This case study considers the ethical issues that can arise when conducting participatory research with young people. It highlights the nuanced nature of participation preferences and the ethical considerations surrounding autonomy, consent and dissent in community research dissemination with young-researchers.

Nadine is a practising home educator who has supported four young people as co-researchers to jointly plan, co-design and conduct their own personalised qualitative research projects on their lived experiences of being home-educated. An opportunity arises to co-plan and disseminate the young-researchers’ findings to an influential community of stakeholders, including policymakers, practitioners and academic researchers, via a large cross-university hybrid event. During the event, one young-researcher suddenly seems uncomfortable when his parent unexpectedly joins the event just as he is about to deliver his presentation. How should Nadine respond to his non-verbal cues of dissent while also mitigating the risks involved in managing a full withdrawal?

Drawing on BERA’s Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research, this case study discusses key ethical issues, including:

• participant engagement and maximising benefits to participants while minimising harms
• consent, transparency and the right to withdraw
• data use and privacy
• duty of care and balancing individual rights with the public good
• publication, dissemination and communication of research findings.

About this series

BERA’s Research Ethics Case Studies, edited by Sin Wang Chong and Alison Fox, complement BERA’s Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research, fifth edition (2024) by giving concrete examples of how those guidelines can be applied during the research process. 

Annotations in the margins of each case study document indicate where, among the numbered paragraphs of BERA’s Ethical Guidelines, readers can find full advice on the issues raised. The annotations include hyperlinks to the relevant passages of the guidelines.

For a full account of ethical best practice as recommended by BERA, researchers should refer to our Ethical Guidelines, which these case studies are intended to illustrate without themselves offering guidance or recommendations.