RESEARCH METHOD COHEN ok

74 THE ETHICS OF EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH
unique circumstance. The issue here is that ethics
are ‘situated’ (Simons and Usher 2000). Indeed
the authors state at the outset that
while ethics has traditionally been seen as a set of
general principles invariantly and validly applied to
all situations ... on the contrary, ethical principles
are mediated within different research practices and
thus take on different significances in relation to
those practices.
(Simons and Usher 2000: 1)
The authors state that this implies that situated
ethics are ‘immune to universalization’, because
researchers cannot avoid weighing up conflicting
considerations and dilemmas which are located in
the specificities of the research situation and where
there is a need to make ethical decisions but where
those decisions cannot be reached by appeal to
unambiguous and univalent principles or codes.
(Simons and Usher 2000: 2)
Indeed, it was observed earlier that many ethical
codes and guidelines themselves avoid univalency
and unambiguity, arguing, for example, that
deception, covert research and the lack of
informed consent may be justified. The need for
polyvalency (multiple interpretations of what is
worthwhile, acceptable and valuable) and situated
ethics, Simons and Usher (2000: 11) argue, arises
from the practicality of conducting research, the
need for sensitivity to socio-political contexts and
to be fair to disadvantaged groups, and to take
account of the diversity and uniqueness of different
research practices. What this suggests, then, is
that, while codes and guidelines may be useful
in raising issues and orienting researchers, they
cannot decide what should and should not be
done in a specific situation; that is for individual
researchers and their informed conscience to
decide.
Sponsored research
Sponsored research does not absolve the researcher
from ethical behaviour. For example, it may be
considered unethical for the sponsor to tell the
researcher:
how to conduct the research
what results the researcher should look for and
what findings should be suppressed
what should and should not be reported
to conceal who the sponsor is
what are the purposes of the research.
On the other hand, sponsors do have the right to
remain confidential; they may have the right to
non-disclosure of who they are, and the purposes
and findings of the research.
While sponsored research is usually contractual
between the researcher and the sponsor, and
between the researcher and the participants, and
while the research may be for the sponsor alone
and not for the public, this does not privilege the
sponsor in dictating how the research should be
conducted and what it should find; in short, ‘fixing’
the study.
Of course the researcher’s responsibilities may
lie only in conducting the study and providing the
sponsor with a report; what happens to the report
after that (e.g. whether it is released completely,
selectively or not at all to the public or other
parties within the sponsor’s organization) is a
matter for the sponsor. However, this does not
absolve the researcher from decisions about the
conduct of the study, and the researcher must
retain the right to conduct the study as she or
he thinks fit, informed by, but not decided by,
the sponsor. The researcher’s integrity must be
absolute. It is often the case that researchers will
negotiate publication rights with the sponsor in
advance of the research and what confidentiality
the researcher must respect.
The sponsor has a right to expect high quality,
rigorous and usable research. The researcher
should not succumb to pressure to
betray the confidentiality of the respondents
tamper with data, their analysis or presentation
to meet a particular objective
present selective and unrepresentative data and
conclusions
make recommendations that do not arise from
the data themselves
use the data for non-negotiated personal
interests, agendas, purposes and advancement