scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

Should we Maintain or Break Confidentiality? The Choices Made by Social Researchers in the Context of Law Violation and Harm

01 Sep 2020-Journal of Academic Ethics (Springer Netherlands)-Vol. 18, Iss: 3, pp 229-247
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the experiences and opinions of researchers concerning the maintenance or breaking of confidentiality in the context of knowledge about illegal activities and harm, and examine the ways in which the researchers justified their decisions.
Abstract: Confidentiality represents a core principle of research ethics and forms a standard practice in social research. However, what should a researcher do if they learn about illegal activities or harm during the research process? Few systematic studies consider researchers’ attitudes and reactions in such situations. This paper analyzes this issue on the basis of in-depth interviews with Polish sociologists and anthropologists who conduct qualitative research with vulnerable participants. It discusses the experiences and opinions of researchers concerning the maintenance or breaking of confidentiality in the context of knowledge about illegal activities and harm. It also examines the ways in which the researchers justified their decisions. Most of my interviewees respected confidentiality in spite of knowledge of crime or harm, and referred to their epistemological perspectives regarding the role of the researcher, implicit consequentialist ethical reasoning and personal values. Where researchers did break confidentiality, this owed to their personal values and willingness to protect their informants, especially in cases of minor levels of harm as opposed to serious crime. Therefore, their experiences indicate the failure of both obligatory unconditional assurances of confidentiality and the requirement for researchers to assure confidentiality to the extent permitted by law. I argue that researchers do not need constrictive and potentially punitive rules about confidentiality, but rather sensitizing frameworks about how to contemplate and anticipate the many complexities and moral shadings of situations in the field.

Content maybe subject to copyright    Report

Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
01 Nov 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze a survey on national identity in Poland and argue that Polish identity must be seen in terms of selective racism without racism, that is, it is an identity based on racial premises but which at the same time neglects its racial character.
Abstract: Abstract This article analyses a popular survey on national identity in Poland. However, the analysis of the survey is a pretext to remind one of the limitations of crude quantitative methods and to look at the Polish national identity itself. The article shows that the survey questions are far from unambiguous, and respondents might attribute different meanings to them. The survey does not “measure” national identity existing in the world, rather it serves to maintain the hegemonic concept of Polishness. It diminishes the significance of Catholicism and the perceived biological dimension of Polishness. It ignores public sentiment linking Whiteness and Polishness, contributing to maintaining the dominant image of Polishness as free of racism. Under the guise of objective research, the survey is one of the elements sustaining the image of a relatively open and inclusive Polishness. Referring to my own qualitative research and recent literature on the topic, I argue that Polish identity must be seen in terms of selective racism without racism—that is, it is an identity based on racial premises but which at the same time neglects its racial character.

9 citations


Cites background from "Should we Maintain or Break Confide..."

  • ...Thus, in this study I do not provide any real personal names or more precise information on age, place of residence, or education to avoid breaching the respondents’ confidentiality (Surmiak 2018, 2019)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a scoping review that maps current ethical challenges that migration scholars often face and provides guidance, while acknowledging the fact that many researchers deal with ethical issues on a case-by-case basis.
Abstract: This article aims to set a roadmap for an ethical programme, which we call “qualitative migration research ethics” (QMRE) It is a scoping review that maps current ethical challenges that migration scholars often face and provide guidance, while acknowledging the fact that many researchers deal with ethical issues on a case-by-case basis,By connecting three lines of debates – ethics in social sciences, in qualitative research and in migration studies – this article addresses the following core questions: What are the particular ethical dilemmas in qualitative migration research (QMR)? How do migration researchers deal with these ethical dilemmas? What is the role of universal ethical codes of conduct and case-by-case ethical considerations in dealing with particular situations?,This review demonstrates that special aspects of migration research context, eg participants' mobility, potential vulnerability and migration as a politicized issue as well as the flexible and exploratory nature of qualitative research require particular ethical awareness that cannot be sufficiently addressed by standardized guidelines,It proposes that efforts to raise ethical awareness must go beyond researchers' ethical confessions or blind adherence to pre-fixed guidance Researchers must have critical “ethical radar” before, during and after their fieldwork; not only while working on extreme and vulnerable cases but also while doing all kind of research regardless of the level of vulnerability Last but not least, this article claims the need for including critical ethical consciousness substantially in higher education programmes at the very beginning of the research career

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examined the experiences of academics working from home across selected universities in South Africa using a qualitative approach and applying Atlas.ti for data analysis, their findings show that work from home in academia is a daunting task requiring extensive organisational, personal, and social adjustments.
Abstract: The continuing crisis caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has raised significant challenges for the higher education community globally. In South Africa, the government-forced lockdown measures and social distancing containment policy changed working arrangements across sectors and organisations. As a result, academics were forced to work from home (WFH), a task for which they were hardly prepared. Several researchers have engaged the WFH situation of academics to understand the relationship between WFH and productivity. As far as we know, very few studies have tried to describe academics’ WFH experiences in relation to the challenges, including determining possible ways of improving their satisfaction with working from home. We examine in this article the experiences of academics working from home across selected universities in South Africa. Using a qualitative approach and applying Atlas.ti for data analysis, our findings show that working from home in academia is a daunting task requiring extensive organisational, personal, and social adjustments. The population comprised all academics irrespective of any demographic or personality characteristic within the management faculty of the participating universities. Five themes—inability to adapt, lack of a home office, loneliness and isolation, inability to balance family and work, and improving satisfaction with work from home—were identified as significant variables from the participants’ responses. Our analysis suggests that organisations need to customise approaches to engage with the experiences of academics who work from home during COVID-19 and to develop fit-for-purpose support for these academics. The study contributes to the growing research exploring the relationship between COVID-19 lockdown and work in higher education.

