Tackling child poverty pathfinders: evaluability assessment

Appendix 3 – Ethical framework

Ethical Consideration: Implications for evaluation

Managing disclosures made by families during field research

• Escalation pathways to access support for individuals, appropriately skilled researchers

Minimising harm to research participants

• Adhering to the rights of children and families, particularly protective responsibilities around vulnerable groups
• Trauma informed approaches
• Voluntary participation and ability to withdraw, and ensuring there isn't an expectation on families to participate in research when receiving support
• Ensuring evaluation activities are justified in terms of need to answer the research questions
• Focus on what is relevant and vital to the research need
• Tailor research approach to individual need
• Lived experience input into research design

Managing identification of fraud or illegal activity through field research

• Clear guidance on what to do with this information
• Appropriately skilled researchers
• Understanding of how to interpret data where there may be inaccuracies as a result of fraud

Managing conversations on sensitive issues

• Trauma informed approaches
• Being cognisant of stigma around poverty
• Appropriately skilled researchers

Reducing barriers to participation in field research

• Accessible research in terms of practicality to participate and the way conversations are had to enable meaningful contribution and productive and positive conversations
• Tailor approaches to individual need, ensuring there isn't an expectation on families to participate in research when receiving support

Ensuring research is mutually beneficial for the researcher and participant

• Feedback loops of findings
• Incentive/thank you vouchers
• Efficient and careful use of participant's time, lived experience input into research design

Ensuring informed consent

• Providing detail on the context and purpose of the work
• Ensuring people know participating is voluntary
• Explaining how their information will be protected and used
• Not over promising benefits of participating
• Framing it as a pilot that will inform service delivery
• Ensuring their isn't an expectation on families to participate in research when receiving support

Ensuring efficient and justified expenditure on research and evaluation activity

• Providing detail on the context and purpose of the work
• Ensuring people know participating is voluntary
• Explaining how their information will be protected and used
• Not over promising benefits of participating
• Framing it as a pilot that will inform future service delivery
• Ensuring there isn't an expectation on families to participate in research when receiving support

Protecting the time of research participants

• Ensuring evaluation activities are justified in terms of need to answer the research questions
• Focus on what is relevant and vital to the research need
• Having a clear focus for the research
• Designing efficient and prioritised methods and tools
• Aligning research activities to minimize duplication and inefficient processes

Ensuring robust and useable research findings

• A clear understanding of the standards required for evidence collection, analysis and reporting
• Ensuring that we are articulating the complexity and variability of what success looks like given the needs of families vary
• Building rapport and trust with research participants to ensure high quality evidence gathered from field research

Managing implicit bias/generalising/stereotyping during research and analysis

• Appropriately skilled researchers
• A clear understanding of the standards required for evidence collection, analysis and reporting

Protecting the wellbeing and time of non-participating research groups (e.g. control groups who aren't receiving Pathfinder support)

• Ensuring evaluation activities are justified in terms of need to answer the research questions
• Focus on what is relevant and vital to the research need

Protection of personal and sensitive data

• Strong data protection processes
• Analysis and reporting protecting anonymity, appropriately skilled researchers