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Changing constructions of informed consent: Qualitative research and complex social worlds

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  • Miller, Tina
  • Boulton, Mary

Abstract

Informed consent is a concept which attempts to capture and convey what is regarded as the appropriate relationship between researcher and research participant. Definitions have traditionally emphasised respect for autonomy and the right to self-determination of the individual. However, the meaning of informed consent and the values on which it is based are grounded in society and the practicalities of social relationships. As society changes, so too do the meaning and practice of informed consent. In this paper, we trace the ways in which the meaning and practice of informed consent has changed over the last 35 years with reference to four qualitative studies of parenting and children in the UK which we have undertaken at different points in our research careers. We focus in particular on the shifting boundaries between the professional and personal, and changing expressions of agency and power in a context of heightened perceptions of risk in everyday life. We also discuss developments in information and communication technologies as a factor in changing both the formal requirements for and the situated practicalities of obtaining informed consent. We conclude by considering the implications for informed consent of both increasing bureaucratic regulation and increasingly sophisticated information and communication technologies and suggest strategies for rethinking and managing 'consent' in qualitative research practice.

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  • Miller, Tina & Boulton, Mary, 2007. "Changing constructions of informed consent: Qualitative research and complex social worlds," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 2199-2211, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:65:y:2007:i:11:p:2199-2211
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. shuster, stef m., 2019. "Performing informed consent in transgender medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 190-197.
    5. Secko, David M. & Preto, Nina & Niemeyer, Simon & Burgess, Michael M., 2009. "Informed consent in biobank research: A deliberative approach to the debate," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 781-789, February.
    6. Olga Kolotouchkina & Monica Viñarás-Abad & Luis Mañas-Viniegra, 2023. "Digital Ageism: Emerging Challenges and Best Practices of Age-Friendly Digital Urban Governance," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(3), pages 6-17.
    7. Reed, Kate & Ferazzoli, Maria Teresa & Whitby, Elspeth, 2021. "“Why didn't we do it”? Reproductive loss and the problem of post-mortem consent," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
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    9. Kate Mukungu, 2017. "“How Can You Write About a Person Who Does Not Exist?”: Rethinking Pseudonymity and Informed Consent in Life History Research," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-9, August.
    10. Chiumento, Anna & Rahman, Atif & Frith, Lucy, 2020. "Writing to template: Researchers’ negotiation of procedural research ethics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).

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