1.1 Researcher accountabilities
The British Educational Research Association’s ethical guidelines for educational research (2024) are helpful when thinking about researcher accountabilities. This guidance is organised according to five sets of responsibilities, to:
- participants
- sponsors, clients, stakeholders and the environment
- the community of educational researchers
- publication and dissemination
- researchers’ wellbeing and development.
It is notable that the environment was added to the 2024 (5th) edition of these guidelines, to recognise the roles of research towards environmental sustainability. This fits in with a wider movement to include attention to the consequences of research on the environment. This has been captured in a Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] (EAUC, n.d.).
The UK research and innovation (R&I) sector have co-developed a voluntary environmental sustainability concordat. The concordat represents a shared ambition for the UK to continue delivering cutting-edge research, but in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way.
Some research funders, for example Wellcome, are requiring that research institutions whose research they fund are signatories to this Concordat. The Open University became a signatory in January 2025.
To help you think about this range of responsibilities, consider Case study 3.1 on the next page.