Source: BERA

The context of the position papers:

In the summer term of 2022, I was involved in a BERA (British Educational Research Association) working group whose task it was to review the 4th edition of the Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research. In the course of the discussions, it became evident that the research landscape is moving so quickly that many of the guidelines would need some revisions. However, even a new edition of the BERA guidelines would probably not be able to tackle the wide-reaching changes.

I was therefore tasked with writing two position papers.

Position Paper 1 focussed on the context of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The paper does not only outline EDI in relation to the participants’ experiences,  but also highlights the researchers’ experiences, who may also have accessibility issues as a consequence of disabilities, chronic illnesses and/or neurodivergence.

Position Paper 2 about Sensitive Topics and Vulnerable Groups was co-authored with Dr Aimee Quickfall. Our main aim for this position paper was to outline the ambiguities around what constitutes sensitive topics and/or vulnerable groups.

Both position papers have been integrated into the formal review document for the BERA committee, but they may be of interest and so I make them available for download here, together with the full reference details:

Position Paper 1: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
Brown, N. (2022). Equality, diversity, and inclusion in research [Position Paper]. https://www.nicole-brown.co.uk/Downloads/PositionPaperEDI.pdf.

Position Paper 2: Sensitive Topics and Vulnerable Groups.
Brown, N. & Quickfall, A. (2022). Sensitive topics and vulnerable groups [Position Paper]. https://www.nicole-brown.co.uk/Downloads/PositionPaperSensitiveTopicsVulnerableGroups.pdf.