User:Lizgold4real/sandbox

'The Problem of informed consent in qualitative research'.

Informed consent in a qualitative research implies providing respondents with the full information about a research and safeguarding their freedom with regard to decisions concerning involvement in a research without the use of any form of intimidation (be it direct or indirect). This requirement is usually spelt in ethical guidelines for developed by committees such as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and various ethical committees in universities to act as a basic standard for research. Informed consent relating specifically to ethical standards in research has even become more problematic in qualitative research with mostly seeks to get a deeper understanding of human beings. These ethical guidelines require researchers to seek permission from respondents when conducting research. Where participants may not be in the capacity to do so, either by their state or legally, as in the case of children or minors, proxy consent must be attained.

There are cases where informed consent may not be the best for the research at hand. In qualitative research studies, there may be instances where a researcher has no option than go without informed consent especially when the researcher seeks to identify with the respondents and undertake the research in its natural setting. This is because awareness of the research may make respondents to carefully examine the kind of information they want to give which may not be a true reflection of human behavior and attitudes.

There are many issues surrounding informed consent which has been of interest to researchers doing qualitative work; whether these guidelines spelt out in by ethical committees are the most appropriate; and the effect of gaining consent from respondents on the quality of research work and the ability to do a restrictive free work. Some researcher have even raised questions concerning consent for example terminally ill individuals. The question now is the person in the true position to consent to the research? Also in the case of the mentally ill, does consent from the gatekeeper really mean consent from the participants? Also, failure to re-consent when new information becomes available. There have also been causes to question the power held by these ethical institutions and whether or not these are the best for a researcher. Issues raised against informed consent is that ethical committees may not have the main interest of the participants at heart and that ethical committees may not be fully aware of qualitative research intricacies.

The onus lies on the researcher and his/her moral standards, ability to make adjustments in behavior and take critical decisions in the course of the research work. This is even more important as the direction that a research will take, particularly qualitative research, is usually unknown at the beginning of the research. Informed consent is just one of the most crucial step to any research project, the ability of the researcher to pass the test of the rationality and morality lies in the hands of the researcher during the real research.