Basic Ethical Considerations in Social Science Research Projects
Any research that involves humans needs to develop ethics guidelines addressing the main questions related to the particular research and development projects. The European Union issued such guidelines within the Horizon 2020 framework. Like other ethics guidelines, it tackles the most relevant topics, including data and informed consent, gender equality as well as open access to science for all members of a society. The following text provides you with an overview of some of the basic ethical considerations that need to be taken into account when conducting research.
In order to achieve research excellence in your projects, it is crucial to follow ethical guidelines as well as to bear in mind the basic ethical principles. Some of the most important considerations when conducting social sciences research projects include topics such as providing specific guidelines, (sensitive) data and consent, open access to science and research, as well as promoting gender equality.
Guidelines and Informed Consent
Informed consent is at the centre of any empirical research involving human participants. It is the process by which participants are informed about the research and made aware of their right to decide whether to participate in your research project, as well as of subsequent rights. Ethics guidelines need to be centred around the basic ethical principles of respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice.
Open Science and Open Access
The term open science refers to making scientific research (including research results in form of publications or data) and its dissemination easily accessible to the general public, thus to all levels of society – from amateurs to professionals. It is a core strategy of the European Union’s principles and fosters transparent and accessible knowledge through collaborative work. Open science needs to consider intellectual property rights as well as privacy of the data subjects. As such, make sure to define guidelines for putting open science into action in your research project!
Promoting Gender Equality in Social Science Research Projects
Gender equality is another important aspect you have to bear in mind when conducting social science research projects. To understand why considering gender aspects in social science research projects is becoming increasingly important nowadays and how these aspects can be implemented in a specific project, we provided a quick overview of the main objectives that underpin the strategy on gender equality within the Horizon 2020 framework:
- foster gender balance in research teams for women to participate more actively in research projects
- ensure gender balance in decision-making institutions, the target being 40% of women in panels and groups and 50% in advisory groups
- improve the quality and societal relevance of the produced knowledge, technology or innovation
- take into account women’s and men’s needs and behaviours in equal parts
Ethical principles play a crucial role when conducting any research project, particularly when it involves empirical studies (s. informed consent). A project can only benefit and gain overall scientific relevance from taking into account basic ethical considerations such as making research accessible and integrating a gender perspective.
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