MA Education (International) Dissertation – Internal Ethics Application

This internal ethics application is part of your formative assessment for the module and must be submitted along with your research proposal.

Your qualitative research is restricted to engagement with peers, colleagues and subject specialists or documentation as part of a desktop study. No pupils or parents of pupils may be included in your primary research activity, however reflections on your practice might form part of the rationale for your study.

As part of the formative process, your research proposal and ethics application is to be approved by the module leader and supervision team. You may not start your research until your supervisor has given you written permission to do so. 

Please complete all questions.

1. Name of researcher: Uma Ebudula
2. Title of your research project:  Perceptions of Word Problems in Education
3. Research Questions (3-4) 

When it comes to word problems in mathematics education, what are the typical difficulties that parents and teachers encounter?

How do parents and teachers handle the difficulties presented by word problems in maths classes?

What effects does parental participation have on students views and verbal problem-solving skills?

• Start date (this is the date you intend to start your data collection) – You must not start your data collection until you have permission to do so.

This Month

• End date

This Week

• Why are you suitable to conduct this research? – You need to identify your role and interest in the area of study as well as any connections and understanding you have with the area of research as this demonstrates why you are suitable to conduct the research.  For example, what experience and qualifications do you have? This may include a description of your prior research experience or professional experience within the field you have chosen.

I possess a strong academic background in education and extensive experience in mathematics instruction, which equips me to analyse the challenges associated with word problems effectively.

• Where will your research take place? – Be specific and detailed about the different settings where your research will take place.If you are conducting research where you work, then you will need to consider the potential ethical issues regarding ‘insider’ research and also the influence of ‘power relations’ if the participants are known to you (please quote from the relevant literature on these issues to justify and illustrate your research choices).

You will also need to obtain ‘permission of access’ letters from all of your research sites.

The research will take place in schools, teacher training institutions, and family settings where mathematics education is actively implemented.

• What data collection methods are you planning to use for your qualitative research and why (e.g. questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, etc.)? – If you intend to use a number of collection methods and have different groups of participants, clearly identify what method will be used with which participants. You need to provide a clear rationale for the choice of any method(s) and explain why each method chosen best answers your research questions.

The research will use a mixed-methods approach, incorporating focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires:

Focus Groups: Conducted with trainee and experienced teachers to explore collective challenges and coping mechanisms.

Interviews: Conducted with parents and educators to capture individual perspectives and in-depth narratives.

• Data Collection and Storage – Will your data collection involve asking questions about:

(please tick all statements that apply) ANSWER WILL BE NONE OF THE ABOVE

None of the listed sensitive topics will be addressed.

Storage: Data will be securely stored in encrypted digital files and locked cabinets for physical copies.

1. Outline how you plan to store data collected – How the data will be stored and who will have access to it? It is essential that participants are able to feel confident about how their data is handled and that their privacy is respected. Incorrect storage poses a high risk to yourself and the university which you are a representative of when you are carrying out research.  Check the statements below that apply to your data storage: YOU SHOULD CHECK ALL STATEMENTS  

Password-protected digital storage.

Encrypted backup of all digital data.

1. How will participants be recruited for your study? – This section requires you to discuss any sampling techniques that you intend to use in your research.

Participants will be recruited through purposeful sampling, targeting trainee teachers, experienced educators, and parents with children in school.

1. Gaining Participants’ Consent – How will you ensure that your participants have given their fully informed consent? Consent is a central tenet in research ethics. It needs to be freely given and fully informed and can be withdrawn where possible. Consent is therefore an ongoing process and rarely a simple one time yes/no. 

Respect for consent and refusal helps prevent harm and abuse. Poorly designed and conducted consent procedures pose a high risk to participants, researchers and the institution (from possible claims for damages or adverse publicity). 

All of the points below must be considered in your response to this question.

• If you are conducting research in your own workplace or with your colleagues you need to identify how the consent process you are following has reduced any potential coercion and obligation to take part.   
• If you are researching with participants who have social communication requirements (

e.g. EAL or  hearing-impaired) you must identify how you will inform them about the study and gain their consent.

Participants will be provided with detailed information sheets outlining the study’s aims, methods, and ethical considerations.

1. Explain clearly how you plan to obtain and record consent.  Please address all of the following in your response:
   1. Who will be responsible for obtaining consent?
   1. How long will participants have to decide whether or not to take part?
   1. How will you ensure that consent is fully informed and voluntary?
   1. If participants cannot read or cannot read English, or have other communication needs, how will you ensure that they are fully informed about the research?

