Presentation Topic

Negotiating Access and Research

Ethics
Group Members
Syeda Wardah Babar 38
Fahad Maqsood Khan 45
Junaid Hayat 31
 Introduction
• Access and ethics are critical aspects for the
research project
• Careful about access and possible ethical
concerns
• Leads to a good research
• Access to appropriate source
• Important for data collection by any type of
access
• Research involves human participants so,
ethical concerns are greatest
Gaining access to data
Physical
access

Negotiating
access

Cognitive Continuing
access access
 Physical access or entry
Issues:
• Organizations, groups or individuals not
prepared to engage
• The request may fail to interest the person
who receives it.
• External events may prevent the participation
 Continuing access
Issues:
• Repetitive and incremental process
• Different people who grant access and who
are respondents
• Depends on your ability to select a
representative sample of participants
 Cognitive access
Issues:
• Physical access is not enough to conduct your
research
• Trust of and consent from other intended
participants within the organization
• Suitable sample
• Reliable and valid data
 Types of access
Traditional Access: involves face-to-face
interactions (to conduct experiments etc.),
telephone interviews, correspondence or for
visiting archives.
Internet-mediated Access: involves the use of
different computing technologies (emails etc.) to
gain virtual access.
Intranet-mediated Access: to gain virtual access as
an employee.
Hybrid Access: which combines traditional and
internet-mediated approaches.
 General concepts:

Feasibility:
checks the practicability of your research
Sufficiency:
extent to which you achieve research objectives.
• Both helps to determine the nature of access
that you will require
 Access issues as an external
researcher:
An outsider to an organization is referred to as
an external researcher.
Issues:
• Lack of status in relation to an organization
• Rely on goodwill at each level of access
• Competence and integrity
• Clear and concise research project
Access issues as an internal researcher
or participant researcher:
Person who conducts research within an
organization for which he or she work.
Issues:
• Need to obtain formal approval
• Physical access to data
• Suspicions regarding reason to undertake
research and the use to data
• Problem in gaining cognitive access
 Issues associated with internet-
mediated access:
Use of internet technologies to gain virtual
access to conduct research.
Issues:
• Depends on the nature of research question
and research objective
• Intrusive forms of data collection
• Hybrid access strategy
 Strategies to gain access
• Ensuring you are familiar with the organization or group
before making contact
• Allowing yourself sufficient time
• Using existing contacts and developing new ones
• Providing clear account of the purpose of your research
and the type of access required
• Overcoming organizational concerns about gaining
access
• Identifying possible benefits to the organization of
granting you access
• Using suitable language
• Facilitating replies when requesting access
• Developing access incrementally
• Establishing your credibility
 Ensuring familiarity with the
organization or group
• Important to gain physical access
• Clarity in the minds of people in the
organization
• Justify request to grant access
 Allowing yourself sufficient time
• Physical access may take weeks or even
months
• Delay in reply or no reply
• Questionnaires are less time consuming than
interviews and observation
• Gaining cognitive access
Using existing contacts and developing
new ones
• Easy to gain access using existing contacts
• trust stated intentions and confidence when
they provide data
• Reference for other organizations
• Develop new contacts by contacting one or
more different people
 Providing a clear account of the
purpose and the type of access
required
• Enable intended participants to be aware of
what will be required from them
• Send introductory letter
• Establish your credibility
 Conclusion
• Access and ethics are important to initiate the
research
• Types and levels of access defines the way a
researcher could seek to enter and continue
the research project
• Issues related to gaining access depends on
researcher's role as either an external or
internal researcher
• Strategies help you gain access to organization
and intended participants or respondents