Ethics of

Research in
Social Work
Mistal, Kristel Anne P.
BSSW II
Voluntary Informed
Consent
Voluntary. It refers to by c choice,
not because of coercion or
intimidation or because of promises
of rewards.
Informed. Will the potential
participants know what they need to
know in order to determine if they
wish to participate in the research?
A person should have a clear idea of
what that participation will entail.
Voluntary Informed
Consent
Consent refers to the fact the there
is a clear, generally written
agreement to participate. A consent
form, signed by the participant.
This principle is very consistent with
the social work practice value of self-
determination.
It also provides legal protection for
the researcher.
Privacy, Anonymity,
Confidentiality
Privacy. Survey researchers invade a
persons privacy when they probe
into beliefs, backgrounds, and
behaviours in a way that reveals
private details.
The ethical social work researcher
violates privacy to the minimum
degree necessary and only for
legitimate research purposes.
Privacy, Anonymity,
Confidentiality
Anonymity. Researchers protect
privacy by not disclosing a subjects
identity after information is
gathered.
It means that subjects remains
anonymous or nameless.
Example a field researcher provides
fictitious name or code name for the
respondents.
Privacy, Anonymity,
Confidentiality
Confidentiality. Researcher has the
obligation to provide confidentiality
to respondents.
It means that information may have
name attached to it, but the
researcher holds it in confidence or
keeps it secret form the public.
Objectivity
"Objectivity is the regulative ideal that
guides all inquiry [which is] largely a
measure directed at how researchers
undertake and carry out their research
in that it requires them to be precise,
unbiased, open, honest, receptive to
criticism, and so on" (Smith 1990, p
171, also Phillips 1990, Schwandt
1990).
In a similar vein, Lather (1990, p 319)
states that "objectivity means being
aware and honest about how one's
Objectivity
However, when objectivity is cited as
the goal, it is important to find out
what claim is being made on its behalf
and what feature of subjectivity is
being seen as dangerous. Within social
work there is a place for both
subjectivity and objectivity.
Integrity
Integrity may be defined as active
adherence to the ethical principles
and professional standards essential
for the responsible practice of
research.
"For individuals research integrity is
an aspect of moral character and
experience. It involves above all a
commitment to intellectual honesty
and personal responsibility for ones
actions and to a range of practices
Diversity and Cultural
Sensitivity
Social workers refers to diversity in a
broad sense to include age, race and
ethnicity, gender, sexuality,
disabilities (physical and mental
health), socioeconomic status, and
immigration status.
The presence of bias and
insensitivity in the research design
can compromise the quality of study.
(Potocky & Farmer, 1998)
Diversity and Cultural
Sensitivity
The culturally competent research and
practice literature identifies common
steps to building diversity awareness
knowledge and skills (NASW, 2001).
Some of the recommendations: 1)
cultural immersion 2) consultation 3)
develop existing measures for
diversity sensitivity and cultural
competence 4) treat them with
respect