Early Childhood Studies Ethics Form

Early Childhood Studies Ethics Form

Your ethics form

This document is the ethics form that all students undertaking an Early Childhood Studies project must fill in. Please read through the guidance and discuss with your tutor if there are things that are not clear. You should not collect any data until your ethics for has been signed off by a member of the ethics committee. It is worth following this procedure carefully so as to avoid the considerable delays which will occur if your form is rejected by the ethics committee.

Before Collecting Data

• Complete this form.
• Discuss a draft of this form with your tutor, particularly drawing their attention to the section on evidence of data collection, and make any changes they recommend.
• Give TWO copies of the completed and signed form to your supervisor, and ensure that one copy has all information sheets, questionnaires, interview schedules and other materials that you will be using in your research attached to it.
• Your supervisor will sign the appropriate section on the front of the form to indicate that they have seen it, and then return the forms to your tutor who will submit it to the next available ethics committee.
• There are three possible outcomes to your ethics application: it will be accepted without changes, deferred pending changes or rejected.
• When approved the ethics committee will return one version of your form to your tutor. Collect it from them and look after it. You may now commence your study.

After you have collected your data

• Make an appointment with your project supervisor. Take this form with you and your raw data.
• Your supervisor will sign the appropriate section on the front of your form.

When submitting your dissertation

• Detach this guidance page from your ethics form.
• A copy of your complete ethics form (signed by you and your supervisor in all the appropriate places) should go in the appendices to your project.
• Copies of materials and questionnaires (blank master copies, NOT data) that you have used should go in the appendices of your project.
• Both copies of your project should be identical.

Filling in this form

Type your answers directly into the grey boxes beneath the questions. Do not type outside the boxes and do not delete any questions. They all need answering. Do not leave boxes blank but type in “not applicable” if the question does not apply to your research. There is always just one line space after each question but this will expand if you type more. This one line does not indicate the amount of space we think your answer should take up. The majority of questions will require one or more paragraphs of text.

Student Name:
Degree Course: / Student Number: / Supervisor Name:

StaffordshireUniversity, Early Childhood Studies

APPLICATION FOR ETHICAL APPROVAL FOR STUDENT PROJECTS

This form must be approved by the relevant ethics committee before you start collecting data. You MUST NOT START COLLECTING DATA until your application for ethics approval has been accepted. Procedures for handling this form are detailed on the previous page.

Student: I undertake to carry out the project described in accordance with ethical principles. I have completed the application in good faith. I accept that providing false information constitutes academic fraud and will be subject to appropriate disciplinary procedures / Signature:
Date
Student: I have included (where applicable) a consent form and an information sheet with this application / Signature:
Date:
Supervisor: I am satisfied that this form is complete, with necessary materials attached and therefore can be submitted to the ethics committee. / Signature:
Date:
Ethics Committee member: This research proposal has received ethical approval. / Signature:
Date
Supervisor: I have been given all signed and dated consent forms relating to this research / Signature:
Date
Supervisor: I have seen evidence of data collection as specified in this form and am therefore satisfied that data collect, as described in this form, did take place. / Signature:
Date

1. You and Your Project (items 1-5)

1. Your name:

2. Supervisor’s Name:

3. Project Title:

4. What research question/s or hypothesis will your project attempt to address?

5. Briefly summarise the existing research and ideas on which your project will be based:

B. What you plan to do (items 6-19)

6. Summarise the design of your research. You should make very clear what factors (if any) you will be manipulating, what different groups (if any) you will be studying, and what measurements (if any) you will be making. The response to this question will contain the sort of information that appears in a (well written and informative) methodology section from a research report.

7. How many people will take part in your research? On what basis was this decided?

8. What kinds of people will take part in your research (for example: teaching assistants, parents, children, children with special needs)?

9. What will be the age range of your participants (approximately)?

10. If your participants are under the age of 18 years, you will need consent of both the participant and a parent/guardian/someone in loco parentis. How will you know that a participant under 18 years is consenting to take part in your research?

11. Beyond the particular populations you are sampling, will you be applying any other inclusion or exclusion criteria? ( e.g. participants must be able to read, participants must have English as a second language).

12. What strategies will you use to recruit your participants?

13. What inducement, if any, will potential participants be offered to persuade them to participate, eg. offering access to information from the project upon completion.

NB. NO SWEETS OR PAYMENTS CAN BE GIVEN TO PARTICIPANTS.

