Research consent processes must provide potential participants with the necessary information to help them decide if they wish to join a study. On the Oxford 'A' Research Ethics Committee we've found that current research proposals mostly provide adequate detail (even if not in an easily comprehensible format), but often fail to support decision…

Conducting qualitative research on young people with intellectual disability and the Internet poses methodological challenges as well as opportunities. Based on memos from a qualitative study, this article focuses on identified gaps related to the challenges of informed consent, access to Internet arenas and using stimulus materials.…

Internet users' comments in online spaces have attracted researchers' attention in recent years. Although this data is typically publicly available, its use requires careful consideration so as to not cause harm to the users, while complying with the terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) of the online spaces. However, the Ts & Cs and researchers'…

Information communications technologies (ICTs) like laptops, smartphones and portable storage devices facilitate travel, communication and documentation for researchers who conduct fieldwork. But despite increasing awareness about the ethical complications associated with using ICTs among journalists and humanitarians, there are few reflections on…

This article provides a primer for researchers exploring ethical issues in the research of group work. The article begins with an exploration of relevant ethical issues through the research process and current standards guiding its practice. Next, the authors identify resources that group work researchers can consult prior to constructing their…

On the day that Henrietta Lacks died, researcher Dr. George Gey excitedly appeared on national television. He held a vial of her cells in his hand for the entire world to see and stated, "It is possible that, from a fundamental study such as this, we will be able to learn a way by which cancer can be completely wiped out." Once separated…

The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) represents teachers and researchers of composition and communication in all possible genres, media, contexts, and exigencies; for the purpose of these guidelines, "writers" and "writing" will be all-encompassing, and the term "researcher" will refer to…

For the first time in twenty years the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS, 2009) is considering changes to federal regulations governing research. The Common Rule provides the basis for government regulations and Institutional Review Boards (IRB). Proposed changes will have a significant impact on Institutional Review Board…

This article will explore some of the ethical dilemmas that confront researchers when they seek to invite children's participation in research. It firstly tracks the historical landscape of ethical research and will examine the influence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on participatory research with children.…

This article begins by raising issues around the way in which ethical approval for research is managed in university settings, where committees often base their assumptions on a principlist approach making a number of assumptions that we consider to be contestable, such as a neat separation between researcher and researched. However, collaborative…