Topic outline
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Research ethics are very important to consider when designing research, especially as you are conducting research without formal support or training.
There are many questions you should ask yourself to ensure that you are being honest and ethical in your research.
Are you being sensitive to other people's feelings?
If you are asking questions about peoples feelings or experiences, in particular relating to mental health or other potentially distressing material, be careful. Ensure that you are carefully considering whether your questions or topic are appropriate and not offensive. As you are not a trained mental health professional, you need to ensure you are not broaching distressing topics, regardless of your relationship with the participant.Are you fully informing your research participants?
Informed consent is vital to all research. Provide anyone you talk to with information about your research, what you are asking of them, and what you are doing with their responses. Make sure that your participants know that they can withdraw from your research if they want to.How are you using your research data?
Accurate reporting is very important, it means presenting your data unchanged and without bias, regardless of how you feel about the results. Ensure that you are acknowledging other people's ideas and using referencing where appropriate. Only use your research data for what participants granted permission for.What are you doing with your research data afterwards?
All data you gather must be kept securely and confidentially. This means not requiring participants to use names or identifying details. This means securely storing the data and disposing of it after your research project has been completed.