An interview with Professor Tony Fell, Emeritus Professor, University of Bradford, UKCGE Executive Committee, during the recent “Good Practice in Research Ethics” event of UKCGE (The UK Council for Graduate Education at Austin Court, Birmingham, UK) addressing issues in “research ethics”.

Anglohigher®: Dear Tony thank you very much for this opportunity, my first question is: What is the relation and main issues linking developments in ‘research ethics’ with the Bologna Process? What could be some points to consider in relation to ‘research ethics’ when we design and implement research degrees and projects with other European countries and worldwide?

Professor T. Fell: I don’t think that there is any significant difference in the way that research between members of the Bologna countries interact and the way that members interact with countries outside the Bologna higher education area. So I will answer those two issues together. First I think it is essential when engaging in international research with whatever country that there will be mutual recognition of the research ethic frameworks, of each of the two geopolitical zones. Or they may be three or more, which of course makes things more complicated, this might for example extend to the need to translate into the alternate language the code of practise and ethical procedures from the one domain for the benefit of the other. It will certainly involve identifying any potential conflicts of interests as regards to process and procedures, for example a complex procedure for the breaking of any research conventions. So this will needs to be ironed out in the very early stages of establishing a research agreement with an institution from another country. So that necessary joint agreement on process and procedures as regards to the researchers and the research institutions that are collaborating together is a very important part. I say that, I said ‘researchers’ deliberately because it is the case that when a researcher from university X is working for example abroad in university Y then the ethical precepts that relate to the university X apply to the researcher, when he or she is working in university Y. So there is that issue of the geographical allocation of research responsibilities which does needs to be ironed out at the beginning. That is the broader issue of the compatibility of the research ethics’ frameworks. The other issue which needs to be addressed are the cultural sensitivities, between the two or more partners. Because clearly there are differences in the conventions of addressing, carrying out and interpreting research between different areas to a degree. There are perhaps differences in the sense for dignity and respect for participants in research which are very finally tuned and developed in the British system that I am aware of, and I am sure that are equality developed elsewhere, but they may well be cultural sensitivities which need to be recognised before embarking on serious research, involving two different countries. Also of course because there are differences in languages, and differences in the use of languages, the differences in the honorific level of address, the register if you like of the use of language, which would affect the way for example that questioners are designed for application in one domain in oppose to an application in another domain. So there is a similes opportunity to compare and statistically evaluate the data whichever domain those questioners might have been delivered in and responded to. Therefore the language can be an issue as well. Finlay I think it is the case that most researchers on the international level with whom I had dealings over many years -pretty well from all over the world, from North America to Japan- do have a common sense of research ethics values in terms of for examples not plagiarising, assurance of truth, honesty and so on. The basic tenets of ethical policy, hence on that basis I think we can be reasonable confident that research on the international level does subscribe to a similar corpus of tenets, which relate to best practise in ethical research.

Anglohigher®: Are there any differences in how we must approach ‘research ethics’ in different disciplines, for example, between science-medical research and research in business related topics?

Professor T. Fell: Yes, I think there is a difference in emphasis, between the scientific research, medically base research, particularly regarding clinical issues. Especial as regards any research involving the National Health Service (NHS) in Britain, where research ethics is very firmly embedded and it has been for many years, and it is an impressive organisation, design of course both to protect the patients who maybe the subject of research and the researchers and the institutions themselves. So there is that difference if you like in emphasis as compared with research in the social sciences, humanities, research in business perhaps, where there is often the involvement of humans in the research process, for example in the response to questioners of focus groups or whatever it might be. But here the involvement of others is handled in a more, shall we say social accessible, less formalised way, albeit that permission has to be obtained from an ethical research committee, to conduct research of that kind involving humans. There is a diffident is style and emphasis, event a difference in language as I note between my social science colleagues and those of us in the sciences. Most recently I have learned that there is the new Social Care Research Ethics Committee (SCREC), which is been established in Britain with the express purpose of discussing issues arising between research in England vis-à-vis research carried out between England and Wales, England and Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, and also discussing issues between researchers in the UK and those abroad in the social sciences. So they have a particular brief to monitor developments in those areas. Whilst of course the permissions for research in the social sciences and humanities in general within the UK are audited and given by the research ethics committees within the institutions, normally. Although there are some forms of social science research which are carried out under the rules of the National Health Service and in those circumstances they have to go through the strict research ethics committee procedure that regular clinical research will have to go through. That is quite an interesting development, established by the social scientists as a separate approach for them, a more accessible loop than the NHS Research Ethics Committees, which are formidable operators.

Anglohigher®: How important it a suitable ‘research student induction programme’ and does a university needs a wide training strategy for postgraduate research students and academic staff? (first video)

Anglohigher®: Should ‘research ethics’ be part of the wider policy development in higher education and what the benefits are? (second video)

Anglohigher®: In your opinion what are the five most important points to consider during the development and design of programmes for academic staff and researchers in relation to ‘research ethics’? (third video)