Learning Connection
This guide provides information about and links to basic resources for supervisors of postgraduate and research students involved in Human Research.
The University has a comprehensive set of policies, codes of good practice and guidelines that govern postgraduate work and research supervision — the following list includes those with a direct bearing on ethics in human research.
Note: Although the procedures and interpretation of documents may differ from those of the University of South Australia, the following sites contain useful cross references.
Ballard, B. & Clanchy, J. (1997). Teaching international students: A brief guide for lecturers and supervisors. IDP Education Australia, Deakin, ACT.
Addresses issues of plagiarism and transnational students, and the chapter on Supervising Postgraduates throws light on some of the cultural explanations of what might affect many of the ethical dilemmas that arise in the course of postgraduate research.
Bouma, Gary (2000). The research process, 4 th ed.Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.
Professor Bouma currently chairs the Standing Committee for Ethics in Research involving Humans, at Monash University. This is written in a clear and easy style, is of value to students as well as supervisors and contains a complete chapter (Ch 11) on research ethics.
Delamont, S., Atkinson, P., & Parry, O. (1997). Supervising the PhD: A guide to success. The Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.
Evans, Terry & Jakupec, Viktor (1996). Research ethics in open and distance education: Context, principles and issues, in Distance Education, vol.17, n.1, pp 72-94.
Also available online through Library website.
Evans and Jakupec offer a wide-ranging discussion on ethics and research in open and distance education, drawing attention to all areas of research involving humans. They raise a number of key issues and include three hypothetical case examples. There is a useful list of references.
Halasa, Karen (1998). Annotated Bibliography: Ethics in educational research. Australian Association for Research in Education, Coldstream, Victoria.
Also available online: http://www.swin.edu.au/aare/welcome.html
The position paper offers some valuable insights on ethics in research involving humans, while providing an overview of the literature on key issues including informed consent; the relationship between researcher and researched; data storage and cultural sensitivity. Although the focus is on research in education, the references would be of interest to supervisors of any discipline concerned about the ethics of involving human participants.
Note : The three sets of Conference Proceedings referenced below pay significant attention to a range of issues including those that link postgraduate research to transnational students. However, no paper specifically addresses the ethics of research involving humans.
Kiley, M., & Mullins, G. (1998). Quality in Postgraduate Research: Managing the New Agenda, Proceedings of the 1998 Quality in Postgraduate Research Conference, Adelaide April 23-24. The Advisory Centre for University Education, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide.
Kiley, M., & Mullins, G. (2000). Quality in Postgraduate Research: Making ends meet, Proceedings of the 2000 Quality in Postgraduate Research Conference, Adelaide April 13-14. The Advisory Centre for University Education, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide.
Kiley, M., & Mullins, G. (2002). Quality in Postgraduate Research: Integrating perspectives, Proceedings of the 2002 Quality in Postgraduate Research Conference, Adelaide April 18-19. The Advisory Centre for University Education, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide.
Komesaroff, Paul, ed. (1995). Troubled bodies: Critical perspectives on postmodernism, medical ethics, and the body. Melbourne University Press, Carlton South, Victoria.
The focus of this references is on ethics in medical contexts. To the academic interested in the broader framework of the underlying principles of ethics and human research, it offers some absorbing discussions and insights into the ‘respect and dignity of the human person’.
Ryan, Y., & Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1999). Supervising Postgraduates from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds. The Society for Research into Higher Education and The Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.
Chapter 7 focuses on law, policies and ethics and looks specifically at the consequences of internationalisation.
