Reflection on group poster and presentation

The topic of our presentation and academic poster was looking at the effect Christianity had on views and laws on abortion in Northern Ireland. We found this topic to be broad in it's questions, however we slightly struggled in finding and conducting research around this area. We began by looking at secondary research such as journals and media coverage of abortion in Northern Ireland and through this we found lots of information, however we wanted to conduct our own primary research to gain an insight into the topic. 

The primary research was in the form of a survey we distributed online, which asked the participants questions about their religious views and upbringings, and their views on abortion as well as their knowledge of the abortion laws in Northern Ireland. We also realised our survey would not reach people in Northern Ireland, so decided we also wanted to look at the peoples opinions in England of abortion in relation to religion. We decided on the questions we wanted to ask together and then one member created the survey and we all distributed it online via Facebook and email. 

The research stage of our presentation was not too difficult, we divided the work load equally, and met regularly or emailed to keep updated on what we had found. Once we had done our research we individually wrote up our findings and also wrote up the other parts of our presentation. When we had all this together we worked on the poster, adding our results and conclusion, as well as objectives and methodology. Personally I am not a very creative person, and therefore the layout and design of the poster was delegated to another member who had skills in that area, although we did all contribute and help with the final design. 

When it came to the week before the presentation we met a few times to practice our presentation together, time it to make sure we weren't running over our allowed time, and finalised the poster before sending to the printers. This nearly became a problem as the printers couldn't guarantee it would be ready in time, however after speaking to a few members of staff we were told it would be ready to pick up. This was a stressful moment for the group as we were unsure if our poster would be ready, however we worked well as a team and kept each other calm, and then organised ourselves to meet the day of the presentation. 

Having worked with one of my group members before, and feeling comfortable with everyone I think our presentation went well. We had practiced multiple times and organised ourselves so we knew who was saying what in which order. I think this allowed our presentation to flow nicely and stay within the time allowed. Although I felt slightly nervous whilst doing the presentation, I was confident in our content and knew we were well prepared. 

I enjoyed working with my group as I got on well with both other members, and felt the work was evenly split and every put in an equal effort. I think this showed in our presentation as we had an equal amount to say and we were all confident in the results and conclusion of our topic. If we were to improve on our poster I think we would have tried to include a bit more content in the results section as long as this didn't overload the poster. For our presentation I felt we could have been more well rehearsed and relied on our notes less, however with a small group we had a lot to say and therefore a lot to remember. 

Overall I think our poster and presentation was successful and we worked well together as a group. 

Ethics in social research

Ethics are an important aspect when conducting social research. Assuring ethical and moral integrity is important for researchers, as it ensures to others that their research process and findings are trustworthy and valid (Bulmer, 2001). Researchers have a responsibility to not only seek out the truth and search for knowledge but also a responsibility to the subjects of their research, who need to be considered from an ethical perspective. Researchers actions, and the effect these actions will have on their subjects needs to be taken into account, so as to preserve the subjects rights and integrity (Bulmer, 2001). 

Ethical issues within social research became more prevalent after studies were carried out that had detrimental effects on the subjects being studied. This included the Tuskegee Syphillis study, where effective treatment was withheld from African-American participants who were infected. This trial led to the reexamination of ethical standards, and the need for protection of human subjects in scientific research (Trochim, 2006). 

The ethical involvement of participants involves two main areas; issues of privacy and confidentiality, and of giving informed consent. Ali and Kelly (1998) discuss the researches responsibility to protect subjects personal information, this is also inforced by the 1998 Data Protection Act which sets out the principles of good practice and highlights the need for care to be taken at all stages of research to protect the privacy and personal details of subjects involved. The principle of anonymity is also important within research as it allows for a stronger guarantee of privacy. However this can often be difficult to accomplish, especially when subjects have to be measured at multiple points during the study (Trochim, 2006).  

Informed consent and voluntary participation is also necessary within research, and it means that those who are being researched deserve to know that they are being researched and should in some way have given their consent (Bulmer, 2001). It is also suggested that an attempt should be made to explain to participants what the study is for, what the subject matter is, and what is expected of them (Bulmer, 2001) An issue with informed consent may be that a researcher might not want to fully disclose all information about their research as this may lead respondents to give answers they feel are expected of them, or that they believe the researcher is looking for (Ali and Kelly, 1998).

Another ethical issue facing researchers is the problem of covert research. This is when participants are not informed about the study and consent is not received prior to their participation. Methods can range from misrepresenting research to those involved, bugging conversations and covert participant observation (Ali and Kelly, 1998). Although the use of deception in research has been condemned there are situations where it is impossible to be completely open, and it is recognised that some degree of concealment is possible in social research (Bulmer, 2001).

Ethical conduct is incredibly important in social research and although there are guidelines and ethical committees to protect both the researcher and the participants, it is not always possible or reasonable to stick strictly to these rules, and ethical decisions need to be made throughout the course of research (Ali and Kelly, 1998). Ethical issues however can not be ignored and as stated by Bulmer (2001), ‘…there is not necessarily one right and one wrong answer, but this indeterminacy does not mean that ethical issues can be ignored. Far from it. The best counsel for the social researcher is to be constantly ethically aware.’ 

Ali, S. & Kelly, M. (1998) Ethics and social research. In: Seale, C. (ed.) Researching Society and Culture. 3rd Edition. London. Sage Publications. pp. 58-77

Bulmer, M. (2001) The ethics of social research. In: Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching Social Life. 2nd Edition. London. Sage Publications. pp. 45-58

Torchim, W.M.K. (2006) Ethics in Research [online] Social Research Methods. Availbale from: <http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/ethics.php> Accessed: 13/05/14