Reflecting on the journey of creating and developing my ethical enquiry form for the Action Research Project at UAL, I was surprised by the depth and complexity of the ethical considerations involved in academic research. My primary objective was to explore ways to improve student participation in peer feedback, a crucial aspect of learning in my Audio Post-Production class.
With my research question defined: “How might we improve student participation in peer feedback?” and a map of the whole project I started to think about all the ethical implications I could come across in the project, also, seeing the ethical form helped me a lot to think about all the aspects and potential considerations.
Creating questions for both pre- and post-intervention experiences was a thoughtful exercise. I aimed to understand the students’ comfort levels in providing peer feedback before and after the intervention, as well as their perceptions of anonymity’s impact on the quality of feedback. This required me to consider the psychological impact of my research on the participants, ensuring that the questions were sensitive and ethically sound.
The aspect of obtaining informed consent was particularly challenging. I had to ensure that my students understood what they were consenting to and that they had the freedom to opt out without any repercussions. This led me to delve into various methods of obtaining consent, such as through the submission of work or an online questionnaire.
A significant part of my ethical consideration was the potential risks to the participants. The anonymous nature of the feedback could potentially lead to negative or unconstructive comments. To mitigate this, I established guidelines and protocols and provided resources on how to give constructive feedback.
Throughout this process, I was constantly aware of my responsibility to uphold the ethical standards set by the University of the Arts London. This meant not only ensuring the well-being of my participants but also considering my own.