Ethical Guidelines for Action Research Studies

Module 4: Research Ethics

Historically, individuals engaging in academic educational research, including higher education faculty and others involved in educational research, have been bound by ethical guidelines that protect the rights of human subjects/participants.

Ethical guidelines are there to ensure that participants are not harmed or deceived, that they have been informed regarding what participation entails, that they have agreed to participate, and that they have been assured that the confidentiality of their responses and their participation will be maintained.

(Hendricks 2013)

Suggested Guidelines for Respectful Action Research Practice

Several suggestions have been put forth regarding ethical guidelines for action research Zeni (2009), including:

Illustration of the checklist below the image

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However, procedural guidelines for conducting ethical action research have not yet been agreed upon by the professional community. So guidelines for outsider educational research must be observed.

In essence, researcher-practitioners must apply standard research ethics guidelines to their pedagogical, recruitment, data collection, and data reporting strategies.

Does my Action Research Study Require Ethics Board Approval?

Expedited Review / Waiver

Systematic Processes of Inquiry

Publication and Sharing 

There are a number of ethical issues you must consider when planning or designing your research project.

These issues are:

  • Informed consent
  • Privacy
  • Confidentiality
  • Anonymity
  • Risk
  • Harm
  • Deception
  • Exploitation

We will also review a few other ethical issues that you should be aware of when undertaking research, specifically the responsibility to be mindful and ensure the accuracy of your research.

 Remember: Instructional Practice

  • Standard evaluations by professors on their teaching methods typically do not require ethics approval.
  • Ethics approval is necessary when an assessment aims to contribute to general knowledge, or results are intended for publication or presentation externally.
  • Particularly critical in scenarios with a power imbalance, such as between students and faculty conducting research.
  • Some institutions may allow an expedited ethics review or require a Quality Improvement form submission in these cases.
  • Participants must be informed about data collection and analysis processes, with the option to opt-out provided.
  • Action research emphasizes the importance of transparency and informed consent, ensuring all involved are aware and agree to the study’s procedures.

Interactive Book

Principles of Research Ethics

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Additional Resources

Ethics is Not Optional:

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Action Research Handbook Copyright © by Dr. Zabedia Nazim and Dr. Sowmya Venkat-Kishore is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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