Research and Innovation Services
This article originally appeared in the Campus Review 1998 Special Report to Research and Postgraduate Study. For further details about issues of dependency and unequal power relationship, access, consent and confidentiality, and the impact of workplace research on participants and the organisation, contact the Ethics and ComplianceOfficer
My boss is doing research on my workgroup. Do I have to take part? How can I be sure my responses won't be tea room gossip by tomorrow? Can I lose my job over this?
Informed consent, confidentiality and proportional risk are well understood in clinical research. They are just as relevant to workplace research.
Research undertaken in the researcher's own workplace is becoming common. Particularly with postgraduate students keen to undertake research relevant both to their studies and their profession. Workplace research is also likely to be cutting edge with the researcher wanting to address issues important to them and their organisation.
Social research does impact on research subjects. The Australian Research Council's move to develop a code of ethics for human research is clear recognition of this.
The impact on subjects can be even greater when the research is undertaken in the researcher's workplace. The research relationship is complicated by the ongoing professional relationships between the researcher and research subjects. This is particularly true when the research subjects are the researcher's work colleagues. Ethical interaction between colleagues is not codified in the same way as relationships between professionals and clients.
Workplace researchers find the whole research process much less problematic if they clearly separate their professional and research roles. A clear separation of roles also clarifies subjects' expectations about the research and its outcomes.
The researcher's professional relationship, as a supervisor or peer, with potential subjects might make it difficult for subjects to refuse involvement. Individuals of lower organisational status than the researcher might feel particularly obliged to participate. Having a third person make the approach or making a general call for volunteers in the organisation's internal newsletter are two ways in which the researcher can reduce the pressure on colleagues to be involved.
In the same way that refusal to be involved in a clinical study will not affect a subject's medical care, subjects of workplace research need to be assured that their employment status will not be affected by their decision whether or not to participate.
Confidentiality is more important than usual within a work context where research subjects have ongoing relationships with each other and with the researcher. Unless individuals have explicitly consented to being identified, all reports on the research should maintain their confidentiality. The material collected from individuals through interview, observation, or other means should not be used in any way not authorised by those interviewed or observed.
It is particularly important to ensure that information on individuals gained during research is not used in relation to those people as peers or employees. For example research on family friendly work practices might prompt a contract staff member to reveal their plans to start a family. That information should not be used by the researcher as supervisor when they make decisions about contract renewals.
In order to achieve this level of confidentiality it might be necessary to use a methodology which ensures anonymity. Alternatively the assistance of a third person, not otherwise involved in the research or organisation to facilitate focus groups or conduct interviews can be helpful.
Good research sometimes involves risks to the research subjects. This is true of workplace research where risks might range from minor distress or embarrassment, to significant changes to work practices resulting from the research. Potential subjects should understand the risks involved and agree to participate in the research with that knowledge. In addition, any risk of harm to research subjects must be proportional to the potential benefits of the research.
Workplace research does not take place in a vacuum. Undertaking research can in itself raise expectations in the minds of research subjects. For example research into flexible work practices might raise the expectation that telecommuting will be encouraged. Care should be taken when communicating about the research to ensure that subjects' expectations are realistic.
Research might develop skills and attitudes in research participants that will not disappear when the research is over. Alternately, research into some issues, such as the effects on personnel of organisational downsizing, might be distressing to subjects. In designing their study, researchers should put into place appropriate strategies to handle the effects of the research on subjects. Strategies might include formally debriefing research subjects or providing contact details of a person not involved in the research who is able to provide confidential counselling.
The effect of research on individual subjects: raised expectations, new skills, the questioning of workplace practices or distress, can have a broader impact on their work group. In addition research can impact on the organisation as a whole.
Sometimes research findings will either be unpopular with management or could damage the organisation or a group within the organisation.
Involvement of a senior sponsor who is committed to having the research completed, committed to supporting the group that could be at risk, and who is respected at all levels within the organisation can be very helpful. This is a particularly useful strategy when research findings might have a negative impact on a particular group within the organisation, putting them at some risk, or where findings are likely to be controversial or unwelcome.
Organisations might seek to restrict publication or research findings if those findings have commercial or competitive implications. Where the research is likely to discover material which is commercial in confidence, or damaging to the organisation, the identity of the organisation can be disguised in any publication of the research. Alternatively publication can be delayed for a limited period until the organisation has had time to use the research findings to its commercial advantage.
Workplace research is not an easy option. In addition to the usual ethical issues that arise in human research the ongoing relationship between researcher and colleagues outside the research project can lead to significant difficulties. The impact of the research on individuals and the organisation can be far reaching. However, many problems can be overcome if the researcher is aware of potential difficulties, designs their research to overcome these, and communicates openly with their organisation and the research participants about the research.
