Qualitative Evaluation Methods in Ethics Education: A Systematic Review and Analysis of Best Practices

Although qualitative research offers some unique advantages over quantitative research, qualitative methods are rarely employed in the evaluation of ethics education programs and are often criticized for a lack of rigor. This systematic review investigated the use of qualitative methods in studies of ethics education. Following a review of the literature in which 24 studies were identified, each study was coded based on 16 best practices characteristics in qualitative research. General thematic analysis and grounded theory were found to be the dominant approaches used. Researchers are effectively executing a number of best practices, such as using direct data sources, structured data collection instruments, non-leading questioning, and expert raters. However, other best practices were rarely present in the courses reviewed, such as collecting data using multiple sources, methods, raters, and timepoints, evaluating reliability, and employing triangulation analyses to assess convergence. Recommendations are presented for improving future qualitative research studies in ethics education.     

A not so strange silence: Why qualitative researchers should respond critically to the qualitative data archive

A driving force behind the establishment of a qualitative data archive in the United Kingdom has been the oral historian, Paul Thompson. He has complained that there is a ‘strange silence’ among qualitative sociologists on re‐analysis, and that many have been reluctant to deposit data. The first part of the paper suggests that the common ethical and practical objections can be overcome in establishing an archive in Australia. However, there is a more serious underlying ideological objection: that archiving promotes and institutionalises a narrow empiricist version of qualitative research. The rest of the paper makes this case by examining teaching materials on a British website, by reviewing Thompson's arguments, and by considering some examples of re‐analysis by sociologists. It is argued that qualitative researchers should respond critically, but that it is possible to address and overcome these problems when developing an Australian archive.     

Effective Practices in the Delivery of Research Ethics Education: A Qualitative Review of Instructional Methods

In order to delineate best practices for courses on research ethics, the goal of the present effort was to identify themes related to instructional methods reflected in effective research ethics and responsible conduct of research (RCR) courses. By utilizing a qualitative review, four themes relevant to instructional methods were identified in effective research ethics courses: active participation, case-based activities, a combination of individual and group approaches, and a small number of instructional methods. Three instructional method themes associated with less effective courses were also identified: passive learning, a group-based approach, and a large number of instructional methods. Key characteristics of each theme, along with example courses relative to each theme, are described. Additionally, implications regarding these instructional method themes and recommendations for best practices in research ethics courses are discussed.     

Critical Realism,Dialectics, and Qualitative Research Methods

Critical realism has been an important advance in social science methodology because it develops a qualitative theory of causality which avoids some of the pitfalls of empiricist theories of causality. But while there has been ample work exploring the relationship between critical realism and qualitative research methods there has been noticeably less work exploring the relationship between dialectical critical realism and qualitative research methods. This seems strange especially since the founder of the philosophy of critical realism, Roy Bhaskar, employs and develops a range of dialectical concepts in his later work in order to extend the main tenets of critical realism. The aim of this paper is to draw on Bhaskar's later work, as well as Marxism, to reorient a critical realist methodology towards a dialectical approach for qualitative research. In particular, the paper demonstrates how dialectical critical realism can begin to provide answers to three common criticisms made against original critical realist methodology: that the qualitative theory of causal powers and structures developed by critical realists is problematic; that critical realist methodology contains values which prove damaging to empirical research; and that critical realists often have difficulties in researching everyday qualitative dilemmas that people face in their daily lives.     

What a Tangled Web We Weave: Ethical and Legal Implications of Deception in Recruitment

Deception in human subject research is neither uncommon nor prohibited. The use of deception in the recruitment phase of clinical research has received relatively little attention. Given that informed consent is foundational to human subject research, the practice of misrepresenting the study purpose in clinical research would seem to contradict one of the fundamental tenets of ethical human subjects research. Using the example of prodromal psychosis, this article the ethical and legal implications of deception in recruitment and the sufficiency of current guidance on the practice when the study involves a stigmatizing condition, the collection of genetic samples, or both. I conclude that when these two elements are present, deception should only be used when absolutely necessary and, if used, researchers should be required to debrief participants before the collection of genetic samples and give particular attention to minimizing risks of privacy breaches.     

How Turkish Private Hospitals use Social media: A Qualitative Study

The purpose of this study was to examine which social media tools are mostly used by private hospitals in Ankara and to reveal the advantages and disadvantages of social media tools at an institutional level. Based on the purposive sampling method, it was decided to reach only the people within the scope of the research and hence qualitative interviews was performed with 15 people. The interviewed people consisted of managers responsible for social media activities at the corporate level hospitals. The data obtained from in-depth interviews were analyzed by content analysis. Accordingly, it was found that the social media tools most commonly used by the surveyed participants was Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram respectively, primarily for sharing health-related information and the purpose of advertisement. It was concluded that 26.6% of social media activities at the corporate level are being conducted by the communication department and the social media is mostly being used to share health related information by the hospitals. The survey also found that hospitals had increased recognition as an advantage of social media, but difficulty in deleting comments related to the hospital was found to be a disadvantage. In this research, only the social media activities of the hospitals were discussed with the managers at the institutional level Thus, future studies that evaluate the views of managers, service providers, and service users about social media are required. But the results from this study are expected to provide hospital managers with important clues for planning social media activities.     

