Resources
Ethical considerations
Withdrawal of Data
The principal of voluntary participation means that participants can decide not to answer any questions that make them uncomfortable and can fully withdraw their participation at any point in time during the research. Often researchers provide a time period after interviews when participants may change their mind and ask for data to be withdrawn. This should be explained on the Participant Information Sheet (PIS) and Consent Form (CF).
However, it is not possible to withdraw participant data from a dynamic group interview (such as a focus group) once that interview and its recording has started. This is partly because it is not always easy to distinguish speakers, but also because the nature of this kind of research is such that context is part of the data – the back and forth between people. Pulling out one person’s statements inhibits the ability to understand other discussion around those statements.