1. Ethical engagement with students in higher education research
Dr Camille B. Kandiko Howson
Senior Lecturer in Higher Education
King’s College London
@cbkandiko

2. Research about / with / for / on students Researching learning gain
Overview
Research about / with / for / on students
Researching learning gain
Student engagement
Triangle of doom
Ethics
RCTs, What Works, Nudge Theory

3. Research about students
Students as data points or data sources

4. Research about students
REF High status, global impact, (some) funding ?

5. Research with students
Student engagement
Co-design
Co-creation
Students as partners
Partnership
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

6. Research with students

7. Research with students
REF Low status, low impact, little funding

8. Research for students
Student information,
advice and guidance
Learner analytics
Nudge behaviours

9. Research for students
REF Impact case study?

10. Research on students
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs)
Quantitative findings
Students manipulatative; universities as petri dish

11. Research on students
REF High status, global impact, increasing funding ? ? ? ?

12. Learning Gain Pilot Projects
HEFCE/OfS funded 13 mixed method projects involving 70 institutions over three years, using:
Learner analytics/Grades
Self-reported surveys
Standardised tests
Multiple measures of a specific theme
National Mixed Methodology Learning Gain Project (NMMLGP)
Higher Education Learning Gain Analysis (HELGA)

13. Learning Gain Findings
Balance between methodological precision and practical collection and application of data
Challenges of participation
Engagement depends on embedding into the curriculum
And loads more! Higher Education Pedagogies

14. Triangle of Doom

15. Triangle of Doom
Data Protection
GDPR
Data
Sharing
Research Ethics

16. Research ethics Randomised controlled trials (RCTs)
blunt research designs that ignore context and experience;
tend to generate simplistic universal laws of ‘cause and effect’;
inherently descriptive and contribute little to theory (Connolly et al 2018)
Importance of process evaluation (Siddiqui et al 2018)

17. Research ethics What Works Policy
Why searching for 'what works' is a wild goose chase (Dennis, 2018)
Why Most Published Research Findings Are False (Ioannidis, 2005)
What students want? What is good for them?
Importance of context and individuals
Policy
OfS commissioning an independent Evidence and Impact Exchange (EIX) – a ‘What Works Centre’ to promote access, success and progression for underrepresented groups of students

18. Research ethics Behavioural insights/ Nudge Theory
Manipulation, control of freedom, moral autonomy
Ethical, legal and empirical questions
“What is counted as evidence and who is granted the authority of expertise to make behavioural policy decisions” (MacKay 2016)
Nudge and research ethics procedures (institutional review board, BERA guidelines etc)
Most of the ethical pieces on nudge theory…are written by its proponents

19. Questions What kind of pedagogical research is needed? Who funds it?
How does ‘impact on teaching and learning’ drive the ‘research impact’ debate?
What role should students have in research about, with, for, and on them?
Who are the ethical guardians of higher education research?

20. Seek, ask and report on feedback Provide opportunities for students
Engage Students!
Challenge students
Support students
Inform students
Seek, ask and report on feedback
Provide opportunities for students
Hold students responsible
Work WITH not FOR students

21. References
Ioannidis JPA (2005) Why Most Published Research Findings Are False. PLOS Medicine 2(8): e124.
Dennis, N. (2018). Why searching for 'what works' is a wild goose chase (2 September). The Times Education Supplement.
Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S., & See, B. H. (2018). The importance of process evaluation for randomised control trials in education. Educational Research, 60(3),
Connolly, P., Keenan, C., & Urbanska, K. (2018). The trials of evidence-based practice in education: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials in education research 1980–2016. Educational Research, 60(3),
MacKay,K. (2016). Behavioural Science in Law & Policy: Evidence, Ethics, & Expertise. Conference, University of Newcastle.

22. © 2015 King’s College London. All rights reserved
Dr Camille B. Kandiko
© 2015 King’s College London. All rights reserved