Why Ethics in Action Research Is Different
Why Ethics in Action Research Is Different
- In a lab, researcher and participant are strangers. In action research, the researcher is the students’ teacher.
- The power gap is wide: students cannot easily refuse the teacher.
- The closeness is a duty of extra care, not a shortcut.
- Core rule in every code of research ethics: do no harm.
Why Ethics in Action Research Is Different
In a university lab, the researcher and the participant are usually strangers. The researcher follows ethical rules to protect a stranger.
In an action research project, the researcher and the participants know each other. The researcher is the teacher. The participants are her own students. They sit in her room every day. Their grades depend on her. Their parents trust her.
This relationship makes action research ethically harder, not easier. The power gap between teacher and student is wide. Students cannot really refuse a request from their teacher in the way an adult might refuse a request from a stranger. The teacher’s job is to protect them with extra care, not to use the closeness as a shortcut.
The core principle in every code of research ethics is the same: do no harm. Action research follows that principle, and then adds rules that fit the teacher-student relationship.
A second card to fix the same idea in your memory.
