Participatory engagement and social research: methods toolkit

7. Ethical Considerations

It is vital to consider the ethical implications of undertaking a SEIA. Careful consideration of how the SEIA process itself will affect the communities and stakeholders concerned is important for several reasons.

Firstly, doing an ethics impact assessment is good practice for any type of research or assessment project that will involve and have an impact on people. This is particularly important in this context, where undertaking a SEIA could cause distress or anxiety and may decrease support for (or even lead to opposition to) the development or intervention itself^[6].

Secondly, given that the purpose of a SEIA is to ensure communities’ and stakeholders views are respected and to minimise the risk of harm from developments or interventions, it is important that the way the SEIA is done itself respects this ethos.

Thirdly, and related to the first point above, undertaking an SEIA sensitively in a way that builds trust among communities and stakeholders may well lead to fuller engagement with and participation in the SEIA by the relevant communities, generating richer insights and giving a fuller picture of how the development or intervention affects, or is likely to affect, communities and stakeholders. An ethics impact assessment should therefore be conducted in the preparatory stages of the SEIA.

What does ethical research look like in practice?

Ethical principles are drawn from three main guidance documents: The Scottish Government’s Ethics Guidance for Social Researchers (2015)^[7],^[8],^[9].

There are many ethical protocols and professional codes of practice for different scholarly and professional societies that may provide additional insights.

In summary, the main themes are:

• Ensure professional integrity and sound application and conduct of research methods, using robust and relevant methods, safe-guarding the interests of those affected by their work and reporting the findings honestly.
• Ensure that relationships with research participants are appropriate and respectful. It is important that:
  • Appropriate methods are selected and applied
  • Participation is voluntary and based on informed consent
  • Barriers to participation are overcome
  • An inclusive approach towards vulnerable people and groups is taken which avoids harm, anxiety or distress
  • Anonymity and confidentiality are respected as much as possible for all those participating
• GDPR must be followed in the handling, storage and archiving of personal data
• Ensure that research findings are reported accurately and in full and are published.

Assessing Ethical Sensitivity

It may be helpful in conducting the ethics assessment to consider levels of sensitivity for each issue that is identified. An approach to this is suggested in The Scottish Government’s Ethics Guidance for Social Researchers (2015)^[10].

How can research ethics be embedded within a SEIA?

If the SEIA is being undertaken in collaboration with a university or research institute, then it is likely that academic partners in the project will have to gain ethical approval from their institution’s research ethics committee prior to the commencement of their involvement in the SEIA process. This process can take several months, so it is worth planning ahead to ensure that critical activities are not delayed. Equally, however, as well as being a critical component of professional practice, institutional ethical approval can act as external quality assurance of the SEIA methods being proposed, and may identify issues of which the developer had not thought.