Ethics Form has been extremely hard to get right. It has taken months and lots of revisits to get to the point where is meets the projects requirements.
My first point of call was doing it blind with not much research. I can do this, I’ve read so many , how hard can this be. Well, brace yourself Silva. This is a ride and a half! I had my project in mind for a while, well ever since I started teaching which is nearly 2 years ago.
I started filling the form and chose green colour-way, my favourite colour. I don’t like forms filling so this was something to encourage me to do it. And I also find it easier to read when it’s something other than black. The red underlining (when the spelling is wrong) doesn’t look so bad against the green. Using the Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (2018) I tried to figure out what I supposed to do and I thought I was on the right pathway.
Version 1
I received formal written feedback, but the workload and stress of life took over me and I had to take some time out. I read the feedback and felt overwhelmed with amount of work I had to do. Finding space in my brain for it wasn’t possible. I returned to it in the late spring, full of energy and enthusiasm. My tutor recommended a lot of articles to read, which I was grateful for. It has shaped my thinking and focused me more. The next version was in blue. My second favourite colour.
Version 1 with comments
I worked hard on it and received more comments. Detailed below.
All the written feedbacks and the reading suggestions were invaluable, I wasn’t going deep enough, I wasn’t covering all the angles. The Guidelines by BERA (2018) was very useful, gave me tips of what to do in any uncertainty. Also, gave me tips of what to do to protect myself and students during the process.
I’m nearly there. My last version attached above and it was approved. AMAZING!!! I’m starting to feel really excited about this research project and it’s all down to digging deeper and educating myself of how to do the process well. Cannot wait to get going with interviews.
The Final Version. Signed!!!
References
- British Educational Research Association (2018). Ethical guidelines for educational research. 4th ed. [online] London: British Educational Research Association. Available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-2018-online.
- Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2023). Thematic Analysis [online]. Available at: https://study.sagepub.com/thematicanalysis