6 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
05 May 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider some of the ethical issues that can arise for novice researchers in institutions that do not have a firmly established qualitative research tradition, with particular reference to research with young people and in some instances sensitive topics.
Abstract: When investigating issues surrounding young people it is necessary to involve them in the discussion of the topic. It is also necessary that the inexperienced or student researcher is equipped with the skills needed to navigate ethical quandaries that may arise. This article considers some of the ethical issues that can arise for novice researchers in institutions that do not have a firmly established qualitative research tradition, with particular reference to research with young people and in some instances sensitive topics. Examples of how the embedding of particular research practices into an ethical framework can navigate these quandaries are made. These include Training & Skills, Recruitment & consent, Breaking the ice, disclosures and endings. Recommendations for updates to ethical procedures for qualitative psychological research are made.

4 citations


Cites background from "Should we Maintain or Break Confide..."

  • ...It is paramount that student researchers are coached to state one's position at the outset and to explain the nature of disclosures that would make it necessary for the researcher to break confidentiality (Surmiak, 2019)....

    [...]

  • ...It is paramount that student researchers are coached to state one's position at the outset and to explain the nature of disclosures that would make it necessary for the researcher to break confidentiality (Surmiak, 2019)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a longitudinal study of young adults transitioning out of care and journeying towards young adulthood over a period of five years was carried out, where 51 participants who had had at least two (and up to five) interviews (spaced approximately a year apart) since leaving care.

4 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Nature of Qualitative Inquiry Theoretical Orientations Particularly Appropriate Qualitative Applications as mentioned in this paper, and Qualitative Interviewing: Qualitative Analysis and Interpretation Enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis and interpretation.
Abstract: PART ONE: CONCEPTUAL ISSUES IN THE USE OF QUALITATIVE METHODS The Nature of Qualitative Inquiry Strategic Themes in Qualitative Methods Variety in Qualitative Inquiry Theoretical Orientations Particularly Appropriate Qualitative Applications PART TWO: QUALITATIVE DESIGNS AND DATA COLLECTION Designing Qualitative Studies Fieldwork Strategies and Observation Methods Qualitative Interviewing PART THREE: ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, AND REPORTING Qualitative Analysis and Interpretation Enhancing the Quality and Credibility of Qualitative Analysis

31,305 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: The Nature of Qualitative Inquiry Theoretical Orientations Particularly Appropriate Qualitative Applications as mentioned in this paper, and Qualitative Interviewing: Qualitative Analysis and Interpretation Enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis and interpretation.

22,714 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce the concept of the research interview as a conversation and discuss the social construction of validity of the interview report and the ethical issues in conducting research interviews.

13,195 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between reflexivity and research ethics is examined, and the notion of reflexivity is used as a helpful way of understanding both the nature of ethics in qualitative research and how ethical practice in research can be achieved.
Abstract: Ethical tensions are part of the everyday practice of doing research—all kinds of research. How do researchers deal with ethical problems that arise in the practice of their research, and are there conceptual frameworks that they can draw on to assist them? This article examines the relationship between reflexivity and research ethics. It focuses on what constitutes ethical research practice in qualitative research and how researchers achieve ethical research practice. As a framework for thinking through these issues, the authors distinguish two different dimensions of ethics in research, which they term procedural ethics and “ethics in practice.” The relationship between them and the impact that each has on the actual doing of research are examined. The article then draws on the notion of reflexivity as a helpful way of understanding both the nature of ethics in qualitative research and how ethical practice in research can be achieved.

2,157 citations

Trending Questions (3)
Why is confidentiality of information a key aspect of social work ethics and how should client data be protected?

Confidentiality is important in social research to protect participants from harm and maintain trust. The paper discusses researchers' attitudes towards breaking confidentiality in cases of harm, but does not specifically address social work ethics or client data protection.

How can the confidentiality and privacy of respondents be best ensured in the context of research?

The paper discusses the importance of maintaining confidentiality in research and the potential consequences of breaching it. It emphasizes the core principle of research ethics and the standard practice of maintaining confidentiality in social research. However, it does not provide specific guidelines on how to best ensure the confidentiality and privacy of respondents in the context of research.

What are the best practices for keeping the confidentiality of research participants?

The paper discusses the importance of maintaining confidentiality in social research and highlights that researchers tend to prioritize confidentiality to protect informants and maintain trust. However, it does not provide specific best practices for keeping confidentiality.