“主体间性-干预行动”框架:质性研究的反思谱系

质性研究中存在三种困境：主体间性、表述政治、参与行动。前两者是认识论意义上的困境,后者是解放政治和行动意义上的困境。他们在反思广度、深度、力度方面层层递进、步步深入。从对对象的反思到将研究作为反思对象,从认知研究到行动研究,共同构成了质性研究的“主体间性-干预行动”反思谱系。     

Ethical Virtues in Scientific Research

Most approaches to promoting integrity in research are principle-based in that they portray ethical conduct as consisting of adherence to ethical rules, duties, or responsibilities. Bruce MacFarlane has recently criticized the principle-based approach to promoting integrity in research and offered a virtue-based alternative. MacFarlane argues that principle-based approaches do not provide adequate guidance for ethical decision-making and are not very useful in moral education. In this article, I examine and critique MacFarlane's defense of the virtue-based approach. I argue that virtue-based and principle-based approaches to ethics are complementary and that they both can help promote research integrity.     

Researching Vulnerable Groups: Ethical Issues and the Effective Conduct of Research in Local Authorities

The Data Protection Act 1998 and Research Governance Frameworkfor Health and Social Care (Department of Health, 2003a) havebrought consideration of ethical issues in the conduct of researchinto sharper focus. This paper, based primarily on the authors’experiences of conducting research on children in need and outcomesfor vulnerable children, examines the impact these changes havehad on the research process. The difficulties experienced byresearchers in gaining access to research participants in orderto develop evidence-based policy and practice are explored.Finally, the paper outlines some practical steps that can betaken to facilitate the effective conduct of research.     

Qualitative Heuristics For Balancing the Pros and Cons

Balancing the pros and cons of two options is undoubtedly a very appealing decision procedure, but one that has received scarce scientific attention so far, either formally or empirically. We describe a formal framework for pros and cons decisions, where the arguments under consideration can be of varying importance, but whose importance cannot be precisely quantified. We then define eight heuristics for balancing these pros and cons, and compare the predictions of these to the choices made by 62 human participants on a selection of 33 situations. The Levelwise Tallying heuristic clearly emerges as a winner in this competition. Further refinements of this heuristic are considered in the discussion, as well as its relation to Take the Best and Cumulative Prospect Theory.     

Effect of impact factor and discipline on journal data sharing policies

Data sharing is crucial to the advancement of science because it facilitates collaboration, transparency, reproducibility, criticism, and re-analysis. Publishers are well-positioned to promote sharing of research data by implementing data sharing policies. While there is an increasing trend toward requiring data sharing, not all journals mandate that data be shared at the time of publication. In this study, we extended previous work to analyze the data sharing policies of 447 journals across several scientific disciplines, including biology, clinical sciences, mathematics, physics, and social sciences. Our results showed that only a small percentage of journals require data sharing as a condition of publication, and that this varies across disciplines and Impact Factors. Both Impact Factors and discipline are associated with the presence of a data sharing policy. Our results suggest that journals with higher Impact Factors are more likely to have data sharing policies; use shared data in peer review; require deposit of specific data types into publicly available data banks; and refer to reproducibility as a rationale for sharing data. Biological science journals are more likely than social science and mathematics journals to require data sharing.     

Sexual Health Services for Homeless Youth: A Qualitative Analysis of their Experiences

The sexual health problems experienced by homeless youth bring into question their use of available sexual health services. Using a qualitative typological analysis, this study aims to identify sexual health services utilization profiles for homeless youth, and to understand the role of the homeless experience on the utilization of sexual health services. Individual interviews were conducted with 33 homeless youth (17 men, 16 women) between 18 and 25?years of age. Typological analysis identified four profiles: (1) a targeted use of sexual health services to determine one’s serological status following a relational change during the homeless experience; (2) a limited use of sexual health services to manage sexual emergencies that arise during the homeless experience; (3) a regular use of sexual health services to avoid the risks associated with the homeless experience; (4) a frequent use of sexual health services to obtain support when engaging in prostitution during the homeless experience. This study shows that the precarious and unstable conditions within the homeless experience incite youth to utilize sexual health services in different ways. These findings point to the importance of rethinking sexual health services to better adapt them to the different utilization profiles of homeless youth.     

