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Ethical Appraisal Framework resource
Reflections on the Ethical Appraisal Framework for Masters level
studies: Paul and Elizabeth
About this podcast
This podcast offers two conversations between supervisors and Masters level
researchers about how the grid was used to support their studies.
In the first example, Paul has to change his project considerably as a result of
practical difficulties that arise
In the second example, Elizabeth finds that by working with the grid her methodology
evolves. She is worried that she ends up with a methodology that is very different
from previous studies in the same field. But she has a strong moral basis for what
she has decided to do.
These conversations are offered to you with thanks to colleagues and students at
Cambridge University.
Example 1: Paul’s Transition boxes project
Supervisor
Paul
Briefly describe
Our school has science specialist status and, as part of this, we
how your project
work with primary schools. Last year we created topic boxes for a
came about.
few of the primary science curriculum topics to trial in our feeder
schools. These were intended to offer equipment to primary
schools that they would not normally have access to and to
support an improvement in the consistency of science teaching in
primary schools in the local area. I thought this was a worthwhile
activity to support and wanted to take the opportunity of studying
for a Masters to help the school decide whether or how the topic
© Script Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury, 2012 for the University of Leicester. Any
part of this document may be reproduced without permission and can be altered,
transformed or built upon, if attribution is given to Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury.
The document cannot be reused commercially. CC-BY-NC-SA (share alike with
attribution for non-commercial use). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/ The moral rights of Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury to be recognised as the
authors of this work have been asserted.
Ethical Appraisal Framework resource
boxes could be further developed.
How does your
I was clear that my project would require me to show an ‘ethic of
project fit in with
respect’ for people (talked about in the guidance). However I
BERA guidance?
found the BERA guidelines difficult to access and was not sure
how to demonstrate how they would relate specifically to my
project.
Having been
I found it really helpful…. By completing the grid and considering
introduced to the
the questions I became aware that there were a few key areas I
ethical grid, how
needed to think about. Firstly, that I believed that there would be
did this help in
benefits for a number of people and this was important to me.
planning for your
Secondly, I wanted to show respect for those in the study, in
study?
particular not imposing on people’s time. Thirdly I was aware from
the outset that things might arise that could upset primary schools
and those who developed the boxes.
How did you plan As far as the benefits for others were considered I needed to
your study to
keep this in mind throughout my study, particularly when writing
deal with these
up. I decided during the study it would be useful to go back to
issues and did
year 7 teachers to talk more meaningfully with them about what I
you consider
had found out from students and discuss how the use of boxes
alternatives?
could best be moved on. Originally, I hadn’t planned to reinterview this group of teachers in this way but it was really
productive.
Secondly, I wanted to get the reactions of primary school
teachers but was worried how best to contact them, given their
full time schedules. Ideally I would like to have interviewed them,
observed lessons and asked them to complete a paper
questionnaire. However I decided, having spoken to a range of
teachers, that an online questionnaire might be considered more
efficient for the teachers to complete. For my colleagues in the
secondary school I negotiated to use Faculty time when the staff
already expected to be there.
© Script Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury, 2012 for the University of Leicester. Any
part of this document may be reproduced without permission and can be altered,
transformed or built upon, if attribution is given to Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury.
The document cannot be reused commercially. CC-BY-NC-SA (share alike with
attribution for non-commercial use). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/ The moral rights of Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury to be recognised as the
authors of this work have been asserted.
Ethical Appraisal Framework resource
The third issue I tackled by framing my questions very carefully.
When I asked children about their time at primary school I asked
in an open-ended way. This was also the case with my peer
teachers. As inconsistencies between schools were revealed I
asked both children and teachers about possible solutions. This
would ensure that I was working towards looking for ideas about
how to improve the situation. I also tried to focus on what was
good about the boxes and how they could be made better.
What problems
The main problem was that it seemed that the primary schools
did you come
were reluctant to use the boxes. Only two schools took boxes
across during the and, even then, they didn’t seem to have really used them.
study which you
Neither of the two primary schools who took boxes completed the
needed to think
online questionnaire or completed any pupil evaluation sheets in
about ethically?
the boxes. This really worried me as I was relying on this
feedback to answer the research questions ‘How do primary
school teachers report the use of science topic boxes?’ and ‘Do
primary school pupils recognise any benefits of the topic boxes?’
At this point, I decided I needed to re-plan. I was very clear that I
didn’t want to overly impose on these teachers’ time and
therefore respected their decision not to take part. It was also
clear that there was an underlying problem with the way in which
the boxes had been set up and tackling this was too big and
political an issue for my MEd project.
What did you do
I still wanted the views of primary school children so I
and how did
compromised and interviewed Year 7 students from the feeder
thinking ethically
primary schools. I also run a Year 7 science club so I asked
help you to make
whether they would help evaluate the boxes, and took a box to
changes to your
our weekly session to discuss.
project?
This meant that I changed my research questions to exclude the
necessity of evidence from topic box users. I reworded one to
read ‘Do school children recognise any benefits of the topic
© Script Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury, 2012 for the University of Leicester. Any
part of this document may be reproduced without permission and can be altered,
transformed or built upon, if attribution is given to Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury.
