An introduction to educational research methods. Введение в образовательные исследовательские методы Білім беру-зерттеу әдістеріне кіріспе

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The external or ecological layer

This layer invites us to consider the context of the research and the wishes of people 

external to the situation; the culture of the institution in which you are working and 

the relationship between the part of the institution in which you are working and the 

institution as a whole.

The consequential or utilitarian layer

This layer encourages reflection on the framework: whether ‘good’ attached to our 

anticipations for action is increased for humanity as a whole, for a particular group, for 

the individual or for the researcher personally. We need to consider the effects that the 

research might have on the participants, the consequences of suggested actions on a 

school, teachers or students and consideration of anyone else who might be affected by 

the results or the process of carrying out this research.

The deontological layer

This layer considers the duties and motives of the research. Deontologists either decide 

on a single overriding duty (e.g. never breaking promises), a range of duties, or a hierarchy 

of duties to guide their actions. It is about avoiding doing wrong. Seedhouse invites us to 

consider whether our proposed cause of action ‘is the right thing to do’. It covers things 

like not doing harm, beneficence and acting with integrity, truth-telling and promise-

keeping. This would include consideration of the way in which the research was carried 

out, informing participants and interested parties of the outcomes at an appropriate stage, 

and consideration of how we might deal with sensitive information that emerges. This 

incorporates the ‘situationist’ approach to ethics (Oliver, 2003).

Individual layer/relational ethics

In this layer, we are invited to focus on the ‘core rationale’ of the project and to consider 

the needs of the individuals involved. We need to focus on the relationships at the heart of 

the research. In healthcare, autonomy is an overriding theme; in educational research, Bond 

(2005) argues that it should be ‘trust’. 

Using the framework

Seedhouse divides each layer into a set of boxes (Seedhouse, 1998b) which embrace key 

issues appropriate to that ‘layer’ of thinking. Using the work of Flinders and Seedhouse 

together, we have modified these boxes from the original grid to make them more 

appropriate for educational research. The idea is that the ‘boxes’ can be used to generate 

a set of questions that you can use to interrogate your situation. Some possible questions 

are suggested in Table 4.1, but you might find it more appropriate to focus on the left-hand 

column and devise your own set of questions that apply to your situation.

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SCHOOL-BASED RESEARCH

96

External/ecological 

Questions to consider

Cultural sensitivity

What are the values, norms and roles in the environment in which I am working?

Awareness of all parts of the 

institution

What is the relationship between the group I am working with and the other parts of 

the institution as a whole? How does it affect the participants?

Responsive communication – 

awareness of the wishes of 

others

How might my work be viewed/interpreted by others in the institution? How will the 

language I use be interpreted? 

Responsibilities to sponsors

What are my responsibilities to the people paying for this research (sponsors, my 

school, grant awarding bodies)?

BERA codes

Have I stuck to the BERA guidelines?

Efficiency/use of resources

Have I made efficient use of the resources available to me – including people’s time?

Quality of evidence on which 

conclusions are based

Have I got enough evidence to back up my conclusions and recommendations?

The law

What are the implications of what I want to do within the ECM agenda? Do I need 

written permissions? Is anyone at risk as a result of my research?

Consequential/utilitarian

Benefits for individuals – 

informed consent

 Have I made sure that all the people involved know what I am doing and why? Are 

they aware that they can withdraw if they wish? How will I ensure confidentiality?

Benefits for particular groups

What are the benefits of me doing my research to the organization solid school/

department? Could these be increased in any way?

How will I ensure that they know about my findings? Is my work relevant to the school 

development plan?

Most benefits for society

Is this a worthwhile area to research? Am I contributing to the ‘greater good’? Is this 

something other people working in education might care about?

Benefits for the researcher

Am I going to be able to get enough data to write a good thesis? Is this a topic I 

really care about? Will this work contribute to my professional development?

