Ethics!

Educational researchers can dance a fine line of ethical and unethical behavior. Even when there is no attempt to act in an unethical manner, precautions must be made to ensure that the participants in each study are being treated with dignity, respect, and rights that all human beings deserve. Thankfully, there are a few organizations who have devoted time in developing guidelines that can be upheld while designing and administering research with humans.

I think the most critical of these guidelines for all researchers to keep in mind while preparing and conducting their research is honesty. Researchers should inform their participants of all parts of the research study before the participant consents to his/her participation. This allows the participant to make an informed decision as to if he/she really wants to have a role in the research and the data that is collected. If the researcher neglects to disclose all aspects of the research, he/she may lose the participant and either results may be skewed or incomplete, causing the researcher to lose time and money.

In the same regard, I think it is of utmost importance that researchers always allow for participants to remain voluntary in the entire research process. From the very beginning, no human being should ever be forced to participate against their will. Likewise for the entirety of the study. If a participant feels as if he/she should no longer have a role in the research, the participant should have the freedom to discontinue his/her participation.

Finally, all participants' confidentiality should be honored. At no point during or after the study should a participant feel as if his/her identity could be exposed. For the respect of the participant, confidentiality should never be jeopardized, unless there was a specific disclaimer was clearly communicated and agreed upon by each participant before the study began.