research governance

This webpage is designed for Partners wanting to conduct their own research, and looks at research governance in the context of the new children's services. It will examine key aspects of research governance procedures, and address issues of child involvement in research.

• what is research governance in social care?
• university research governance
• online research governance
• network resourcebank
• useful links
• references

what is research governance in social care?

definition

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.

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university research governance

Universities are prominent research institutions, and with large numbers of students attempting their own research projects, are in need of comprehensive research governance procedures.

Each university department has its own ethics procedures, and failure to comply could result in a loss of funding, or rejection of the research proposal.

Like local authorities, university research governance differs from institution to institution, so students should check out the governance pages on their own university’s website.

It is also worth taking a look at a recent publication by SCIE, The Kinds and Quality of Social Work Research in UK Universities (PDF opens in new window)

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online research governance

More and more researchers are now conducting their social work research online, through emails, webpages and instant messaging. Although this is a relatively new methodology, there has already been research into its ethics. Research governance guidelines should acknowledge the governance of online research, as it raises different issues from other qualitative methodologies.

online questionnaires

One of the most effective ways of conducting online research is through an online questionnaire. This is posted onto a specially designed webpage that respondents can then be directed to. The webpage should explain:

• the purpose of the study
• practical arrangements
• information about the researchers
• where the findings will be posted

By doing this, researchers can ensure that respondents have as much knowledge as possible about the study, so that they can make an informed choice about whether to proceed.

As well as this introduction to the study, visitors to the website could also be provided with an email address to which they can send any queries about the research or the findings. Researchers should be aware of their commitment to responding to such queries, especially if their study is of a sensitive nature.

It is difficult to obtain the same level of informed consent from an online questionnaire as a face-to-face meeting. It is possible to attach a consent form to an email, and ask respondents to fill it in and email it back, but there are questions about whether the potential participant really does understand the consequences of the research, and whether this is as valid as a written signature.

confidentiality and risks

The internet does allow researchers to send out questionnaires anonymously, but this means that the researcher is less aware of the potential adverse effects of the study upon individuals taking part. Similarly, while researchers can promise that they will use the data confidentially, they cannot guarantee that emails won’t be intercepted and used by others.

Participants need to be aware of these risks before they hand over personal data, and researchers can explore this through the research governance process.

instant messaging and chatrooms

Researchers are beginning to see the benefits of using chatrooms and instant messaging as research methods to target young people as research participants. However, this has its own problems that research governance procedures should address:

• It is unethical for the researcher to "spy" on a chatroom conversation and use what is said in their findings without informing the participants first.
• You can never tell exactly who you are speaking to. If participants are not who they say they are, this could adversely affect the results, and, more importantly, put other vulnerable people in the group, including children under 18, at risk.
• The young people with a 'voice' in such synchronous (real-time) discussions, are the ones who can type the fastest. This puts participants who do not speak English as their first language at a disadvantage.

During such conversations, researchers need to be aware of the subjects that are not participating as much, and encourage them to come forward with their own views.

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network resourcebank

There is a section within the research in practice Network ResourceBank dedicated to research governance, which includes information sheets, guidance and application forms from Partners. This is a good opportunity for agencies to share their own governance guidelines with the research in practice network. If you are in the process of developing your own research governance policy, these practice examples are a good place to start.

We encourage Partners to continue to contribute to this valuable resource so that it is kept up-to-date. If you have a research governance procedure that you would like to share, contact Sarah Judd s.judd@sheffield.ac.uk

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useful links

Department of Health (2005) Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care (opens in new window)

ESRC (2006) Research Ethics Framework (opens in new window)

Market Research Society (2005) Code of Conduct (opens in new window)

National Youth Agency (2007) Ethical Framework for Research (opens in new window)

SCIE (2007) The Kinds and Quality of Social Work Research in UK Universities (PDF opens in new window)

Social Services Research Group Research Governance (being renewed, but there are some useful documents from 2005) (opens in new window)

SRA Ethical Guidelines (includes link to the RESPECT project) (opens in new window)

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references

Banister, E. and Booth, G.J. (2005) 'Exploring Innovative Methodologies for Child-Centric Consumer Research' Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal 8 (2) 157-174.

Boddy, J. et. al. (2006) 'What Counts as Research? The Implications for Research Governance in Social Care' International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9 (4) 317-330.

Brownlow, C. and O'Dell, L. (2002) 'Ethical Issues for Qualitative Research in On-line Communities', Disability & Society, 17 (6) 685 -694.

Butler, I. (2002). 'A Code of Ethics for Social Work and Social Care Research' British Journal of Social Work, 32, 239-248.

Crow, G. et. al. (2006) 'Research Ethics and Data Quality: The Implications of Informed Consent' International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9, 83-95.

Department of Children, Schools and Families (2007) The Children's Plan: Building Brighter Futures (London:TSO) Online version available (checked 4th March 2008)

Department of Health, (2005). Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care Online version available (checked 18th October 2007).

Fox, J., Murray, C. and Warm, A. (2003) 'Conducting research using web-based questionnaires: practical, methodological, and ethical considerations' International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 6 (2) 167-180

Munro, E., Holmes, L. and Ward, H. (2005). 'Researching Vulnerable Groups: Ethical Issues and the Effective Conduct of Research in Local Authorities' British Journal of Social Work, 35, 1023-1038.

Shaw, I. and Norton, M. (2007) The Kinds and Quality of Social Work Research at UK Universities (SCIE Report 17) Online version available (checked 20 October 2007).

Spicker, P. (2007). 'The Ethics of Policy Research' Evidence and Policy, 3, 99-118

Thomas, N., and O'Kane, C. (1998) 'The Ethics of Participatory Research with Children' Children and Society, 12, 336-348.