Erin Moore Ethics Statement 11/6/2013

All researchers need to consider ethics in their research. Researchers, or investigators as they are called by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), need to make decisions about their studies that demonstrate ethical treatment of subjects and data collected. These decisions involve demonstrating as defined by the NIH, respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Ethical considerations reach well beyond the definitions of the NIH though. My research interests cover a variety of educational topics, mostly focused on teachers. When researching teachers, I am interested in looking at instructional mentoring, secondary and postsecondary partnerships, literacy and language, and multicultural education. While my focus is based on instruction and decision making, these areas directly impact students; therefore, in looking at any of these topics, it becomes imperative to look at the impact these have on student learning. Student learning is what will demonstrate the greater good, or social benefits of these research topics. When thinking about these topics, many ethical questions come to mind, especially questions about parental consent and disclosures. What types of disclosures do students need to be aware of in educational research? Moreover, what types of disclosures do parents of students need when students are being studied? Even though my research interests involve minimal risks to research subjects, parents and students should be informed that students are part of a study. In addition, parents should also be able to determine whether they want their childs information used in an educational study. Focusing on the effects on students also presents decisions that need to be made about confidentiality. Student identities should be protected in educational research findings. This may be

easier in quantitative versus qualitative research. How do investigators maintain research subjects confidentiality when researching specific classrooms or programs that involve a specific group of students? The investigator needs to carefully approach small groups of students, and even teachers, especially since the purpose of the research should be to benefit groups outside of the research subjects. However, any benefits of research become null if the research subjects identities are not protected. Thus, it is the investigators responsibility to determine how to protect the research subjects and focus on the greater purpose of the study. The most important ethical question to consider when conducting any research is how to conduct research that fulfills the purpose of the study while honoring the integrity and dignity of the research subjects. The investigator needs to determine how to represent the findings of any study honestly, while also protecting the research subjects. This involves more than protecting identities and maintaining confidentiality. This also involves staying true to the purpose of the research and the information provided by the subjects. Currently, I am focusing on secondary post-secondary partnerships as my research topic. I want to look at the decision making processes involved with these partnerships. I have been very fortunate to be involved in partnerships between my employer, a community college, and two local high schools. While this offers me the opportunity for completing research, I fear violating confidentiality among the participants. Each school, including the community college, will have teams of 7-10 individuals. I will need to find methods for protecting the identities of those involved in the partnerships. In addition to the ethical challenge of protecting identities, I am also faced with the challenge of overcoming my own bias. An important element of the grant is for the high schools and community college to align curriculum based on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) . The more I investigate

the CCSS, the more I grow to disagree with them. I need to stay aware of this bias since the CCSS are central to the partnerships. I will need to carefully word any questions I have for participants, as well as in any writing that I do so as not to let the CCSS interfere with the intended purpose of the research. In all, I need to maintain my focus on the partnership and how it develops, and view the CCSS as a component in the partnership, not my actual research.