ETHICS AND INFORMED CONSENT



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Considering Ethics

Universities and the regions they are located in differ in terms of the ethical regulations that need to be adhered to in carrying out research. In the case of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, it is of paramount importance for doctoral students to become familiar with the Codi de Bones Pràctiques published by the UAB Doctoral School in 2013.

It is also important to be aware that at the UAB, the Comissió d'Ètica en l'Experimentació Animal i Humana (CEEAH) is the body in charge of establishing the mechanisms and procedures for making sure that all research carried out aligns with the legal frameworks in place. Although this commission is particularly important when it comes to ensuring the ethics of research in the health sciences, it is also imperative for researches in the social sciences to be familiar with their criteria for evaluating the ethics of research conducted with humans. Your supervisor will best guide you as to whether ethical clearance should be sought for your research from the CEEAH before starting out.

You will note that the documentation from the UAB Doctoral School and the CCEAH makes reference to the Ley Orgánica 15/1999, de 13 de diciembre, de Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal. This law states that individuals have the right to the safe storage of data about them, as well as to access, rectify, cancel and oppose any information collected about them at any time. This is something that needs to be taken very seriously before, during and after your study takes place (see models for informed consent in the following section).


GET TO IT! 

Consider the following questions in relation to your study:

  • What do your participants need to know about you and your research? How will you make sure they have access to this information before, during and after your study? 
  • What do you need to know about your participants? How will you find that out? How will you store any personal information you have collected about your participants before, during and after your study? How will you protect your participants’ anonymity when presenting data? 
  • What specific legal frameworks do you need to adhere to in carrying out your research?

   OBTAINING INFORMED CONSENT     


As part of your procedures for ensuring ethics, you will need to obtain informed consent from your research participants or from their legal guardians. In order to adequately inform your participants about what they are agreeing to before they sign, it is common practice to:


a. Provide a written document on university letterhead, signed by you and by your research supervisor, explaining:

  1. What the research is about, in general terms; 
  2. How the recordings will be carried out; 
  3. How the recordings will be stored now and in the future; 
  4. How the data will be used in the research and who will have access to it; 
  5. How the anonymity of the participant will be protected when presenting the data; 
  6. How the participant can contact you or your supervisor to access the data and the results of your study, as well as to withdraw from the project should they wish. 
b. Explain the information on the written document orally to the participant or their legal guardian and allow them to ask any questions.

c. Obtain signed informed consent. In the resources section, below, you can download a suggested model.





GET TO IT: IS THAT ETHICAL? 


Look at the following informed consent form that a researcher is using for her study: 

NOMBRE, por medio de la presente, autoriza a NOMBRE a grabar interacciones en las cuales participe, con el fin de usar dichas grabaciones, ahora o en un futuro, exclusivamente para fines académicos. En este sentido, las grabaciones no serán objeto de divulgación fuera del ámbito estrictamente académico, entendiendo como tal, las clases y actividades de doctorado, los congresos, charlas y/o conferencias en las que pudiera participar la investigadora.
En cualquier momento el alumno podrá ejercer los derechos de acceso, rectificación, cancelación y oposición sobre sus datos personales a la dirección electrónica datos@etica.cat.

Firma: ……………………………….

Based on the informed consent signed by the participants in the study, would the following be sensible practices on behalf of the researcher? 
  • Putting the data on Dropbox to share them with your research supervisor 
  • Uploading the videos to Youtube in private mode
  • Uploading the videos to Youtube in public mode
  • Leaving copies of the data on a shared computer at the university
  • Making backup copies
  • Showing the videos in an undergraduate class you are teaching
  • Showing the videos in a session with fellow doctoral students
  • Showing the videos to your friends
  • Keeping the data on a flash drive in your bag

RESOURCES related to ethics and informed consent  

Considering ethics


Obtaining informed consent


NOTE: This form may be downloaded and modified as needed, as long as you acknowledge GREIP in the terms set out in the Creative Commons licence.

Article by Janus Mortensen and Spence Hazel (2012) about ‘the data cycle’.




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