D8.2 (8.4) - A Guide To Interview Ethics Vf-1-3

Abstract

This document (Deliverable D8.2) sets out a Guide to interview ethics for the DIAMOND project. It aims to provide partners with a framework for dealing with ethics that must be used when collecting and analysing interview (qualitative) data in the project. The document also acknowledges the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles, as set out by Horizon 2020, that all DIAMOND partners will follow. In general, ethical research is built on trust and integrity, including avoiding potential conflicts of interest or causing harm to participants or researchers and ensuring all data collected is handled properly. It helps ensure that participants (such as interviewees) involved in the research are provided with sufficient information to decide on whether or not to take part in the research, and that they explicitly and voluntarily give their consent to take part. All information gathered is considered anonymous and confidential, unless explicit consent is given otherwise. Ethical research also avoids interviewing vulnerable people, unless essential to the research and there are careful safeguards in place to support this. This document sets out some broad ethical principles for conducting ethical interview research in relation to the collection and analysis of data to the publication and use of the data. International data sharing and secondary data analysis are briefly mentioned although they are set out in the separate Data Management deliverables. The key ethical concerns which arise with interview and other data collection are also highlighted and discussed in relation to the planning and preparation of data collection, including the collection and use of social media data. The document concludes with a list of ethical recommendations for the DIAMOND research project and provides an additional list of further reading materials relating to research ethics Section 1 gives an overview and introduction to the key ethical issues in interview research. Section 2 sets out some key issues of Research integrity that should be followed. Section 3 describes some ethical principles for interview and related research in the DIAMOND project. Section 4 describes the process of what DIAMOND researchers should do in this regard. Sections 5-8 briefly outline Secondary Data Analysis, International Data Sharing, Data Collected via Social Media and finally some general Recommendations for DIAMOND. The Appendices present some indicative examples of Information Sheets and other forms and further details.