So far in these columns we have discussed mainly methodological issues in research such as identifying your own perspective and engaging your community. While musing this week on where to go next, I found myself faced with a number of my own research challenges and realized that all of them revolved around research ethics. So I thought it was high time we opened up that can of worms!
As practitioners, we all aspire to work ethically with our clients. We make ourselves aware of codes of ethics and breathe a sigh of relief that we have a clear framework to steer us out of some of coaching’s trickier situations! So, as practitioner researchers, is that enough or do we need a separate ethical framework specific to research?
After all, we do a number of similar things as researchers and as coaches—we uncover an individual’s truth through question and challenge, explore meaning through analysis and synthesis, and may even experiment with new behaviors and design alternatives. In short, the initial stages of most coaching models mirror those of the research cycle, and the skills the coach and researcher bring to interventions are very similar. Surely we can use the same ethical framework for research as for coaching!
The answer to my mind is no—we need to go further for a number of reasons. The main one is the care of your participants. When you undertake any research, you are hoping that your participants will give you their time and engagement to provide you with their perspectives, thoughts, and feelings on the research topic. In return, they get the opportunity to have their voice heard. That’s it! Nothing more.
So the balance of “gifts” between researcher and participants is rather one-sided. You are getting a wealth of information and knowledge from your participants; they are giving you their hopes, considerations, and reflections. They are prompting your thinking, shining a light on issues hitherto uncovered, and generally exposing their opinions/thoughts/feelings to your scrutiny and trusting you with it all. Your participants are going to provide you with the building blocks of the entire study. You are simply asking the questions. As a researcher I am left feeling profoundly grateful!
I owe my participants a debt: to take care of what they have given me and what I do with it. I need to make sure that it is kept secure and, when reporting my study, I need to keep my participants’ safety uppermost in my mind. It is not just putting a tick in a box, but a sincere undertaking that acknowledges the debt of gratitude I owe to my participants, placing the burden of care squarely on my shoulders as the researcher.
Poorly run practitioner research can have devastating effects if we do not keep to a tight ethical framework. One veterinary surgeon I knew, interested in the development of diagnostic skills in young practitioners, designed an inquiry that would have resulted in his sharing his opinion of the skills of a small group of four vets with their boss. It would have been interesting to see who would have been the first vet to sue after being dismissed from their post. A quick rugby tackle by his research supervisor (me!) stopped that design going live, but it threw light on how ethical dilemmas emerge as soon as we start looking.
But it is not all bad news—there is a range of research ethical codes available from the major professional bodies. Best practice, such as a clear contract between you and your participants at the beginning, is also out there in the many books on research practice. But we also need to develop good internal ethical awareness, as no standardized code will cover all eventualities.
One rule of thumb that helps inform me is to consider the information given by a participant (in whatever form) as remaining their property. It is not something the researcher can use as he or she sees fit, but is, instead, a prized possession such as a work of art. An artist remains the spiritual owner of his/her art and the collector simply a custodian of the work. Its value comes from who created it. In a similar way, the participants continue to “own” their data and must give their permission for whatever happens to it. This will mean that we need to check back with our participants to ensure that we are correct in what we have heard from them, that they are amenable to their information being included, and that they give us explicit permission when we want to use quotes from them—even when these are unattributed.
This stance also stops us “giving” our data away to others, even fellow researchers, and this is not a bad thing. Data is bespoke to the study within which it was collected—a product of the question, design, methodology, and instrument used. Rarely is it transferable in its raw form. The outputs of the data analysis can be transferable and of general use, but not the raw data itself.
So keep ethically aware and you are not only taking your participants’ gifts to you seriously, but you are taking your own research and work seriously!
This article first appeared in Business Coaching Worldwide (June Issue 2009, Volume 5, Issue 2).
The British Psychological Society code of research ethics.
Dr. Annette Fillery-Travis is a senior researcher and education coach with the Professional Development Foundation. The author of more than 60 research articles and studies, her recent book The Case for Coaching, presenting a literature review with research case studies and interviews from over 20 organizations on coaching efficacy, was published in 2006 by CIPD, UK.
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As part of our goal to apply the highest standards, WABC constantly seeks robust research to enhance our evidence base on “what works” or “what is promising” in contemporary business coaching worldwide, while also considering the professional expertise/expert opinion of business coaching professionals.
We invite experts and researchers worldwide to apply their expertise to the subjects impacting business coaching, which integrates the work of many adjacent disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, behavioral science, ethnography, among others.
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Business coaches often work with those in a position of leadership, who can greatly influence the business decisions and culture of the organizations they represent. Especially when facing complex dilemmas, business coaches must have the courage to challenge their clients’ perspective and guide them towards ethical choices. Business coaches also need to know when they themselves may be encountering ethical dilemmas and how to reconcile competing interests and agendas.
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The current WABC Code of Business Coaching Ethics and Integrity embodies the highest ethical standards and includes our Principles and our Safe Harbor Conciliation and Adjudication Process. It’s one of the most advanced and comprehensive codes of its kind in the world today, and is one of the key differences that set WABC business coaches apart from other kinds of coaches.
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For over 25 years, Caroline held senior executive roles in complex, high-stakes environments, transforming organizations and leading high-performing teams in globally competitive settings. Her relentless pursuit of excellence, paired with an unwavering commitment to people and performance, has established her as a trusted advisor to leaders navigating change, complexity and breaking barriers to success.
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Michele Ann Jenkins has been working in web content management since people first realized web content should be managed. She got her start programming medical vocabulary management tools, then joined the San Francisco dotcom frenzy to work on Open Source web content management systems for the burgeoning online publication industry.
With 20 years of web development experience and a strong background in information science, Michele quickly analyzes client and user needs to translate them into actionable strategies that drive user engagement. Focusing in information architecture (IA), usability and content strategy, she finds creative ways to apply IA best practice and builds frameworks that are useful, solid and beautiful.
After many years of travel and working for UN organizations in Europe, she settled down in Montreal, Quebec to focus on information architecture and taxonomy.
Michele has a BA and an MLIS from McGill University, where she has taught courses in Online Community Development and Knowledge Taxonomies.
Steve Lanning and Hal Wright of the United States founded the National Association of Business Coaches (NABC) in 1997. NABC experienced steady growth within the first five years while the business coaching industry became one of the fastest growing professions in North America. NABC was positioned as “the association of choice” for business-focused coaches and the international business market.
To further global growth, NABC sought out a visionary leader to elevate the organization into a prestigious international association. Wendy Johnson of Canada shared the same vision—of an organization who could elevate excellence in business coaching, and unify business leadership throughout the world.
On May 31, 2002, Wendy Johnson transformed NABC into a new privately held federal corporation in Canada, and became WABC Coaches Inc.
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