Deontological

Avoidance of wrong – honesty 

and candour

Have I been open and honest with everyone who might be affected by this research

Minimization of harm – be fair Have I treated all participants fairly? Do I have a clear rationale for selecting the 

participants? Are they willing to be involved?

Reciprocity – do they really 

understand what I am doing?

What will I do if I find out something that the participants/school/department do 

not like? How will I report unpopular findings?

Doing the most positive good

Is there any other way I could carry out this research that would bring more benefits 

to those involved?

Relational/individual

Genuine collaboration/trust 

established

Who are the key people involved? How can I build a constructive relationship with 

them?

Avoiding imposition/

respecting autonomy

Am I making unreasonable demands on any individuals? Do they appreciate that 

participation is voluntary? Am I acting in a way that might constitute an imposition?

Confirmation of findings

What steps will I take in my methodology to ensure the validity and reliability of my findings?

Respecting persons equally

How will I demonstrate my respect for all participants? Have I treated pupils in the 

same way as teachers? 

Table 6.1  Ethical questions to ask

07-Wilson-Ch-06.indd   96

8/31/2012   5:40:53 PM

Table 4.1 

Ethical questions to ask

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In this section, firstly, we will apply the framework as described above to Mary’s project. 

You might like to do it for yourself first – or to think about your own project in terms of 

the questions above. Secondly, we will draw out some of the features of the framework 

and highlight the advantages of working in this way.

Applying the framework to Mary’s project

We will start with the ‘external/ecological’ layer. Mary was working in her own school, 

with her own class, so there were no accessibility issues. The Head had encouraged her 

to complete her MEd; there is a culture in the school of improving practice by focusing 

on teaching and learning and Mary is a member of the ‘Teaching and Learning Group’. As 

she focused on the questions, Mary realized that the particular approach to learning that 

she wanted to investigate was being championed by the Senior Leadership team. There 

was a risk that she would discover something that would not be welcomed or which 

would challenge the people prompting this approach. How would they react? She was also 

concerned about the reaction of the Head of Science because her planned sequence of 

lessons, including quite a lot of practical work, would take longer than was suggested in the 

scheme of work.

Moving on to the ‘consequential layer’, Mary focused on the various groups. There were 

consequences for the school; if she discovered something negative about the approach 

that they were adopting, what would the reaction be? On the other hand, she might 

discover something very helpful that would enable the school to apply the approach more 

effectively. There would be potential benefits for the pupils in the school, if the project led 

to the approach being used more effectively, and benefits for the individual participants 

in that the teacher .was taking a personal interest in them. However, if the interviews and 

reflective log imposed on their social and relaxation time, they might become resentful. 

There were potential benefits for the teaching and learning group as the work could 

provide a focus for further activity and obvious benefits to Mary in that she would obtain 

a higher degree.

The risk of harm (deontological layer) came from the effect on people’s morale, 

confidence or ego, if she discovered something unwelcome about this approach. How to 

handle the selection of the sample was also an issue that could have upset some of the 

class. She decided that in order to achieve the benefits identified in the previous section, a 

policy of openness and collaboration was needed. Mary was anxious not just to produce 

another study that was considered interesting; she wanted to make a real contribution. As 

part of her own beliefs about education she realized that she really cares about equipping 

children with the ability to think for themselves and become independent learners, and 

that making an impact within the school on this issue was very important to her.

At the heart of the framework is consideration of the key relationships. In Mary’s case, it 

was important that she got on well with the class involved, which is why she used her own 

form, rather than another group that she taught. The support of the Head of Department, 

the Teaching and Learning Group and the Senior Leadership team were also important. 

She needed to build credibility with each group and ensure that she had

good, reliable data from a variety of sources.

So where did this analysis lead? As a result of considering these questions the main

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issue that emerged was around the fact that she was evaluating something that was

already in use and that people believed in. The potential difficulties that might arise

from discovering something that people did not want to hear emerged at several levels.

