ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a very wide range of issues in working with ethics in educational research, indicating that, for each ethical issue, challenges and tensions exist, and that research ethics touch and problematize every aspect of the planning, conduct and reporting of research. It roots the discussion of key texts from many sources, including research associations and agencies, and it argues that, whilst ethical regulatory practices might have a role to play, their roles are contested. Whilst ethical codes and guidelines can inform and raise issues for consideration by educational researchers, the chapter argues that ethics are ‘situated’ in specific contexts (e.g. socially, politically, institutionally, culturally, personally), and that researchers have to decide how to address and apply ethical principles in coming to a decision on how to act in the specific research in question. Such decisions almost inevitably will involve compromises. The chapter suggests ways in which researchers can approach ethical decision making, interpreting and working with ethical principles. It indicates the contentious issue of privacy and how it is coming into greater focus with the rise of electronic data collection.