思想史视野中的质性研究:以方法意涵的构建为例

本文尝试从思想史视角反思质性研究方法,以揭示被结构视角遮蔽的研究过程,从而探讨一种直面内心的反思性社会科学研究方式。思想史视角强调回到文本去阐释书写者赋予研究方法以意涵的思想过程。本文以“推论”“充分必要性”与“意义”等三种方法论立场中的方法意涵构建过程为例展现这样的思想过程：方法论如何引导了对特定研究方法的选择;当方法论与现实情况存在差距时,书写者如何在原有方法论立场中发展对质性方法新的理解以捍卫方法论的合理性;书写者如何在强调与其他立场的区分中发展对方法的理解。本文由此揭示了看似相同的方法背后所蕴含的巨大意涵和实践差异。一种围绕“意涵”展开的方法知识系统将有可能被建立起来。思想史视角为反思性的质性方法知识构建提供了可以付诸实践的路径。     

心理学利己主义和伦理学利己主义

存在两种不同的利己主义学说:心理学利己主义和伦理学利己主义,并利用当代西方伦理学的一些研究成果和作者的研究心得,探讨了两个问题。第一,“心理学利己主义”作为一种描述人性或者人的心理结构的科学学说是否为真?第二,“伦理学利己主义”作为一种规范伦理学理论是否成立?严格的论证将证明心理学利己主义作为一种人性的描述性的理论不能为真,而伦理学利己主义尽管包含了某些合理因素,但作为一种规范伦理学理论也不能成立。     

Qualitative data preservation and sharing in the social sciences: On whose philosophical terms?

Over the past decade, an academic debate has developed surrounding qualitative data preservation and sharing in the social sciences, and has been characterised as one between supporters and opponents of this movement. We reframe the debate by suggesting that so‐called ‘opponents’ are not resistant to the principle of data preservation and sharing, but ambivalent about how this principle is being put into practice. Specifically, qualitative researchers are uneasy about the foundational assumptions underpinning current data preservation and sharing policies and practices. Efforts to address these concerns argue that the inclusion of the ‘contexts’ of data generation, preservation and reuse will adequately resolve the epistemological concerns held by the qualitative research community. However, these ‘solutions’ reproduce foundational assumptions by treating ‘context’ as ontologically separate from, rather than constitutive of, data. The future of qualitative data preservation and sharing in the social sciences is dependent on shedding its implicit unitary foundational model of qualitative research, and embracing ‘epistemic pluralism’ and the diversity of philosophical perspectives representing the qualitative researcher community.     

社会工作质性评估研究的回顾(1990-2003)对中国社会工作的启示

在社会科学的历史中,定量和定性研究的争论持续了差不多半个世纪。随着研究者对实证主义的质疑,质性研究的数目逐渐增加。根据布瑞曼(Bryman,1988)的看法,质性研究有以下特点:(1)透过被访者的眼睛看世界;(2)描述日常生活情境的细节;(3)了解在不同社会范畴的背景中的行为及意义;(4)强调过程;(5)倾向采用文字及结构灵活的研究设计;(6)尽量避免在研究初期确立理论和观念。邓泽和林肯(Denzin & Lincoln,1998)也指出,质性研究有以下元素:(1)采用多元的研究手法;(2)涉及自然和诠译的角度;(3)在自然的情况下作出研究;(4)尝试理解和分析不同现象的…     

The Minimal Model of Argumentation: Qualitative data analysis for epistemic speech,text and policy

Social scientific work on argumentation is yet to address the perennial tension between social cognition and social constructionism. Moreover, argumentation-based qualitative analysis protocols are needed for interview and textual data. Nonetheless, argumentation models remain too complex to reflect everyday argumentation and are not necessarily reflective of underlying cognitive processes. This presents the need for further theorising social behaviour, with a view to formulating a model of argumentation that (a) is parsimonious, and (b) aligns with the literature on joint projects, due to the fact that in social cognition terms, argumentation is for doing. In this paper, we draw upon interdisciplinary literature on argumentation, noting convergences among different approaches. We then proceed to consider the socio-cognitive bedding provided by Lay Epistemic Theory, to present our Minimal Model of Argumentation (MMA). In MMA, interlocutors are held to make claims concerning an issue of concern, and defend them using warrants, evidence and qualifiers. We end by providing empirical examples supporting the utility of our model in qualitative research.     

Researcher Perceptions of Ethical Guidelines and Codes of Conduct

Ethical codes of conduct exist in almost every profession. Field-specific codes of conduct have been around for decades, each articulating specific ethical and professional guidelines. However, there has been little empirical research on researchers’ perceptions of these codes of conduct. In the present study, we interviewed faculty members in six research disciplines and identified five themes bearing on the circumstances under which they use ethical guidelines and the underlying reasons for not adhering to such guidelines. We then identify problems with the manner in which codes of conduct in academia are constructed and offer solutions for overcoming these problems.     

Ranked-Weighted Utilities and Qualitative Convolution

For gambles—non-numerical consequences attached to uncertain chance events—analogues are proposed for the sum of independent random variables and their convolution. Joint receipt of gambles is the analogue of the sum of random variables. Because it has no unique expansion as a first-order gamble analogous to convolution, a definition of qualitative convolution is proposed. Assuming ranked, weighted-utility representations (RWU) over gains (and, separately, over losses, but not mixtures of both), conditions are given for the equivalence of joint receipt, qualitative convolution, and a utility expression like expected value. As background, some properties of RWU are developed.