Principles and Guidelines for Ethical Research and Evaluation in Development

Welcome to this short film about the

principles for ethical research and
evaluation

in international development.

These principles have been developed

by ACFID, the Australian Council
for International Development,

and the Research for Development Impact
Network.

Shortly, you will learn about the four
principles.

Each principle outlines important ethical
questions

to think about before and while
doing research and evaluation

in the field. Let's begin.

Principle 1 is Respect for Human Beings.

In research terms, this means making sure

each and every person
involved in the research

participates by choice, and their rights

and cultures are respected.

Principle 2 is Beneficence.

Beneficence means that everyone involved

in the research gets something positive

out of it, not just the researcher.

The other important side of beneficence

is that the research must not do harm or

pose significant risk to anyone

including the researcher.

Any risks of harm should be
identified early

and managed appropriately.

Principle 3 is Research Merit
and Integrity.

Research Merit and Integrity means that

researchers need to be experienced and
competent.

Also, the research must be well-designed,

carefully planned, and the process,

outcomes, and benefits of the research

are clear to all involved.

Principle 4 is Justice.

In this context, Justice refers to making

sure that the research is fair and
inclusive.

It means making sure that no section

of a community or population is

deliberately left out.

This includes children, people with
disability,

marginalized groups, and people who face

language or literacy barriers.

Now you've learned a bit about the four

principles for ethical research and

evaluation in international development.

These principles go hand in hand with
guidelines.

These guidelines offer some ideas and

techniques you can use when
planning research.

They also help your organization to be

ready, adaptable, and flexible

when doing research in the field.

So when the unexpected happens,

you can stick to ethical practice at all times.

For more information, visit the website.