The document cannot be reused commercially. CC-BY-NC-SA (share alike with
attribution for non-commercial use). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/ The moral rights of Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury to be recognised as the
authors of this work have been asserted.
Ethical Appraisal Framework resource
boxes?’ and the other to read ‘How do primary and secondary
school teachers consider the use of science topic boxes?’
Were there any
All the way through I was aware that my colleague had designed
other difficulties
the boxes and was leading this project with the primary schools.
and how were
This in part explained my reluctance to impose another contact
these resolved?
and set of requests on schools. I also was tied to her timescales
of producing the boxes and administering them, which delayed
my project and meant I could not join up marketing of the boxes
with the invitation to join the study. Also, during the year 7
interviews, colleagues were not always positive about the boxes
and I knew I needed to be careful in reporting these views
positively – hence my focus on solutions.
To summarise –
It helped me to focus on the positive consequences of my work.
how has the grid
When it became clear that the boxes were not being used as
helped you to
intended, I concentrated on seeking solutions and insights that
think about your
might promote their use in the future.
project?
The grid also highlighted the importance of building relationships.
In the timescale it was not possible for me to build the
relationships that I needed to work with the primary schools. I
realised I had to work with what I had got and adapt my project
accordingly, whilst maintaining methodological integrity.
© Script Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury, 2012 for the University of Leicester. Any
part of this document may be reproduced without permission and can be altered,
transformed or built upon, if attribution is given to Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury.
The document cannot be reused commercially. CC-BY-NC-SA (share alike with
attribution for non-commercial use). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/ The moral rights of Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury to be recognised as the
authors of this work have been asserted.
Ethical Appraisal Framework resource
Example 2: Elizabeth’s methodological issues in a museum-based
project
Tell me about
I am interested in family learning in museums. I want to
your project.
understand how families make sense of the exhibits and the role of
questions in helping them to do so. I recorded 17 different families
as they went round the museum and conducted a focus group
discussion with some of them at the end of their visit.
What were the
I thought about my project using the grid and four key issues
major ethical
emerged:
issues?
Firstly, I wanted my study to be true to the aims and values of the
museum in which I was working – this was very important and
something that came out of the grid rather than BERA guidelines
Secondly, I needed to work out how to select the families that
would be involved.
Thirdly, I needed to work out how to capture the conversations
between the members of the family groups, without being too
intrusive and therefore affecting how they interacted with the
exhibits.
Finally, I wanted to make sure that taking part in the study did not
detract from the families’ visit to the museum. I needed to find a
way of gaining the trust of a set of strangers in a very short space
of time.
How did you
Well – when I started to think about how to take these issues into
take these
consideration, I realised that the ethics would shape my whole
issues into
methodology and write-up. The desire to make a positive
consideration?
contribution to the way in which my colleagues in the museum plan
their work has affected the way in which I have written my thesis. I
designed an initial ‘hands on’ workshop for the study which was
typical of the sorts of activity that go on every weekend and in the
© Script Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury, 2012 for the University of Leicester. Any
part of this document may be reproduced without permission and can be altered,
transformed or built upon, if attribution is given to Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury.
The document cannot be reused commercially. CC-BY-NC-SA (share alike with
attribution for non-commercial use). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/ The moral rights of Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury to be recognised as the
authors of this work have been asserted.
Ethical Appraisal Framework resource
school holidays. The families took part in the activity and then went
round the museum. I decided to record the conversations with a
tape machine that the family carried round with them. I strongly
considered video recording, as many other similar studies have
done, but I decided that that would be likely to affect they way in
which they behaved – particularly the children. I also disliked the
idea of covert research – posting cameras in the gallery - and
creating a situation in which it was difficult for people to opt out. I
let the families volunteer to take part and accepted anyone who
wanted to do so. One study I read strongly advocated choosing
English speaking family groups of 2, but I felt that this was not in
keeping with the inclusive ethos within the museum.
The ‘hands on’ workshop for the families enabled me to build their
trust and to create an atmosphere of enquiry so that they were
more likely to discuss the exhibits.
What would
It was how to capture the conversation without affecting the nature
you say was
of the conversation. This had implications in terms of the
the most
participants and my methodology.
significant
ethical issue?
How did using
It helped me to structure my thinking about ethics and in the
the grid affect
process I realised that the ethical considerations underpinned my
your project?
methodology. My whole methodology is based on ethics! I have
had to make some crucial decisions about how to conduct the
research, but I am confident that there is a sound moral basis for
what I have done and that my findings will be authentic.
© Script Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury, 2012 for the University of Leicester. Any
part of this document may be reproduced without permission and can be altered,
transformed or built upon, if attribution is given to Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury.
The document cannot be reused commercially. CC-BY-NC-SA (share alike with
attribution for non-commercial use). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/ The moral rights of Alison Fox and Kris Stutchbury to be recognised as the
authors of this work have been asserted.