This often happens when you work through the framework in a systematic manner and

serves to highlight the really important issues. As a result of the analysis, she took the

following actions:

•  She explained her research plan to her colleagues in the Teaching and Learning

•  Group and listened to their suggestions.

•  She wrote to the parents of the class, explaining the research and giving them the

•  chance to ask more questions. For the four children in the target group, she asked

•  them to return a slip signed by their parents, agreeing to them taking part in the

•  interviews. This was in accordance with her school’s policy.

•  She shared her plans with the Head of Science and they jointly worked out a schedule

•  which meant that Mary’s class could do the amount of practical work required for

•  the study without falling behind the other classes.

•  She arranged to carry out the group interviews in assembly time so that she did not

•  impose on the children’s relaxation time. This limited the length of the interviews,

•  but she decided that she would still have enough data.

•  On getting some quite negative comments from the children in the second round of

•  interviews, Mary was worried about the potential impact of her research. She shared

•  her emerging findings with the Teaching and Learning Group. Someone suggested

•  that she should carry out a final group interview in which she shared her findings

•  with the children and asked them to confirm her interpretation.

Mary discovered that there were aspects of the approach that the children really

enjoyed, but that they found it very repetitive. In fact during the second interview, some

were very negative. However, during the final session in which Mary shared her findings

with the group, they moderated their comments and explained exactly why they found

it repetitive. This resulted in a deeper explanation of the things they did not like about

the approach, which was very helpful.

Mary’s recommendation to the school was that teachers should try and find ways of

varying the approach whilst maintaining the core principle that they should be supporting

independent learning. As a result of the way in which she conducted her research,

she was able to deliver what could have been interpreted as an unpopular message in a

non-threatening manner. She kept people informed throughout; she invited suggestions

and welcomed the observer into her classroom; she collected sufficient data to

produce credible evidence; and crucially, by sharing her findings with the children, was

able to have a dialogue about how the approach might be improved.

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SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT USING THIS APPROACH TO 

ETHICS

It is not intended that you should use all the questions in Table 6.1. They are intended as a 

guide to support your thinking as you focus on each of the different perspectives.

•  In your situation, some of the issues might not apply. Don’t feel you have to answer 

every question at every level.

•  As you apply this grid to your own research, there will inevitably be some repetition 

and overlap. This is not a problem and is inevitable in the complex situations that arise. 

In fact, this is why linear organizing principles are often difficult to apply. For example, 

you are invited to focus on the implications for the individuals concerned in the 

‘consequential layer’ and the ‘individual layer’. This is entirely appropriate, as on one 

level you need to consider practical things like ‘do they understand my project?’ and 

‘how much time have they got available?’, as well as the deeper, emotional implications 

of what you are asking them to do.

•  In his paper, Flinders applies his frameworks to each stage of the research, recognizing 

that the dilemmas and issues will change as the project progresses. You need to be 

mindful of the framework and revisit the questions as your focus shifts from gathering 

data to analysis and interpretation. It can be particularly helpful if you have to change 

track for some reason beyond your control. By going back to the framework you can 

justify new decisions that you make.

•  The questions incorporate big ethical questions that might arise (such as the 

implications of videoing or photographing children, reporting unpopular findings, 

ensuring confidentiality), as well as issues around the integrity of your research (such 

as getting enough data, making efficient use of resources and reporting your findings 

appropriately).

•  Any decisions that you make during this process can be traced back to one of 

the questions within a particular layer. The decision-making process is therefore 

recoverable and has a moral basis. Likewise, any decisions that are forced on you as a 

result of changing circumstances can be checked alongside the framework to ensure 

the integrity of your research is maintained. For example, you may plan to interview 

six people for an hour each. It turns out that cover is not available and that you are 

limited to 20-minute interviews. This can be justified in terms of making use of available 

resources and not imposing on the participants, but will it generate enough data? By 

thinking it through in the context of the grid, you should be able to come to a sensible 

decision about how to proceed. Instead of just settling for what you can get – the 

framework prompts you to maybe find an alternative source of data.

