Transcript Ethics and data collection exercises Roddy Cowie

Ethics and data collection
exercises
Roddy Cowie
Two horror stories
 Prof


E & Dr C
Moral
– approval takes time
 Leeds-Reading


database
Moral
– release restrictions last for ever
Issues - The collection phase
 Know
ethical parameters
 design
 get
accordingly;
approval by ethical committee
 and
informed consent from participants.
Issues - Storage and
distribution phase
 Obtain
 and
consent to store
consent to use;
 ensure
participant’s right of access
Issues - Using material for
research
 Know
conditions attached to it;
 respect
 follow
them;
required procedures.
Issues -Sanctions
 Law
 Damages?
 Ethics
audit
 What can EC do?
Much to find out,
 please not the hard way…
Steps to stay safe: know

Who is your team’s ethical contact?
check with QUB administrator

What the relevant ethical committee at your
institution?

If possible, don’t go via a medical one


psychologists tend to be more accommodating
See handout on
Steps to stay safe: vetting

Know the issues
 Design to minimise them!!!
 Submit your proposal to your Ethical Committee
 Get prior advice from HUMAINE if need be.

we need signed papers before any work is
credited to HUMAINE

If it wasn’t cleared by HUMAINE, it wasn’t funded by
HUMAINE
Steps to stay safe: routine
 In
most cases you should only have to say
‘this does not raise grave ethical issues’,
and back it up with a list of issues crossed
off to show you have considered them.
 It may be possible to go to your ethical
committee with standard HUMAINE form
designed to do that, so it can be cleared
before you begin any kind of collection.
Steps to stay safe: Draft form
to guide ethical planning
 Brief
code
 Description of study
 What negative effects might result from in
your research?
 Confirm that appropriate plans exist
 Informed consent protocol
 Sample of information to participants
Steps to stay safe: Storing
information & arranging access

There are issues about personal data (eg name,
age, gender, educational background, results of
tests for mood, etc) as well as recordings per se.
 Release to the USA is a particular problem,
because it does not have the same data
protection laws.
 We will need to develop guidelines that are
properly ‘localised’ (adapted to the individual
country).
To be regulated through portal
… watch this space.
Last word on ethics

A stitch in time saves nine

So long as you get the stitch right