Teaching qualitative research methods to undergraduates

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Teaching qualitative research methods to
undergraduates

• HEA Psychology Network Workshop
• 25th-26th April 2007
• University of York

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Aims

• To highlight distinctive ethical issues that
  should be covered in teaching on qualitative
  methods
• To suggests strategies for such teaching
• To try out and discuss one practical exercise
  that could be used as part of teaching in this
  area

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Ethics and qualitative research

• Professor Nigel King
• Department of Behavioural Sciences
• University of Huddersfield

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Introduction

• All UG students expected to be taught about
  research ethics
• Principles and standards (e.g. BPS) apply to all
  kinds of research
• BUT we would argue that there are distinctive
  issues re. applying ethics to qualitative
  research, that students need to understand

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Key ethical principles

• Most research courses will address following
• Informed consent
• Confidentiality
• Avoiding harm
• Use of deception
• Right to withdraw
• What issues regarding these that should be
  addressed in qualitative methods teaching?

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Informed consent

• In general no more of an issue than for
  quantitative research
• Should note, though, that for interview studies
  participants need to give explicit consent to
  have their words quoted in reports, publications
  etc
• Perhaps more likely to come across circumstances
  where written consent is difficult or
  inappropriate

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Confidentiality

• Access to large amount of personal info can make
  confidentiality difficult to protect
• Use of pseudonyms for people and places may not
  be enough - may need to further disguise
  identifying details
• Think about anonymity amongst fellow participants
  and in immediate social environment
• May need to consult individual participants about
  what you want to report

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Avoiding harm

• Anticipating and responding sensitively to
  emotional responses of participants
• Ptp getting upset is not necessarily harm, but
  mishandling by researcher can make it so
• Students also need to be alerted to issues of
  researcher safety in field work (e.g.
  interviewing people in own homes)

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Use of deception

• Less of an issue for qualitative studies than
  experimental ones - would normally expect clear
  explanation of research as part of process of
  gaining informed consent
• Need to ensure ptps are not inadvertently mislead
  e.g. through use of jargon
• Students need to be aware of role conflict issues
  - e.g not there as a psychologist to offer
  professional advice - even if requested

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Right to withdraw

• Does not raise especially difficult issues for
  qualitative research
• Students need to be clear it includes withdrawal
  from interview (etc) and withdrawal of data after
  collection and analysis

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Teaching strategies

• Address issues above directly in lecture(s) on
  research ethics
• Reinforce by repeating key points in other
  qualitative methods lectures e.g. dealing with
  emotional responses within lecture on interview
  methods
• Devise practical activities specifically related
  to ethics

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Beyond the guidelines

• Increased bureaucratic processes around ethical
  approval (e.g. in NHS) can make it seem like
  something to be got through
• Ethics should be about reflecting on moral issues
  in research
• Qualitative research can be a very useful context
  in which to get students thinking beyond the
  guidelines