Ethics in research methodology and practice

Ethics has been regarded as fundamental practice with reference to the all design research procedures, and it the responsibility of the research to ensure that the contents and the scope of the research is ethical and moral, the design research shall be conducted 'within an ethic of respect for persons, respect for knowledge, respect for democratic values, and respect for the quality of the literature' (David, 2006).

During the phase of research design, it is important to develop social relationship with the participants, and it is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure the existence of good communication and mutual trust between both the sides. Secondly, it is important to realize that 'central principle of ethical research is that of informed consent; Informed consent can be interpreted as, participants' (Deborah, 2001) have voluntarily agreed to be part of the research, and have understood what they are agreeing to, furthermore they must be informed of the purposes of the research, why it is being undertaken, and the institution which is overseeing it' (David, 2006). It is another major responsibility of the research design that participants enjoy the right to remain anonymous, 'the research site and the names of the participants must not be revealed; pseudonyms should be used where necessary', however in case if it is difficult to preserve their anonymity, the participants should be informed about the nature of difficult in concealing the identity' (Deborah, 2001).

Discussion

During the design research process if the videos and photographs are recorded for the collection of the data, there is a possibility that the identity of the participants 'may be revealed and that their privacy may be affected in unanticipated ways' (Deborah, 2001). It is the ethical responsibility of the researcher to inform the participants with reference to their rights regarding the recording statements and footage. The researchers are urged to practiced the ethical teachings in particular when 'researching with children or adolescents, in permission should be obtained from the school, and if they suggest it is necessary, from the parents, however in some circumstances, you may need to get the permission of the Department of Education' (David, 2006).

The design research shall be conducted once the consent from the participants is received, and the consent is voluntary, any element of force and reference shall be avoided, 'a research protocol should be drawn up and signed by each participant, which shall be clearly written in a language that the participant understands, in case if the participant is not literate, the document should be read to him/her' (David, 2006), the signed, approved and attested protocols should be attached as an appendix to the thesis. It is the ethical and moral responsibility of the researcher to store the contents of the data in secure position, 'data should be recorded in such as way that the identity of the participants remains confidential, if the data has to be necessarily shared with the third party, assurance shall be sought from the party to ensure the confidentiality of the data and research material' (David, 2006).

Further it is important for the researcher to respect he sanctity of the differences if any between the social outfit of the participant and self, 'the cultural, linguistic, religious, gendered and other significant differences, such as the power relationship between researcher and the participants, when the researcher plans, conducts and reports on the research' (Deborah, 2001). The ethical responsibility of the researcher compels them to 'pay careful attention to the way the people are represented, and situations in the research are discussed, the researcher is required to be conscious of the way the unexamined assumptions and perceptions might color the writing up of the research' (Deborah, 2001).

The researcher shall practice open communication, the relationship between the participants and researcher shall be perfect and elastic, 'the relationship should be one of partnership and trust'. It is the ethical responsibility of the researcher to provide possible data and the relevant interpretation to the participants, further it is the responsibility of the researcher 'to communicate their findings and the practical significance of their research in a clear and accessible manner' (Joan, 1982). The researcher during his design research should fabrication of the data, and shall avoid misreport data 'which might lead to erroneous conclusions'. It is important for the researcher 'to safeguard research against accusations of untruthfulness, and should keep systematic and careful records in what is called a project archive; in principle, it should be possible to work backwards through the archive from the conclusions of the research report to the raw data and thereby be able to verify the conclusions, the process is known as creation of audit trail' (Elliot, 1997).

The ethics of the design research demands that 'the research is valid and that threats to validity have been taken into account', and reporting has been accurate and sufficient details have been listed and supplemented for the clarity and appropriate interpretation of the research content, furthermore 'in qualitative research, it is important to be particularly careful about how to choose direct quotations from the data in the research, and ensure that they are representative' (Ian, 2003).

Many professional associations, government agencies, and universities have developed, adopted and practiced specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics i.e. East Carolina University, National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed their own ethical rules related to the design research. Some of the influential ethical policies on design research includes, 'the Uniform Requirements (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors), the Chemist's Code of Conduct (American Chemical Society), Code of Ethics (American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science) Ethical Principles of Psychologists (American Psychological Association), Statements on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (American Anthropological Association), Statement on Professional Ethics (American Association of University Professors), the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association)'. Most of the societies have developed legal rules which are aimed at monitoring the 'behavior, but ethical norms tend to be broader and more informal than laws'. Certain laws have been enforced for the acceptance of the 'moral standards and ethical and legal rules'. Furthermore, the ethical concepts and principles shall be 'criticize, evaluate, propose, or interpret laws' (Ian, 2003), however 'many social reformers urged citizens to disobey laws in order to protest what they regarded as immoral or unjust laws, and peaceful civil disobedience is an ethical way of expressing political viewpoints'. Ethics has been interpreted, and has focused upon 'the disciplines that study standards of conduct, such as philosophy, theology, law, psychology, or sociology', 'for instance, the medical ethicist is regarded as studies of ethical standards in medicine' (Ian, 2003).