Responsibility: Consent will be obtained by the researcher.

Decision Period: Participants will have a week to decide.

Process: Consent forms will include plain language statements and options for withdrawal.

1. How will you ensure anonymity and confidentiality for your participants (if applicable)? Anonymity and confidentiality are key ethical principles in educational research, your answer should therefore consider each of these stages: collecting, coding, interpreting and storing the data. However, there may be occasions when anonymity and confidentiality cannot be assured, for example, regarding safeguarding. You need to discuss these if they might arise in the context of your research. 

Any possible breaches of anonymity will need to be identified with participants and discussed.

Anonymity will be ensured by assigning unique identifiers to all participants during data collection and analysis.

1. What potential risks will your research have for participants or third parties (e.g. physically or psychologically)? – This question asks you to consider actual and potential risk of harm. You may consider your study to be low or no-risk but this still needs to be explained so you demonstrate awareness of any possible issues. 

Physical risks may include health and safety issues (e.g. access / visiting a new place / laboratory safety) and psychological issues such as the potential for emotional distress to participants from discussing sensitive topics.

Consider the impact of the data that you are collecting as it may evoke feelings that were unexpected. Sometimes questions may be asked that are potentially embarrassing, worrying or upsetting to the participants.

Also consider the implications of power relationships between various parties, including among participants and between participants and the researcher.  This is particularly important if you are researching colleagues and in your own workplace. Explain how you will mitigate the effects of potential or actual risks. This could include referral to external sources of support and these need to be identified and permission sought for their use following the study. Researchers should not be involved in counselling participants at any point during or after the study.

Potential risks in the study are minimal but may include psychological discomfort if sensitive topics arise. Steps to mitigate this include, Ensuring a comfortable, private environment for participants.

1. What steps will you take if a participant who has given consent loses capacity to consent or changes their mind during your research? – You need to state what you will do with the data if someone is unable to continue participating or asks to withdraw. Participants have the right to withdraw from the study without penalty however you need to consider the impact on your study. What are the implications of removing all of a person’s data from your study? E.g. the disruption to a focus group transcript / statistical analysis? If your study will be disrupted, you will need to acknowledge this and explain how you will manage this through the consent process?

Their data will be removed, unless aggregated or anonymized to the point that individual identification is impossible.

1. What are the potential risks of physical, psychological or emotional harm to you as the researcher? – As above, this question asks you to consider actual and potential risk of harm. You may consider your study to be low or no-risk but this still needs to be explained so you demonstrate that you have thought of possible issues that may affect you.

You will need to consider any physical risks such as possible threat or abuse, exposure to physically unsafe environments or illnesses. There may be psychological risks arising from disclosure of sensitive information or threats of violence. You may also need to consider the risk of being in a compromising situation where accusations of improper behaviour may be made. You will need to identify how these risks will be mitigated. You should always consider your physical safety when doing fieldwork and state what arrangements that you have made in line with Lone Worker guidance. There must be a clear and justified rationale for lone working.

Physical risks during fieldwork (e.g., travel hazards). Psychological risks from sensitive disclosures or stressful interactions.

Mitigation strategies include, conducting fieldwork in safe, monitored environments.

1. Outline the potential ethical issues that may arise from the study and how you plan to mitigate the impact of these.

Key ethical issues include ensuring confidentiality, informed consent, and minimizing participant distress. To mitigate these ethics approvals will guide all procedures.

1. Dissemination of data – How will the study results be disseminated – including to participants? Research studies are conducted to share findings, whether now or in the future, in a poster, presentations at professional conferences or publications etc. This needs to be explained when obtaining consent. 

If your study is part of an assignment, consider how you can present your findings in a more accessible way to the participants / families / colleagues etc. rather than say that they can read your assignment! A short presentation or report may be more suitable. If appropriate, you may want to consider the involvement of participants in the dissemination of the study results; any ethical issues associated with this need to be considered.

Results will be shared in accessible formats, such as summaries or presentations for participants and stakeholders.

• Including ethics in your dissertation – As well as discussing ethics within your dissertation, you will also need to include the following as numbered appendices upon submission: Please check all those your study will include: – CHECK RELEVANT

Ethical approval documents.

Consent forms.