The purpose of the Social Research and Educational Studies series is toprovide authoritative guides to key issues in educational research. Theseries includes overviews of fields, guidance on good practice anddiscussions of the practical implications of social and educational research.In particular, the series deals with a variety of approaches to conductingsocial and educational research. Contributors to this series review recentwork, raise critical concerns that are particular to the field of education,and reflect on the implications of research for educational policy andpractice.

Part of the popular BERA/SAGE Research Methods in Education series, this is the first book to specifically focus on the ethics of Education research. Drawn from the authors’ experiences in the UK, Australia and mainland Europe and with contributions from across the globe, this clear and accessible book includes a wide range of examples The authors show how to: identify ethical issues which may arise with any research project gain informed consent provide information in the right way to participants present and disseminate findings in line with ethical guidelines All researchers, irrespective of whether they are postgraduate students, practising teachers or seasoned academics, will find this book extremely valuable for its rigorous and critical discussion of theory and its strong practical focus. Rachel Brooks is Professor of Sociology and Head of the Sociology Department at the University of Surrey, UK. Kitty te Riele is Principal Research Fellow in the Victoria Institute for Education, Diversity and Lifelong Learning, at Victoria University in Australia. Meg Maguire is Professor of Sociology of Education at King’s College London.

Formal ethical review of research proposals is now almost the default requirement for all – staff and students – planning research under the auspices of colleges and universities in many parts of the world. With notable exceptions, the extant literature discussing educational research ethics takes a meta-ethical overview, is negatively critical about the ethics review process per se, or comes from America and focuses specifically on the workings of the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) there. This book, however, contains stories of lived experience from the UK, Spain, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Australia dealing with, inter alia: dissatisfactions with criteria against which research proposals and designs and, by extension, researchers themselves, are judged to be ethical; problems encountered in obtaining ethical clearance; changes which have had to be made to plans which are believed to have affected the ensuing research process and outcomes; cases where ethical issues and difficulties arose and required considered responses despite permission to undertake the research in question being granted; and benefits perceived to accrue from ethical review procedures. Ethics and Academic Freedom in Educational Research will be of interest to researchers, students, members of ethics review boards and those teaching research ethics, primarily at postgraduate but also at undergraduate level. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Research and Method in Education.

Ethics has traditionally been seen as a set of general principles which can be applied in a range of situations. This book argues that in fact ethical principles must be shaped within different research practices and hence take on different significances according to varying research situations. The book develops the notion of situated ethics and explores how ethical issues are practically handled by educational researchers in the field. Contributors present theoretical models and practical examples of what situated ethics involves in conducting research on specific areas.

Thinking Critically and Ethically about Research for Education draws on the experiences of a range of researchers in the discipline to explore the lived realities, including ethical and methodological complexities, involved in undertaking educational research. Using global case studies, this book examines the meaning of ethical research practice and raises questions about representation, power and empowerment in the field. It provides critical reflections from researchers, reviewing the methodologies they used in their studies and the ethical implications of these in theory and practice. The book highlights the various difficulties and realities present in education research and provides researchers with the tools necessary for refining their skills and understanding ethical research methodologies. The chapters reflect authors’ responses to the following questions: What values prompted you to do this work and how did you share these with participants? What were the ethical considerations raised beforehand and how were these tackled in terms of meeting obligations (including to ERBs), maximising benefits and dealing with issues arising during the study and through to publication? What does ‘empowerment’ and/or ‘voice’ mean to you as a researcher and how did you express this to your participants? In what ways were the participants given opportunities to be empowered in or through your study? With critical discussions on ethics and research practices in education research, this book is ideal for student, novice and experienced researchers looking to undertake ethical education research.

Providing theoretical grounding, case studies and practical solutions, Implementing Ethics in Educational Ethnography examines how researchers can overcome ethical dilemmas associated with and encountered during ethnographic research. From the initial stages of research design such as consideration from regulatory bodies, through research occurring in the field to project completion and reporting, it explores many of the factors associated with ensuring culturally sensitive and ethical studies. The book covers key questions including: What can researchers expect of ethical review boards? Where and with whom should dialogue take place about ethicality within research? What effect does a research focus have on regulation and research practice? What is the effect of context on ethical practices? Does the positionality of a researcher have an effect on ethical practices? How do we ensure that ethicality supports the trustworthiness of research projects? Using a range of international case studies, Implementing Ethics in Educational Ethnography provides researchers and students with invaluable details about how to navigate the field, ensuring that they can sustain good ethical practice throughout the life of a research project.

This book explores different perspectives on the role, influence and importance of participants in education research. Drawing on a variety of philosophical, theoretical and methodological approaches, the book examines how researchers relate to and with their participants before, during, and after the collection and/or production of data; reimagining the rights of participants, the role/s of participants, the concept/s of "participant" itself.