•  Very often in educational research, decisions are made on a reactive basis. The 

application of this grid encourages you to be proactive in identifying dilemmas before 

you get into difficulties.

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Mary found – as students who use this framework often do – that focusing on the 

consequences

of the research for all the people and the institution involved can be very

helpful. Despite the difficulties and dilemmas, it was still clear that this was a worthwhile

enterprise with the potential to be of great value in a school where considerable

resources had been allocated to promoting a particular approach to learning. Crucially,

Mary believed in the philosophy behind the approach; using the framework to interrogate

her research plan, helped her to articulate her core beliefs, which is very important

in research involving people. 

Links with the literature from educational research

In educational research, as you immerse yourself in the literature of your chosen area

you find, after a while, references to things you have already read and the literature

begins to take on some sort of ‘shape’. The field of ‘ethics’, however, is so complex that

it is difficult to achieve this in the timescale of a small-scale study. A strength of this

framework is that it embraces many of the ideas in the literature in a form that means

they can all be considered. Without the framework, the temptation is to adopt one 

particular approach, and there is a risk of not considering all the angles. Also, most of what

is written in this field makes good sense, and there is very little with which one could

disagree, but there is a distinct absence of unifying principles, presented in a useful

manner (Flinders, 1992; Small, 2001). There is a set of comprehensive guidelines from

BERA, but as Homan (1991: 36) argues, ‘the notion of an ethical code does not easily fit

the conditions which apply in social research’. The grid incorporates BERA’s guidelines

as part of a comprehensive and systematic analysis of your situation. A popular idea in

the field of ethics is the notion of ‘situated ethics’ (Oliver, 2003). This recognizes that

the ethical dilemmas and issues will always be specific to a particular context. The 

framework described, could be argued to be embracing the idea of ‘situated ethics’, but it

provides a logical and systematic way of thinking about the particular situation.

At the end of this chapter, there is a bibliography including accounts of ethics that

might apply to small-scale research projects. By applying the grid, you will have 

incorporated many of the ideas presented.

Key ideas

In small-scale educational research projects conducted in school by practising 

teachers, it is unlikely that huge ethical dilemmas will arise. However, by applying 

this  framework  to  your  work,  any  that  there  are  will  be  identified,  and  the 

implications of methodological decisions can be checked. Hence the integrity 

of your research will be maintained; you will be ‘doing the right thing’ as well as 

‘doing things right’.

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Reflective questions

1. Negotiating access

(a) Do you have formal permission to carry out your investigation?

(b) Have the participants agreed to be involved?

2. Ethics

(c) Is what you are proposing to do ethical?

(d) Have you read the BERA guidelines?

3. Information for participants

(e) Have you discussed what you intend to do with your participants?

(f) Have you discussed what the outcome of the research will be?

(g) Will you provide the participants with a copy of the final report?

4. What information?

(h) What hunches and thoughts arise during the research?

(i) Is the context or background information important?

(j) Is it likely that there is a wide range of views and of practice?

5. Why collect this information?

(k) How will the kinds of information identified in (1) above help you answer a 

particular research question?

(l) Do you need to collect data from all the possible sources available?

(m) Are some more vital than others?

6. When do you need it?

(n) Is there an order of priorities for data collection?

(o) Is certain information only available at particular times in the school year?

(p) Do you need to collect baseline data before you start with your intervention?

7. How do you collect it? Will you need to:

(q) observe situations?

(r) sit in on discussions?

(s) interview those involved?

(t) use a questionnaire?

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8. Where can you find the information?

(u) Should you seek this in classrooms, staffrooms, corridors, meetings, filing

cabinets, official documents, or through private contact with individuals?

9. From whom?

(v) Are you clear about who all the participants are?

(w) Has every possibility been identified?

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