Research Development in Ethics and Professional Learning

What is Research Ethics?

As part of the movement to create more awareness on ethical questions in artistic research and educational research, a series of workshops and conversations on research ethics commenced in August 2021. Titled What is Research Ethics (WIRE), this series of workshops and conversations served to improve professional conduct in ethical practices of research and raise ethical awareness.

At the inaugural W.I.R.E. series of workshops, Dr Helen Kara covered research ethics in creative contexts. She discussed potential ethical pitfalls at each stage of the research process, from question setting to aftercare, with reference to arts-based research. Helen is the author of Creative Research Methods: A Practical Guide (Policy Press, 2020) and Research Ethics In The Real World: EuroWestern and Indigenous Perspectives (Policy Press, 2018). In October 2021, Professor Melanie Nind (Professor of Education at the University of Southampton) covered the ethics of doing research inclusively, particularly focusing on researching with people with learning (intellectual) disabilities.

In November 2021, Associate Professor Ben Motidyang (Head, Higher Education Development Centre, University of Otago) covered an overview of what constitutes ethics in educational research, and explored critical ethical dilemmas that researchers face when engaging in educational research, including action research.