Doctoral Students' Understanding of Legal and Ethical Obligations in Conducting Education Research

Conducting education research requires researchers to observe key legal and ethical obligations and to respect the rights of research participants. Legislation pertaining to data protection, in particular, has important implications for the way in which research data is collected, used, stored and shared. Researchers are also required to conduct their work within an ethical framework set by the academic community, with the relevant body in this case being the British Educational Research Association (BERA). It is essential that researchers are aware of and observe these protocols, in order to protect all of those involved in their research. The aim of this paper is to examine the understanding by students on Doctor of Education degree programmes of the legal and ethical requirements in conducting education research. This paper is based upon information gathered from 15 Doctoral students in 3 inner-London universities, whose research practice was explored through a combination of questionnaires and interviews. The findings indicate a clear understanding among the Doctoral students of the importance of observing their legal and ethical obligations, but a key conclusion is that these students would benefit from more instruction and guidance on how these should be "applied" to their particular research projects. [For the complete Volume 13, Number 1 proceedings, see ED568595.]