Media Studies – Common skills and understanding | e-Consult
Common skills and understanding (1 questions)
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Answer: Ethical practice safeguards participants and ensures the credibility of research. Three core principles are:
- Informed Consent: Participants must be fully aware of the study’s purpose, what their data will be used for, and their right to withdraw. In a teenage survey, researchers must obtain parental consent in addition to the teen’s assent, and provide clear, age‑appropriate information sheets.
- Confidentiality and Anonymity: Personal identifiers should be removed or coded to protect privacy. Survey designs should avoid collecting unnecessary identifying details and store data securely, especially given the sensitivity around minors’ media consumption habits.
- Minimising Harm: Questions should be phrased to avoid distress or embarrassment. For teenage viewers, researchers should avoid intrusive queries about illegal behaviour or personal relationships, and provide debriefing resources if sensitive topics arise.
By embedding these principles, the survey becomes ethically sound, respects participants’ rights, and yields more reliable data.