Ethical Issues

There are some issues with various data collection methods. Brief descriptions of each issue are:

Being ethical: any research will have an effect on the people involved with it. Research with participants needs to respect their rights and there are various ethical approaches that must be considered.

Potential harm: research should not be damaging to anyone, this is especially important when working with young children, people with learning difficulties and anyone who is vulnerable.

Informed consent: people who are the subject of research need to know what they are getting themselves into. Informed consent must be obtained by the participant, or their guardian if they are below the age of 18, in order to gain permission to use the data from other research.

Observer's paradox: the paradox that the only way to collect natural speech is to observe it - but the very act of observation is likely to destroy its naturalness. In other words, the presence of a researcher can affect the participant's behaviour or the results.

The right to withdraw: if people don't like the experience they having by participating in the investigation, they have the right to withdraw at any time with no consequences to themselves.

Confidentiality and privacy: no one in the investigation should be recognisable or traceable. To ensure this, their real name, address, access details or personal information should not be shared or made public. People may be happy to grant permission but the facts must be explained before doing so. It is difficult to remove personal information once it is made public.