childhood settings requires careful consideration of the impact on all children in the setting, whether participants or non-participants, and evolving ethical approaches in response to children's needs. However, flexible approaches and, 'in the moment', ethical adaptations are not routinely reported as part of early childhood…

As Twitter's (or X's) influence permeates aspects of education, researchers must consider how to ethically and effectively leverage the unique types of data that this social media platform offers. This paper provides recommended methodological practice considerations for working with qualitative Twitter data toward the advancement of education…

The establishment of a Research Ethics Committee (REC) is a significant step to ensure the standard procedures in ethics review process that protect human participants. However, in instances when RECs are not yet established, surrogate activities are practiced by some institutions. The objective of this study was to identify prevailing research…

Notions of consent, including assent and dissent, are paramount ethical considerations in human research, but have different connotations in research involving young children (aged 3 to 8). While discussion surrounding consent in the early childhood literature has progressed from paternalistic views surrounding the need to protect the child, to…

This study aimed to explore the rigor strategies and ethical steps reported in qualitative research of educational administration journals in the recent decades. Using a focused search procedure, 321 relevant empirical qualitative articles were identified. Results suggest that qualitative educational administration, management, and leadership…

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has become a major research trend in the fields of education and psychology. However, several risks posed by this technology concerning the cognitive and socio-emotional development of children and adolescents have been identified. While it would be highly useful to have a clear understanding of these…

Obtaining informed consent is the foundation of ethics in clinical research involving human participants. Individuals who provide informed consent acknowledge they understand all aspects of the research including the nature of the study, the risks and benefits of participation, the participants' rights, study procedures, research duration,…

Despite ongoing disagreement about what kinds of evidence are most valuable to education, there continues to be an increasing push to make a narrow group of scientific methodologies the basis of educational policy and practice. This has created a growth in the use of randomised control trials (RCTs), which are considered an exemplary example of…

Formal ethical issues for conducting research are highlighted in national and international guidelines. Even if such strategies are grounded in democratic and rights-based values, their implementation may produce challenges. This article foregrounds dilemmas that were derived from fieldwork conducted in preschool settings with children aged one to…

Adolescent populations have become increasingly accessible through online data collection methods. Online surveys are advantageous in recruiting adolescent participants and can be designed for adolescents to provide informed consent without the requirement of parental consent. This study sampled 338 Australian adolescents to participate in a low…

For researchers seeking to improve education, a common goal is to identify teaching practices that have causal benefits in classroom settings. To test whether an instructional practice exerts a causal influence on an outcome measure, the most straightforward and compelling method is to conduct an experiment. While experimentation is common in…

Analysis of user-generated data (for example process data from logfiles, learning analytics, and data mining) in computer-based environments has gained much attention in the last decade and is considered a promising evolving field in learning sciences. In the area of educational assessment, the benefits of such data and how to exploit them are…

This study examined the ethical considerations researchers have made when investigating MOOC learners' and teachers' Twitter activity. In so doing, it sought to addresses the lack of an evidence-based understanding of the ethical implications of research into Twitter as a site of teaching and learning. Through an analysis of 31 studies, we present…

The Convention on the Rights of the Child foregrounds the right to participate. Contributing to decision-making on matters concerning children's lives is fundamental to rights education. This paper discusses ethical and methodological considerations of children's rights-based epistemology, arguing that children are competent to reflect upon and…