
Scotland’s Third Sector Research Forum 2022 conference took place on Tuesday 8th February 2022 on Zoom. The conference ‘Talking ethics’ provided an opportunity to hear how researchers working in and with the Third Sector have navigated some tricky ethical dilemmas, as well as offering an opportunity for participants to talk about their ethical issues and learn from each others’ experiences.
The outcomes of the conference were that participants would
- know more about good practice in ethical third sector research
- better understand how to overcome ethical issues in third sector research
- have the opportunity to talk about your research ethical issues
- be consulted on how to be supported with research ethics.
Who is the conference for?
This free conference was for researchers working in and with third sector organisations (including academics and independent researchers as well as those working for a third sector organisation), third sector practitioners interested in research informed practice and funders of third sector research (government, local authorities, and charitable funders) in Scotland.
Conference report

Download the conference report
Presenters’ slides
Plenary 1
Ethical dilemmas in practice – Prof. Karen McArdle, University of Aberdeen
Ethical considerations of equal opportunities monitoring – Chris Ross, Children in Scotland
Plenary 2
Reflexive researchers – Fiona McHardy, Poverty Alliance
Parallel 1 – Ethics of working with people with lived experience
Ethics and lived experience research – Dr Hannah Tweed
Ethics and Safety in Peer-Led Research – Dr Laura Robertson
Parallel session 2 – Sharing research data ethically
Data Sharing in the Third Sector – Debbie Maltman
Parallel session 3 – Embedding research ethics into your organisation
Developing a research policy in a third sector organisation – Dr Amy Calder and Dr Neil Davidson
Blogs
Embedding Research Ethics in a Third Sector Organisation – Dr Amy Calder and Dr Neil Davidson
Anderson, S. & Scowcroft, E (11 March 2022) Samaritans UK: Developing ‘fit for purpose’ research ethics processes within a large third sector organisation. Research Ethics Monthly. Retrieved from: https://ahrecs.com/samaritans-uk-developing-fit-for-purpose-research-ethics-processes-within-a-large-third-sector-organisation/