On informed consent in research

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Photo by Anni Roenkae

“Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself.”
—Bertrand Russell

Research is an endeavour to know a better version of our knowledge about the world and its constituents, implication and limitations thereof. It is traditionally associated with a high degree of practice and understanding to be undertaken after a considerable engagement with a subject matter. Such a task calls for a substantial set of ethics and norms within a critical framework of epistemology. Research ethics forms the backbone of conduct of research which ensure that the validity of the outcomes are upheld by the concerned. It establishes a sense of acknowledgement of the morality of approach and fallibility of outcomes. Thereby it purports to have good social conduct without any malicious intent or malice. The research community at large is also able to involve itself in the feeling of a communitas of preserving an order which can be held high in the eyes of benevolence, goodwill and integrity.

From this derives the concept of informed consent - a concern for human dignity and acceptance through consultation. Informed consent can take different forms but fundamentally it involves free information about the research work and voluntary abiding by the participants in the research process. To satisfy the free information part, the researcher ought to provide the details of the research - scope, process, involvement, risk, intended outcome etc. without any strings attached to the participants. This enables the participants to have all required information to make a sensible and informed decision. Literacy, linguistics and ability to comprehend the informed play a crucial role in this regard. The researcher should understand the context of participation and cultural sensibilities of the participants to facilitate this process. Consent can be explicit or implicit based upon the need and availability. In general, explicit consent in the form of a written note or recorded audio-video is preferred for documentation. This document can also be used for convenient future reference if need be. A written consent might deter a participant from responding. However, free will of the participant should not be violated in any case during this undertaking. Thus, informed consent primarily involves comprehension of the work and voluntary assent to participate.

Research demands sensitivity of approach in which the health and safety of participants should not be jeopardized. The care and concern of participants should be of prime importance. It might be tempting at times to put the participants at an unfavorable position to obtain valuable data for the purpose of accomplishing a research objective. If a researcher falls into such depravity it will not only affect the status of the researcher but also will call into question the research outcome. It can have spill offs and unintended consequences of attracting penalties. At a fundamental level, it will be perilous for the research community to maintain its moral upstanding. It is advisable to have a preliminary understanding of the situation of the participant in the cultural, economic, political and social landscape for a robust research design.

Form of consent should be guided by broader acknowledgment of factors which might shape it. The influence of social norms and culture should be duly considered. As far as practicable, consent should be from the participant. If not, approximate representation based on causa proxima might be called for who can be the best proxy of the participant without any inherent bias or prejudice. Such incidence has to be probed deeper to weed out any possibility of unfavorable influence over the responses of participants. Moreover, all such aberrations should form a part of disclosures. It need not be the case that legal authorities can always be good proxy. Infact, it is quite possible that they twist facts for their own vested interests - which researchers need to be mindful of and avoid including them in the process.

Another important facet is whether informed consent be optional in case of concerns of public dimensions with substantial research benefits where consent is difficult to obtain or have high social costs. If the researcher is citing substantial public benefit for such conduct, it is equally important to prove that indeed there is no vested private interest. A dispassionate take on research though is laudable but is often impractical. In any case, dignity and privacy of participants should not be violated. And, the sanctified role of the research ethics committee should be a guiding principle notwithstanding the natural human flaws and limitations. A public deliberation and discourse community which thereby sets up a climate of good practices is thus essential.

Standardization of ethical norms is not unheard of. Guidelines, rules and regulations are all pervasive when it comes to research methodology. While it primarily aims to make the research more error-free and best render the reality, it is not devoid of a tendency towards homogeneity. This significantly imposes a limitation on understanding nuances and layers of reality of humanities and its existence. And also, leaves out those dimensions that cannot be captured through rational means of inquiry. Thus, it is more wise to be guided by intent and context of ethical prescriptions - the spirit than by the letter of it. Above all, a critical reflection of how human conscience and condition can influence and be influenced by research design is sine qua non for good research.

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