14. In what location(s) will you be conducting your research? If you are working within organisations other than StaffordshireUniversity (e.g. schools, nurseries etc) please give for each organisation, the name of the organisation and the name and full contact details (address and phone number) for your contact person within that organisation. If you plan to collect data in a location where there is no obvious contact person (e.g. in public places) please give full details to your supervisor.

15. What personal information will you collect from each participant (e.g. answers to self esteem questionnaire, their name, whether they live with both parents etc).

16. In what format will data collected by participants be held (e.g. transcripts, tape recordings, video recordings complete questionnaires)?

17. Please provide a detailed description of exactly what you will do when you conduct your research. Here we require the sort of detail that would normally appear in the methodology section of your report.

18. How long will each participant be engaged with the research, and for how many sessions? (e.g. one 30 minute session, two 10 minute sessions with a gap of one week between).

19. Will your research make use of any special facilities (e.g. computer or psychophysics laboratories)? For use of research facilities you tutor will also need to refer you using the referral form.

C. Ethical Issues (items 20-26)

20. What steps will you take to protect the identity of your participants? You might, for example, not require them to give their name. Alternatively you might require their name but then use a subject identifier code in subsequent analysis. Please give a precise answer.

21. If data are not anonymous, what steps will you take to ensure that data are held securely both while you are conducting your study and after you have submitted your report? Note that you are required to retain evidence of data collect for a period of time after submission (usually one year, your supervisor will tell you if you need to keep it for longer).

22. Please give names and contact details of any people who will have access to your data other than yourself and your supervisor, and indicate what use they will make of it ( a key person may use observations to inform their planning or to contribute to a child’s profile)

23. Please give details of any ways that participants might be deceived when they take part in your research. Please give a careful rationale for any deception that you plan to use.

24. Will participants be exposed to any kind of physical risk, and if so (a) what steps will you take to ensure that participants will come to no harm and (b) what procedures will you adopt if problems arise?

25. Will participants be exposed to any kind of psychological risk (e.g. does your research involve showing disturbing images, or asking for sensitive information)?If so (a) what steps will you take to ensure that participants will come to no harm and (b) what procedures will you adopt if problems arise?

26. Please indicate in the space below any ethical issues associated with your research that you think have not been covered by your previous answers, and give details of how you will manage these.

D. Participant information and obtaining consent (item 27)

27. Potential participants should be provided with information about your project, and what their involvement will be, in advance of committing themselves to participate. This should be given to participants in writing as an INFORMATION AND CONSENT SHEET. This should contain the following information. You should aim to write very simply and clearly and to be as concise as possible. You should retain the information and the consent sheet once it is signed, and should also offer participants a copy to take away with them.

a. A title for your research project (not necessarily the same as the title that will appear on your final report).

b. Your name and contact details.

c. The broad topic area of the research.

d. Indication that you are conducting research as part of the final year of your early childhood studies degree.

e. In general terms what participants will be required to do, outlining in particular anything that might affect their decision to participate (e.g. if they will experience any sort of physical discomfort, if they will be exposed to potentially disturbing stimuli, or if you are asking them to reveal sensitive information).

f. Whether they will be required to give their name, and if they are, what steps will be taken to ensure that data they provide will be treated confidentially.

g. For how much time and how many sessions will they be participating, e.g. 30 minutes in session 1 and 60 minutes in session 2?

h. If you are intending to audio or video record participants you will need to give details of this.

i. If you will be asking them to participate more than once (e.g. you might want to test then now and again in 3 weeks time).

j. Indicate that participants take part voluntarily and can withdraw at any time during the research without providing reasons for doing so.

k. If your study is qualitative and you are intending to use quotes from participants you will need to give information about this.

At the end of the sheet you will need to provide a statement for participants to sign indicating that they have read the information, they understand the nature of the study and terms under which they participate. There should be space for their signature and the date. Participants will need to be assured that signed information sheets will be stored independently of any data collected.

Please add your information and consent sheet as an appendix to this form
I have added my information and consent sheet Yes No

E. Managing Risk (items 28-30)

28. What risks, to either yourself or your participants, might be associated with your research?

29. What steps will you take to minimise the risk?

30. Is a formal risk assessment necessary for any of the equipment or contexts in which you will conduct your research? If yes, full details of this assessment and what you are going to do to minimise the risk need to be attached to this form.