ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS DURING RESEARCHING PARENTING PRACTICES IN COMMUNITY

This article discusses the ethical consederations in researching parenting practices among the local people in Kuala Terengganu. This qualitative research aims to understand parenting practices as experienced by the research participants. This article focuses on critical analysis on the principles that guide researchers in making ethical decision during the duration of the research. A total of ten families with four members from each of the families participated in this study, which consist of the father, mother and two children. In other words, this study involved 40 research participants. Experiences of parenting practices among research participants were gathered through interviews and observations. Six ethical principles, which include autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, fidelity and self-interest, serves as a guideline. The main priority is do not want to harm the research partipants. Each of the family members has the freedom to decide their choices and actions. They received the information about the study and data gathering methods prior to make decision on participation in this study. Informed consent was conducted with each family member before starting the interview. Both parties, the researcher and the research participants are aware of the purpose of the research and their responsibilites during the period of the study.