Case studies

Context: The following case studies have been produced by the ‘Informed Consent and the Research Process’ project team for use in training/teaching in the area of informed consent. We have produced three sets of material: two extended case studies, three shorter vignettes, and a second set of vignettes focusing on gatekeeper-controlled research settings. They draw on the kinds of issues that were raised by participants in our research, but are not drawn directly from examples provided. The extended case studies were trialled with a group of postgraduate students at the British Sociological Association Summer School, held in September 2004, whilst the shorter vignettes were drawn upon in a presentation to the Methods Festival at Oxford in July 2004. The second set of vignettes were used as case studies with students atttending the University of Surrey’s MSc in Social Research Methods residential weekend in Bournemouth, in autumn 2005. Please feel free to use these case studies and vignettes: all we ask is that you acknowledge us!

Extended case studies

In small groups, you are asked to consider the range of ethical issues which arise in each of the following hypothetical scenarios. What course of action would you recommend in each case? How useful are formal ethical guidelines in considering what should/could be done?

Case #1: A PhD student is researching alcohol consumption amongst young people in their teens and wishes to conduct a survey and a series of focus groups with secondary school age young people to explore their experiences and views. They approach a local school in order to gain access. The headteacher gives them permission to carry out the survey and arranges for questionnaires to be distributed in tutor groups. The student has little control over this process and it becomes clear that in some tutor groups pupils are being told that they have to complete the questionnaire. As for the focus groups, the headteacher is again happy for the student to conduct them, but insists that parental consent is first sought. Most parents give consent, but a number of parents refuse, even though their child is keen to be involved in the research. On turning up to the focus group, some pupils appear to be more willing to participate than others. The student asks them to respect the confidence of group members, although at the end several group members joke about telling their friends what has been discussed. After the fieldwork has been completed, the headteacher asks for some form of feedback, even though the student had not previously agreed to provide such information.

Case #2: You are conducting an ethnographic study of a hostel for homeless men and have adopted the role of participant observer by means of working as a cook in the hostel kitchens, the only role that was offered to you by the hostel management. At the beginning of your period of fieldwork, the shelter manager had informed other workers in the hostel of your presence, but had not felt it necessary to explain your role to the hostel’s clients, not least because of the rapid turnover at the hostel. It is nonetheless clear that there is a certain element of confusion about your role amongst the other hostel employees, some of whom think you are there to check up on them. You have tried to explain your role, but this often leads to greater confusion. You decide only to inform homeless clients of your dual role when they are asked to take part in interviews. From some of the comments made by clients, it is clear that they too are confused by your role, and believe you to be some form of social worker. It is also the case that on many occasions you have interviewed clients whilst they have been affected to varying degrees by their use of both prescribed and/or illegal drugs. Several clients have also told you about cases of malpractice at the hostel, involving the theft of personal belongings by hostel employees. Finally, you have told the people you interview that you will use pseudonyms in writing up your research to protect their anonymity, but some of the clients are very keen for their own names to be used.

Short vignettes

1. A researcher has conducted some research on older people's experiences of health care. To conduct this research he has conducted 10 focus groups in residential care homes. As part of the consent process he agreed to send all participants a copy of the transcript of the group in which they participated so that if any participant wanted something they had said removed from the transcript they could let him know. He is writing up his research for publication, having completed the data collection six months previously, when he hears from a focus group participant that she no longer want to participate in the study and wants to withdraw her data from the focus group. To do this would mean in practice that the entire focus group could not be used and would have a significant impact on the analysis and write up of the study. Is a person's right to withdraw time limited?

1. A researcher conducts a piece of research with young people who have experienced the death of a parent through cancer. The study participants are recruited through a hospice. As part of the consent process the hospice and the study participants are promised anonymity and are told that the hospice and the participants will be given pseudonyms in the write up of the study. However, several of the study participants express a strong preference to use their own name and the name of their parent and other identifying details and feel this is an important part of having their experience validated and the memory of their parent respected. However, doing this would mean that the hospice will be recognisable.  How is it best to handle situations when the wishes of different participants conflict?

c)  A researcher is conducting some research with people with learning disabilities to explore their integration in the community. She provides them with a camera and asks them to take photos of things outside the home that are important to them.  Many of the photos are taken at clubs, shops and day centres and are photos of people.  Can she use these as data if she doesn’t have the permission of the people in the photos to do so?  How far does one go in seeking consent?

Copyright: Sue Heath, Rose Wiles & Graham Crow, 2004.

Vignette #1

You are a researcher working on a project concerned with evaluating the provision of social care at a drop-in centre for children and young people with physical disabilities. In addition to interviews with stakeholders such as policy makers and care staff, the research involves assessing the views of service users. You are keen to involve children with a wide range of disabilities, and are particularly concerned not to exclude individuals such as John, a fifteen year old with severe physical disabilities. John’s key worker tells you that the nature of his disability means that he is unable to express an informed view on his potential participation. Nonetheless, a volunteer who knows John equally well, if not better, tells you that John would like to take part. What do you do?

Vignette #2

You are a PhD researcher conducting a study of children’s school-based friendships via particularly appealing and child-friendly research methods, including art work and video diaries. The headteacher of your case study school insists on parental consent in addition to the children’s own consent. Eight year old Sarah’s mum and dad have not given their consent, yet Sarah is desperate to take part, to the point that she has forged her parents’ signature on the consent form that was sent home to all parents, and has expressed anxiety about feeling excluded if she is unable to participate. What are your options?

Vignette #3

You are conducting research with year 10 and 11 pupils across four contrasting schools about their attitudes and behaviours concerning drug and alcohol use, involving a questionnaire survey with follow-up focus groups. One of the four schools insists that parental consent is obtained in addition to the students’ own consent. You have a number of concerns about this. What might they be, and what will you do?
Vignette #4

You are a PhD student conducting research on gay and lesbian teenagers’ experiences of homophobic bullying at school. Because of the potentially sensitive nature of the topic, you decide to carry out your research via a local gay and lesbian youth project rather than directly through local schools. However, your university research ethics committee insists that you should first gain consent from the young people’s parents. What do you do?

Vignette #5

You are conducting research on young people’s views on local leisure facilities, and are holding focus groups at various youth organisations. The youth service has allowed you to conduct a focus group in a local youth club, but you arrive to discover that you have been given only a half hour timeslot, even though it normally takes you at least ten minutes to explain the project and give out consent forms for young people to sign. Nonetheless, you feel under pressure to secure your target sample size. What do you do?
           

Vignette #6

You are a researcher for a commercial social research organisation, conducting research on pupil numeracy via a mathematical test under exam conditions. A date is set for the test, but when you arrive at the school on the day in question you discover that there was a delay on the part of the school in sending out parental consent forms (a practice which your sponsor, the Department for Education and Skills, insists upon in all commissioned research). As a consequence, only a small number of forms have as yet been returned. The headteacher is unconcerned by this, and argues that it would be hard to reschedule the test. What are your options?

Vignette #7

You are a contract researcher carrying out one-to-one research interviews in a local secondary school concerning pupils’ views on citizenship education. A sample of year 9 pupils has been selected for you by the school, but as they each arrive it is clear that they have very little idea about the research, have either been coopted into it with little choice or have volunteered as a way of getting out of lessons, and furthermore have very little to say on the subject. Nonetheless, you cannot send them back early to their classes because they might get in trouble with the year tutor who has drawn up the sample. From working on similar projects, you knew in advance that this was not an uncommon occurrence. How might you prepare for this and what might your options be in practice?

Copyright: Sue Heath, Rose Wiles & Graham Crow, 2006.