Guide: Ethical and Social Issues

 
                    Section: 
                    
                        Target Audiences

Introduction

If you think that there are no ethical or social issues in your research, think again. Ethical and social issues are present in everything. We don’t necessarily mean the kind of issues that your institution’s ‘ethical framework’ is in place to deal with. Discoveries that affect society, however major or minor the impact, have inherent ethical and social issues and your audience will have views about them. You may be interested in engaging directly with these issues, exploring the values held by members of your audience. In any case, you will need to be aware of any issues affecting your target audience, and to deal with them sensitively.

Guidelines and approach

Identifying ethical issues…

You may think that your work has no ethical or social issues associated with it but if you ask yourself a few simple questions you will begin to identify them:

What are the applications of my research in society?
What societal changes might occur as a result of these applications? What are the knock on effects of these changes?
What impact might the application of my research have on different members of society? Who might be sensitive to these issues?
If there are positive impacts on certain members of society, are there also negative impacts on other groups as a result?
Does it raise questions associated with morality, legality, equality and fairness?
Are there any associated religious, political, cultural, gender-based or social class related issues?

Example scenario…

If it is difficult for you to imagine applying these questions to your own research, take this scenario as an example: Imagine that you are a researcher in nutrition and health. You have discovered that active play and exercise is beneficial for the health and development of children and that increased participation in structured, extra-curricular sport will lead to a reduction of cardiovascular disease and obesity. You would like to engage family groups with your research and discussions about the value of exercise. This may seem like a subject which is fairly free of ethical issues but if you apply the above questions, you will see a number of issues arising:

What are the applications? Increased support in society for the development of fitness provision for children in schools and communities. Increased expectations on parents to ensure their children participate actively in extra-curricular activity.
What societal changes might occur? There are a number of potential positive impacts on society. More participation in structured extra-curricular activity might mean a reduction in boredom and apathy in adolescents which often leads to crime, teenage pregnancy and drug use. A reduction in cardiovascular disease and obesity will lead to a healthier society, with a more able workforce. In turn this may result in reduced strain on the NHS. However, there will be issues of child safety to consider – this may mean that there is an increased strain on organisations responsible for implementing risk assessments and CRB checks.
Who might be sensitive to these issues? There are a number of different groups who will have investment in these issues. These include: People with strong views on diet and nutrition (including vegetarians and vegans), people with a family history of cardiovascular disease, people with obesity issues (including those who have medical conditions which contribute to their problems), those responsible for budgeting physical activity provision in schools and communities, and parents – ranging from parents who encourage active participation in sport, parents of problem teenagers and parents of obese children. People with mobility issues may also be sensitive to this subject.
Will there be negative impacts on any members of society? If expectations of physical activity are raised, this may lead to an increase in the stigma attached to obesity. Some may worry that their child will be bullied as a result. Some people may feel that their parenting is being brought into question and you may come across some parents who feel that family time is already too much infringed upon. If greater investment is ploughed into sports provision in schools and communities, there will be issues surrounding the cost of these – who pays for it and what does not get paid for as a result?
Does it raise questions associated with morality, legality, equality and fairness? There are certainly issues of fairness and equality, especially in terms of access. People in deprived areas may argue that there is no opportunity for their children to get involved in such activities. If certain schools or councils increase provision for physical activity, parents of those children who do not go to those schools or live in those areas will consider it unfair and that their children are disadvantaged as a result. Parents of children with health issues may complain that too much emphasis on physical prowess is unfair. People with strong views on nutrition and health may steer the discussion to unrelated moral questions about animal rights (not eating meat), or environmental concerns (locally sourced produce).
Are there any associated religious, political, cultural, gender-based or social class related issues? Many of the issues of equality and fairness above may be more sensitive to people from certain social classes – from issues about access provision in deprived communities, to issues about the cost of participation in clubs. There may also be gender equality disputes e.g. if there are a number of boys-only football clubs in the area but very little in terms of opportunities for girls, this may deemed unfair.

Dealing with ethical issues…

You may want to focus your engagement activity directly around these issues. Discussions of ethical and social issues can be highly effective in engaging audiences; helping people to see the relevance of new research to their own lives, as well as exploring, and consulting upon, values held by different groups and individuals. Even if you do not choose to run an ethically-based discussion, the issues are likely to arise in some form. Try to think of as many issues as you can in advance, but be prepared to be confronted with issues which you have not yet considered.

Facilitating effective discussions…

Encourage participants to examine their own opinions, looking at opposing views and exploring their reasons for believing what they do. Draw out deeper discussions by presenting questions to the audience, e.g.

Why do you think that?
What is the reason for that?
How do you know?
Can you think of another argument against your view?
Is there another argument for what you believe?
If [a relevant scenario] were to happen, how would that make you feel?
What affect would that have on other people?

Things to be aware of…

Set ground rules of mutual respect and tolerance before beginning discussions.
Be wary of presenting your own opinions as fact – be respectful of all opinions, retaining an element of objectivity so others feel they are able to put their point of view across.
Be aware that some members of your audience might have considerable investment in the subject matter. Think about their reasons for coming. It may be that they have chosen to attend because they have personal experience and background knowledge of the subject matter e.g. an engagement activity about genetic inheritance of Cystic Fibrosis, may well attract audience members with a family history of the disease. Be sensitive to these issues.
Ensure that criticisms are aimed at arguments, not people. Don’t allow people to personalise the issues – this may lead to defensiveness and a feeling of being attacked.
Accept that there may be multiple perspectives and encourage the discussion of alternate views.
Allow space and opportunity for all participants to air their views – don’t allow one person or group to dominate. But, don’t force people to speak up if they do not wish to – there is value for some people in simply sitting and listening to the comments.
Ensure that you have mechanisms in place to diffuse heated situations.
Use exemplars, anecdotes and facts from your research to present potential scenarios and implications, in order to draw out further questions.
Look for the good news of your research and its implications. Ethical debates don’t have to focus purely on the negative.

Top tips

Dr Ainsley Newson, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Ethics at the University of Bristol

Try not to be frightened of the word "ethics". Rather than seeing "ethics" as a potential obstacle to be overcome, see it as a useful way of questioning research implications and motives.
Don't feel you have to know a lot about ethical theory to talk about ethical issues. Rather, be open to critical reflection on your own work or field.
One nice way to start thinking about ethics is to ask: "does anything about X make me feel uncomfortable?" and go from there.
If you are priming an audience for a discussion about ethical issues, it is useful to suggest a couple of pointers for debate but don't tell them everything. Instead let them come up with their own ideas.
Ethics is all about trying to make and defend an argument, e.g. "X should be allowed because Y." You can ask your audience to come up with a position and then think about how others might critique it, and how they would respond.
As with much public engagement, try as much as you can to involve your whole audience. Not everyone may feel comfortable talking in front of a large audience so small group discussion is useful too.
It can be useful to have something to circulate to your audience; e.g. a printout of a web page or a newspaper article to pique their interest.
It might be worth doing just a bit of background reading on current policy developments before you engage, as people may have questions about something they've seen in the news.
It's always useful to remember that "ethics" can mean both approval for research (such as by a research ethics committee) and the academic discipline of inquiring into the implications of research and technological development. Some people are hostile to ethics committees but very open to banter about issues.
You'll be amazed at the creative thinking and suggestions that lay people or other non-experts can come up with. Go into engagement about ethics with an open mind and you never know what you will learn!