The Department of Health's 2005 Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care acknowledges the importance of research to 'the successful promotion and protection of health and wellbeing, and also to modern, effective health and social care services'.
However, it also emphasises that:
'research can involve an element of risk, both in terms of return on investment and sometimes for the safety and wellbeing of the research participants. Proper governance of research is essential to ensure that the public can have confidence in, and benefit from, quality research in health and social care.'
Research governance is drawn up by institutions to ensure that social care research is conducted to high scientific and ethical standards, and that the well-being of research participants is protected.
why does research governance matter?
Research governance is a vital part of any research proposal. By going through the process of research governance, researchers ensure that they:
- Protect participants and researchers
- Improve user involvement
- Ensure regular and effective dissemination of findings
- Improve the quality of research
- Raise the profile of research
what should research governance look like?
Research governance should be a set of general guidelines that facilitate discussion rather than a strict specific code that must be adhered to by all research proposals. It is impossible to devise a code that can deal with the full complexity of social work principles (Butler, 2002).
The procedure should examine what makes a good researcher, and what constitutes good social work research.
It should highlight the requirement of all researchers to ensure the well-being of all participants, and to consider the needs and protection of vulnerable respondents (including children under 18).
Good research governance should address questions of confidentiality, informed consent and anonymity. It should also investigate what research methods are used, and how the resulting data will be analysed and disseminated.
Local authorities should tailor the more specific aspects of research governance to their own needs. Ethical considerations in a city with a large black and minority ethnic population who do not speak English as their first language will be very different to those in a rural area.
questions to consider
Paul Spicker has identified four types of ethical consideration that can be found in published research governance guidelines:
- Impact of research - what can this research be used for? What effects could it have on participants? What effects could it have for non-participants? How will the data be analysed?
- Treatment of participants - how will you recruit participants? How will you ensure you obtain informed consent? How will you protect confidentiality and anonymity? How will you accommodate vulnerable participants?
- Disciplinary considerations - how will you ensure that the research is of high quality? In what way will this research inform policy or practice? What existing work has been done on this topic?
- Research relationships - what responsibilities do you have to the institution commissioning the research? What commitment do you have to other researchers? How will you maintain integrity in dealing with both participants and stakeholders? (Spicker, 2007)
These issues are worth considering when writing your own research governance policy or conducting your own research. Although every agency is different, and will have its own processes, the bullet points provide a general structure that will enable you to refine your thinking and facilitate discussion among potential researchers.
informed consent
One of the major issues that needs to be discussed in research governance is that of informed consent. Participants have the right to make an informed choice when considering taking part in a project, and therefore need to know:
- what the research entails
- how it will be published
- how it will impact on their lives as participants.
It must also be clear to respondents that they can refuse to participate or withdraw from the study at any time.
When conducting research with children, extra care must be taken to ensure that they are protected from negative effects of the study. The Market Research Society Code of Conduct advises researchers to obtain informed consent from a responsible adult (a parent, carer or teacher), and to emphasise that the child can decline to participate at any time during the study.
potential risks
However, this is not always possible, particularly in social work research. Local authorities need to address the problems faced by young children or those with learning difficulties in giving informed consent, to ensure that these groups understand the full implications of taking part in the study.
There is also the issue of very sensitive studies. Although research into areas such as domestic abuse and bereavement is necessary, this can be upsetting for participants. Researchers investigating these topics need to take extra care to fully explain why such sensitive data is needed, and any detrimental effects this could have on those taking part.
This is a particular issue with research into children’s issues, as many parents will be reluctant to let their child participate in studies that may be upsetting. Researchers should look at how they will attempt to minimise potential risks to participants and explain this carefully through the research governance process.
When conducting research with children, researchers must have a valid Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check to ensure the participants are protected.
further information
A scoping review has been conducted for the Department for Education by Janet Boddy and Christine Oliver, who are based at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London. This review is particularly useful as it looks at the current landscape of research governance, identifies key principles in research governance for children's services, and describes the diverse arrangements for research governance in different local authorities. You can download the full report and a summary briefing below:
Research Governance Briefing (73.2 kB)
Research Governance Full Report (602.04 kB)
There are several ethical frameworks which you might find useful in developing governance arrangements. Although written with the conduct of research in mind, they cover important areas of research ethics relevant to governance and will also be helpful in planning and commissioning or conducting research:
ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Research Ethics Framework
Social Research Association Ethical Guidelines
British Sociological Association Statement of Ethical Practice
As well as this, Janet Boddy has also set up an online Research Ethics Guidebook that provides further information and guidance around research governance and ethics, covering topics such as:
- Writing your proposal
- Building ethics into the research design
- Applying for ethics approval
- Conducting your research
- Reporting and dissemination
