After reading and reflecting on the ‘Ethics’ section of the Module, I am of the understanding that my participants (in my case – secondary school students) must be made aware of the reason for the inquiry, and what I will be looking at during observational periods. I am slightly concerned however, that once they have been told the line of my inquiry, then their behaviour will not be authentic i.e. they may act out/withdraw from activities deliberately? In particular I am hoping to focus on the factors that affect negativity towards drama and effective strategies for reducing peer pressure within the classroom. Once students hear this, will they behave in a way they perceive to be ‘what I’m looking for’ or conversely, try to deliberately act out and affect results?
Wondering if anyone had had any thoughts on the above and any ways to tackle it?
Sounds strange, but do they have to be told *before* the event or can they be informed fully afterwards? I'm just thinking about things like television shows: a friend of mine is appearing on the new TV show 'Bad Robots' - when the event occurred she and her boyfriend were walking through a park in London when they were approached by a researcher asking if they could film them answering a couple of questions about the local area. They were led to a bench and the researcher left to 'collect his materials', then two motorised buggies appeared and tied them to the bench with police tape. After they had been released by the 'researcher' only then were they told it was for this television programme and they were asked to sign a form to allow the footage to be used.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's a way to ensure, as you say, authentic behaviour in the instance?
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