CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
3.5 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
3.5.1 Undertaking the Research
Developments in the field of social science in recent years have been accompanied by a growing awareness of the attendant moral issues implicit in the work of social science researchers and of their need to meet their obligations with respect to those involved in, or affected by, their investigations (Cohen et aI., 2000). According to
Bogdan and Biklen (1992), most academic specialities and professions have codes of ethics that set forth a number of guidelines and even rules to regulate the conduct of the members of these groups. Bogdan and Biklen (1992) argue that two issues dominate recent guidelines for ethics in research with human subjects: informed consent and the protection of subjects from harm. These guidelines attempt to ensure frrstly that subjects enter research projects voluntarily with an understanding of the nature ofthe study and the.dangers and obligations that are involved, and secondly, that subjects are not exposed to risks that are greater than the gains they might derive from their participation. The principle of informed consent arises from the subject's right to freedom and self-determination. This concept also includes the subject's right to refuse participation in the study or to withdraw from the study at any time if they so wish. The notion of informed consent was incorporated in two ways in this study. These will be briefly discussed below:
The principle of informed consent was applied to the initial stages of the research project; that is of access to the research institution where the research will take place, and the acceptance by those whose permission one needs before embarking on the task (Cohen et aI., 2000). In the present study, access to the school was initiated by a phone call to the school counsellor followed by a letter detailing the nature ofthe study and intended research procedures (Appendix A). After this, the researcher met with the school counsellor and the school principal officially to provide further verbal and written information about the proposed study. The study's research proposal was also made available to the school. The school principal signed a consent form (Appendix B) stating the school's consent for this particular research to be conducted.
Secondly, informed consent was obtained from the teachers who would be completing the questionnaires. This consisted of requesting that the teachers complete a short questionnaire regarding the peer counselling programme at their school. The actual questionnaire contained an introductory page describing the proposed research, information about the researcher, and the intended use of the results ofthe study (see Appendix F). The anonyminity of the questionnaires was also assured. This was felt to be important as the confidential nature of the questionnaires would possibly allow for more open and honest responses. Itwas
also expected to reduce any level of threat that the teachers might experience due to possible concern about how their responses could be viewed by other staff
members. AB such, the teachers were asked not to put their names on the completed questionnaires and to place their completed questionnaires in a confidential box in the staff room to which only the researcher had access. Cake was provided in the staff room as a gesture of the researcher's appreciation for the time and effort the teachers had provided in completing the questionnaire.
The informed consent of the learners was also sought in the study. According to Cohen et al. (2000) the informed consent procedures for asking minors to participate in research involves consulting and seeking permission from those adults responsible for the prospective subjects and also approaching the young people themselves. The adults in question can be, for example, parents, teachers or youth leaders, depending on the research context.
In this study, the school principal and school counsellor were first approached for permission to collect data from the learners. Once this was gained, a letter was sent home to the parents of those learners who were asked to participate in the study.
The aim of this was to inform the parents or guardians of the study and to provide them with the opportunity to raise any queries and/or objections to the intended research (see Appendix C). A two-week interval was allowed from the time this letter was sent to when the learners were approached for their consent to participate in the research. The learners' informed consent was then sought. On the actual questionnaire, the learners were provided with information about the research aims, how the information would be used and, importantly, the confidential nature of the study. The learners were asked to tick a box on the first page of the questionnaire if they decided to complete the questionnaire as an indication oftheir consent to participate (see Appendix E). Each member of the participating classes was provided with a small chocolate in thanks for their participation. The learners were asked to place their completed anonymous questionnaires in the confidential box.
They were also assured that only the researcher would have direct access to the completed questionnaires.
Of concern was that the content of the information requested in the questionnaire would raise potentially sad or distressing emotions in the learners. They were therefore encouraged by the school counsellor to approach herself and/or the peer counsellors should they need to talk about any of these concerns.
3.5.2 Conclusion
The present study concerns an evaluation of a peer counselling programme. Strike (1990 in Cohen et aI., 2000), offers two broad ethical principles which may form the basis of further considerations in the field of evaluation. These are the principle of benefit maximisation, and the principle of equal respect. The former principle requires researchers to identify a suitable population and the benefits for that population, as well as the benefits that they wish to maximise for that population. The latter principle requires respecting the equal worth of people.
This study recognises that its evaluation of the school's peer counselling programme is an opportunity to bring about some level of benefit "maximisation" (Cohen et aI., 2000) to the learners and the wider school context through a number of affirming observations and recommendations.
To conclude the section on ethics in this study, it can be said that honest, sensitive and constructive feedback to the school in this study provided a suitable ending to the process of this particular research at this school. Indeed, maximising the utility and effectiveness of the present programme was one of the more important and practical aims of the study.