[Last modified: December, 1 2024 10:51 PM]
CASE STUDY 4.
Ethical Advice for the Research Project
As members of the Anthropology Ethics Committee, in order for your research project to be ethical and for data collection to be objective and truthful, I have a few suggestions for you.
Firstly, transparent and open communication with participants is crucial. You can provide participants with standardised and comprehensive information sheets, informed consent forms, outlining the purpose of your research, the confidentiality measures that will be taken, the use of the data collected, and the rights of the participants during the research process. Ensure that participants’ participation in the study is voluntary and that they state in advance that their research will not affect their careers and relationships.
Secondly, it was important to keep personal information about the participants confidential and to protect the data collected. Given the nature of the participants’ profession as midwives, there is a risk that they will be identified even if the interviews are conducted anonymously. Therefore, it is possible to use pseudonyms for the participants in the study and try to avoid referring to very specific cases and people, and to summarise the data as much as possible, treating them equally. Make sure that you approach the study from a very objective perspective and do not involve personal feelings. It is also a good idea to keep all data collected for the study on a personal, encrypted device and remember to destroy the data when the project is complete.
Furthermore, the characteristics of your dual role as colleague and researcher present potential ethical challenges. Participants may feel pressured to participate in the research process, and you may subconsciously force them to participate in the study or to respond in a way that they find favourable. To minimise this, you must make a clear distinction between your professional role and your research role. During the recruitment process, emphasise that participation is entirely voluntary and has nothing to do with your professional relationship.
In addition, HIV remains a stigmatised disease in many societies, and data collection and support around people living with HIV may touch on the ethical dilemmas, emotional burdens, and societal prejudices that midwives face in their work. Therefore, in the questionnaire design, interview questions could be designed in a neutral and open-ended way, avoiding any orientated questions that could be perceived as critical or sensitive. For example, an open-ended question could be used, ‘In your work, what is the significance of data collection for patient care?’ Instead of, ‘Do you believe that data collection has increased your workload?’ And so on. You can also document your own perceptions and attitudes about HIV to avoid inadvertently conveying biased or insensitive perspectives in your research.
In conclusion, I believe that as long as all ethical safeguards are in place, this project is low-risk research and therefore approval by the Anthropology Ethics Committee is sufficient. Unless it contains data of institutional or patient relevance, in which case UCL REC approval may be required.