Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3. The availability of payment or expenses for participation. There are differing
views on the ethics of paying research participants. Payment of research subjects
has frequently been opposed, including by many ethics committees, and is often
considered likely to distort the results. However, as discussed by Wilkinson and
Moore (
1999
), it is not clear why this should be the case, and payment could be
considered as a recognition of the importance and indeed indispensability of the
research subjects. This can be particularly important for disabled and unem-
ployed subjects, who are more likely than other subjects to have had experiences
of being devalued and taken for granted. However, it is important that payment
is not used as a way of recruiting subjects for risky experiments. Any payments
should also be made in a way that does not have negative fi nancial implications
for participants, for instance, by affecting their entitlement to welfare benefi ts.
4. What training, if any, will be provided.
5. Expected outcomes and how likely they are to occur, e.g. whether they are fairly
defi nite or only probable. Information on outcomes should include likely bene-
fi ts and whether these are general, e.g. advancement of knowledge, or more
specifi c, e.g. for development of a new device for blind people. There should also
be an indication of the time span over which benefi ts are likely to occur and
whether they are likely to occur in time to affect the specifi c individual or group
of people participating in the research.
6. Any risk, which should be minimised. Issues relating to risk are discussed below.
7. The treatment of data and, in particular, whether it will be confi dential and/or
anonymous.
However, investigators may not be aware of the implications of the research for
all participants, particularly when they have different socio-economic and demo-
graphic characteristics. In general this will give rise to an ethical obligation for
consultation with a member of the same population group as the participant, as they
will be in the best position to describe the implications for the participant. However,
it should also be recognised that minority groups are not totally homogenous and
that something which does not seem distressing or offensive to one member of a
minority group could cause distress and/or offence to another member of the group.
Consent should include:
1. Specifi c mention of any photos or video recordings, including their intended use,
for instance for analysis or publication, since photos and recordings are more
diffi cult to anonymise than other types of data.
2. Details of any observation of subjects, for instance, using a particular assistive
device. The devices used by people with sensory impairments in general will not
raise particular issues. However, some areas, such as devices used in toileting,
require sensitive treatment. It should not be assumed that, for instance, partici-
pants will be willing to be observed just because they are accustomed to obtain-
ing support. The number of researchers observing sensitive activities should be
minimised, though there can be benefi ts in observation by more than one
researcher.
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