Ethical research guidance

Treating our participants ethically is a fundamental part of doing good user research at DfE. Nielsen Norman defines user research ethics as “the careful consideration of the rights, well-being, and dignity of people involved in research activities”. Doing our user research ethically means we treat our users well, keep our teams and DfE protected, and will also help ensure our teams create services that treat our users ethically.

• Using social media

  Guidance on getting the most out of social media in user research and how not to use it.

• Internal research

  Guidance on how to do ethically sound research with internal users.

• Research with children and young people

  Guidance on some of the key ehical considerations when researching with children and young people.

• Getting informed consent

  Guidance on getting fully informed consent from participants in user research.

• Participant safeguarding

  Guidance on safeguarding our research participants.

Get involved

• To join the Ethics working group, contact Will Finn

  Join the Ethics working group to help shape the future of the guidance in this section.

• Contact the Ethics Advisory Group

  Contact the Ethics Advisory Group for advice on ethical issues related to user research.